Pic: Red Bull
to win the Dakar.
Although Brabec was not expected to do as well, the
official HRC rider obtained another stage victory in 2019
and most impressively was leading the general standings
three days from the finish. It is a crushing blow for Hon-
da, another occasion they have not been able to bring the
domination of KTM on the Dakar to a close.
The loop around Pisco for the penultimate stage ex-
plored the Ica desert from an entirely new perspective.
It started with an 80 km dune sector, followed by a series
of coastal dunes separated by the Subida de los Burros
ascent and, to cap it all, another sequence of dunes with
three fearsome massifs in the final 100 kilometres — more
than enough to throw sand in the gears of the top riders,
such as Van Beveren were to find.
The favourites let their next-to-last opportunity to final-
ly break the deadlock go to waste. The top riders started
together, stayed together and crossed the finish line to-
gether, except for Yamaha's Adrien Van Beveren, who saw
his hopes of a podium place in Lima dashed by an engine
failure with 16 kilometres to go. The outsiders in the sec-
ond wave, on the other hand, jumped on the opportunity,
with Michael Metge claiming an impressive victory ahead
of Daniel Nosiglia (MEC HRC Honda). It was the French-
man’s first stage victory in the Dakar and a great result for
the Sherco TVS Rally Factory team.
"It was a very long stage for me,” an excited Metge greet-
ed the media.
“We started in the second line with Daniel Nosiglia
and we stayed together throughout the stage, attacking
very much. I was stressed at the end because victory was
very closely fought, but I tried to stay focused and when
I crossed the finish line it was very nice. I'm so happy
for the team because we did a very good job this year.
The bike works very well and I'm so happy because they
pushed a lot, also so happy for all the people who follow
me, my sons and my wife. I dedicate this victory to them."
As the bikes made their way back to Lima what a fine
story was told thanks to the determination and bravery
shown by Toby Price. Taking part in his fifth Dakar with a
wrist that was still healing after fracturing his scaphoid a
few weeks prior to the start, the Australian fought through
the pain, focusing on consistency rather than the verve
that his rivals showed, as they picked up stage victories.
Gritting his teeth day after day to stay in contact with the
best, the winner in 2016 finally took the lead in the gener-
al standings the day before the finish and offered specta-
tors a genuine recital with a stage victory in Lima.
Price was able to write a second Dakar rally on his CV
and gave his employer KTM an 18th in a row. Indeed,
TRAVERSE 22