Despres is boss in the motorcycle race of Dakar's Stage 7
Maverick - Jan 12, 2010

Before the day of rest that the Dakar will be spending in Antofagasta on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, Cyril Despres wins a stage in which Marc Coma has returned to being his fiercest contender in the overall standings.

Some stages can represent – alone – several episodes of a race. The stage taking the Dakar contenders to Antofagasta today – with its 600 km of special stage – was precisely a mix of different terrains and led to many sub-plots.  

Marc Coma and Cyril Despres who had started first paid the price – for a while – of their hesitations in a vast sand dunes area. The riders behind them ended up catching up. At the different intermediary checkpoints, both two-time winners ended up losing ground and giving opportunities to Ullevalseter of Norway (1st at CP1 and CP2), Frétigné of France (1st at CP4), and Lopez of Chile (1st at CP5 and CP6).

But in the last 150 km, Coma and Depres, the two masters of the bike race, ended up increasing the gap on the track again and got back to their natural positions.

It was now time then for a good game play between France and Spain. At 20 km from the finish, Coma took the lead for just 10 short seconds. But in the grand finale, despite the pain inflicted by a broken shock absorber earlier on, Cyril Despres crossed the finish line with the best time of the day and won his 22nd stage on a Dakar keeping at the same time – and more importantly – the lead in the overall standings. Depres is now 1h06 ahead of Coma, who is generally considered his prime contender.

The Spaniard, who is now ahead of Helder Rodrigues and “Chaleco” in the standings, has achieved the easiest part of the mission he has identified for himself since his engine problems and the penalty he was given.