SCHWINN 0 Posted January 9, 2013 19:20 Bikes: Pain still leads the general standings Young French rider Olivier Pain (Yamaha) remains on top of the bike general standings on completion of the fifth stage. 1’15' behind him, David Casteu (Yamaha) also retains his place, as does Cyril Despres (KTM), 6’07' behind Pain. In fourth place, Ruben Faria (KTM) trails the leader by 13’34', two seconds ahead of Jordi Viladoms (Husqvarna), 13’36' behind and Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez (KTM), 13’39' behind, with these three riders virtually in touching distance of each other Alessandro Botturi (Husqvarna) trails Pain by 14’00' and Kuba Przygonski (KTM) as well as Stefan Svitko (KTM) are still within reach. All in all, the bike standings are very compact: there are 25 riders within an hour of the rally leader. 17:11 Bikes: Provisional result: Casteu wins, Pain 2nd, Botturi 3rd Now that the first 15 riders have finished, David Casteu’s first place has been confirmed, 1’09' ahead of fellow Frenchman Olivier Pain and 3’25' in front of Alessandro Botturi. Cyril Despres finished in fourth place, 4’07’’ behind his countryman, whilst Helder Rodrigues is fifth 4’52' behind the stage winner and Alain Duclos sixth, 5’01' behind Casteu. 16:45 Bikes: Casteu provisionally wins the stage David Casteu, who led the special stage from start to finish, has confirmed his domination at the finisihing line with a total time of 1:39’42', which should make him the day’s winner. Behind him, the situation is less clear, because the riders who set off after twentieth place have ridden like the wind: Svitko, Pedrero Garcia, Israel Esquerre, Caselli and Jakes are awaited at the finishing line to confirm their impressive positions. For the moment Olivier Pain, Alessandro Botturi and Helder Rodrigues make up the rest of the top four, but the situation is likely to change. 16:03 Bikes: Fuel pump problem for Barreda Bort Still stuck at the 72-km point since half an hour ago, Joan Barreda Bort looks like he has fuel pump problems. 16:01 Bikes: Svitko and Pedrero Garcia butt in The two bikers have just moved in between David Casteu (37' ahead of them) and Alessandro Botturi (1’05' behind the stage leader), into second and third place as a result. 15:54 Bikes: Changes among the leaders half-way through Behind David Casteu, Alessandro Botturi now occupies second place, trailing the French rider by 1’16'. Cyril Despres has cropped up in fourth place, 1’47' behind his countryman. Duclos, Przygonski and Gouet have also sneaked into the top 10, who are all within a differential of four minutes. 15:48 Bikes: Barreda Bort at a standstill after 72 km Joan Barreda Bort’s GPS signal indicates that he has been at a standstill for five minutes for a currently unknown reason. The rider has not set off an alert, so it is likely that he is experiencing technical problems. 15:41 Bikes: Casteu still leads half way through the special With a time of 49’25', France’s David Casteu still leads the provisional standings on the special stage at the half-way point. He leads his countryman Olivier Pain by 1’34', Helder Rodrigues by 2’14', Ruben Faria by 3’45', Gérard Farres Guell by 3’47' and Joan Barreda Bort by 6’13'. Only these six competitors have so far completed 67 km of the stage. 15:33 Bikes: Barraeda Bort goes astray? After 53 km, Joan Barreda Bort took a route too far to the north before returning to the main tracks, a slight mistake that only lasted for a half dozen kilometres, enabling him to abandon the duties of opening the road, which is now the responsibility of David Casteu and Olivier Pain Could it be a part of a tactical plan? 15:24 : Changes in positions after 20 km Now that the first 15 competitors on the tracks, behind David Casteu, have completed 20 km, the provisional race order has changed a bit: Kurt Caselli (21' behind) has slipped into second place in front of the excellent Alain Duclos (10th yesterday) 58' behind the stage leader. Joan Barreda Bort is currently fourth in front of Cyril Despres and “Chaleco” (1’01' behind Casteu) and Alessandro Botturi (who trails the leader by 1’02'). 15:17 Bikes: Gonçalves and others lose their way… Portuguese rider Paulo Gonçalves, who started the special stage in 17th position, stopped a little after the 6-km point, slightly away from the main tracks before setting off again. It seems that he took the wrong direction. Behind him, Pal Ullevalseter, James West and others have made the same mistake. 15:08 Bikes: The race at a glance after 20 km The first indicators after 20 km show that 5 competitors have completed this distance: France’s David Casteu leads with a time of 18’17’’, Joan Barreda Bort follows 59' behind, Helder Rodrigues is a further 1’04' behind, French rider Olivier Pain trails his countryman by 1’25' and Gérard Farres Guell lies 1’59' behind the stage leader. 14:48 Bikes: “First bike on the special stage” This is the announcement that has just crackled over the waves of Radio Dakar. Joan Barreda Bort, yesterday’s winner, set off at 8.30 AM local time heading towards Cachendo where the special stage finishing line is located. 09:30 : Arequipa-Arica: the Dakar 2013 arrives in Chile A border crossing at the end of the stage and two distinct routes for the Car/Truck and Bike/Quad categories are the highlights of the fifth stage. If truth be told, for the competitors, they will have their minds elsewhere, because the landscapes that the stage will cross will change radically. The seemingly endless dunes will be followed by rocky tracks and river beds, from valley to valley. The stage starts directly with the special (136-km long) for the bikes and the quads, whereas the cars and trucks will deal with a link stage of 284 kilometres before a 172-km long timed section. At the end of the stage, all the competitors will already have covered more than two thousand kilometres since the start of the Dakar 2013. The mishaps suffered by De Rooy’s Iveco on Tuesday showed that the rally does not spare anyone, not even favourites or leaders. And if Stéphane Peterhansel leading the car category, or the French trio of Pain, Casteu and Despres lose concentration for just a short while, the consequences can be immediate and drastic. Beware… Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCHWINN 0 Posted January 9, 2013 Photo Gallery http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2013/us/stage-4/photos-galery.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hoss314 0 Posted January 11, 2013 Still the ultimate dream of mine.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
