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Rally Adventure Galicia 2024_ Frenchman Jagu Julien repeats victory in the fifth stage of the A Estrada Rally.
Jagu Julien achieves a very important victory in this penultimate stage of the Rally and closes in on the title fight, which so far seems to be dominated by Joan Pedrero. If yesterday's stage had been physical in terms of terrain and psychological in terms of navigation, today's has left that as a mere appetizer. Today, the riders would have to ease off the throttle to avoid choking on the roadbook of a 130 km special stage. The double and constant notes, just a few meters apart, on delicate terrain of mud, stones, barely visible trails, and constant changes in direction and altitude, required an extra effort to detect the correct directions indicated by the route book. Today was more about managing than racing.
Tomas Zoldos, after solving the mechanical problems of his bike during the initial liaison, opened the track early in the morning as the winner of the previous stage. He would soon be caught by Joan Pedrero and later by Jagu Julien, who despite making a navigation error shortly after the start of the stage, regained ground to reach the head of the race. Tomas Zoldos remained in the group led by Joan Pedrero. Some navigation errors at the front of the race were well exploited by Mario Lahoz from Zaragoza, who at times found himself opening the track only to be overtaken again. A fall without major consequences forced Mario to align the direction of his bike during the race, losing sight of the leaders of the special stage.
Finally, Jagu Julien crossed the finish line in first place, securing his second stage victory after 2 hours and 28 minutes against the clock. Joan Pedrero stopped the race time just 2 minutes behind Jagu, and Mario Lahoz achieved a fantastic third place, 4 minutes behind the leader. The fourth position of the day went to Guillem Martínez, who, at 51 minutes and 40 seconds behind Joan in the classification, continues to consolidate his third position overall. Joan Pedrero maintains the lead of the race closely followed by Jagu Julien, 3 minutes and 39 seconds behind.
Jagu Julien: "Today, I started third behind Tomas and Joan. I made a mistake about ten or twelve km from the beginning of the special stage, and after finding the right track, I opened the track with Joan for the rest of the stage. Joan was pushing hard to maintain the lead and the time difference, but he made a mistake a few km from the finish line, and I was able to pass him, entering first at the finish line and winning the stage. Tomorrow, in just thirty-nine km of special stage, it won't be enough to close the gap with Joan, but I'll try my best."
All classifications: https://anubesport.com/timing/?rallyId=137
Source: Pablo Pillado. Photos: Ingine Creators.
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