The 10th stage of the 2024 Dakar didn't go well for Rui Gonçalves after he suffered a violent fall that left him in severe pain and with a bike in poor condition to be ridden in the desert.
Just when you thought that the difficulties of this Dakar were going to begin to diminish, the 10th stage turned sour for the Sherco rider.
As early as Km 5, Rui Gonçalves suffered a heavy fall that left him very weak. As well as several bruises and a cut on his arm that had to be stitched up, Rui Gonçalves' Sherco had its rear almost completely destroyed, the handlebars warped and the instrument tower badly damaged.
The 371 km that made up the stage were completed by the Vidago rider in a great deal of pain as he had to grit his teeth to reach the finish, even so in a more than deserved 11th place overall.
Rui Gonçalves: "Today's stage was once again very long with around 371 timed stages. It was another day of very fast tracks, with more rocks, hard terrain at the start but always with a sandier surface. As early as km 5, I was dazzled by the sun and crashed quite hard. I was very sore, the bike's handlebars were bent and the navigation instruments were damaged... but I only had one option: grit my teeth and go all the way. With a whole stage to go and a lot of pain in my arm and leg, I managed to save the day with a result very close to the top 10. It was very difficult to ride in such pain and with the bike in such a state. I've already been seen by the medical center, I've had stitches in my arm, I have a burn and a huge bruise on my leg, but otherwise everything is OK. The team is already working on the bike to get it ready for tomorrow and I'm also going to try to recover as much as possible for the last long stage. Thank you all for your support, you've been incredible!"
The Dakar continues tomorrow with the penultimate stage between Al-Ula and Yanbu, which will be made up of an extensive selective sector of 480 km that will be contested to the stopwatch in inhospitable and rocky terrain.
Automatic translation of the Portuguese version available on www.todoterreno.pt
Source: Rui Gonçalves's official press release
Photos: Rally Zone
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