eight , the second half of the marathon , Laia focused on simply completing the day . Thankfully , finding things to be ‘ not too bad ’, Laia was again able to complete a mistake-free day and returned safely to her team , where it had to be prepared for the following day , the longest of the rally .
“ I am being very cautious with my riding , just trying to make sure I don ’ t make any big mistakes ,” she nodded . “ Thankfully , today things weren ’ t quite as bad as I expected them to be . They were tough , but I rode safely and , well , I ’ m one stage closer to the end of the event .”
The longest stage also proved to be one of the toughest with technical terrain that caught out many riders . Laia was one of many to fall , enough for her airbag to be activated , perhaps something that saved her as she was able to continue . After passing many riders receiving medical attention she rode with continued caution and finished the stage in 23rd enough to see her move into 20th overall .
The pattern continued into stage 10 as Laia was again classified 20th overall . It was day that she admitted would better be forgotten , another navigation error then being passed by many riders who created dust that became impossible to ride through . It all lead into the penultimate stage and one that would see Laia finish with her best result for 2021 .
As Dakar 2021 drew to a close , arguably one of the toughest stages seen , saw Laia place 19th cemented her best result . Enjoying a much more positive day , Laia broke free from her competitors ’ dust early on and was able to ride her own race while battling all the way to the finish .
“ I was in dust again today but fortunately , just for the beginning , maybe 100 kilometres or so ,” she grinned . “ Once we were into the dunes , I could escape the dust and ride my own lines . I passed some riders and I felt really good today , despite the stage being really long .”
Adding another astonishing chapter to her remarkable
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