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Rally Adventure Galicia 2024: Joan Pedrero wins the Rally de A Estrada Adventure Galicia 2024.
After securing the top position in the general classification on stage one, Dakar rider Joan Pedrero maintained his lead throughout the remaining days of the competition, ultimately clinching victory at the Rally de A Estrada.
The sixth and final stage of the Rally de A Estrada began with the overall standings frozen on the podium positions since the first day of the race when Joan Pedrero solidified his first place and kept his closest rivals, Frenchman Jagu Julien and Catalan Guillem Martínez, in check, gradually building a lead with each stage until claiming the title.
Frenchman Jagu Julien launched an attack in the final stage of the rally with a 3-minute and 39-second gap in the general classification behind Joan Pedrero, which he had to overcome in just 39 km of special stage. A piloting error allowed Joan to catch up and dashed any hopes of seizing the title for Jagu Julien. Joan Pedrero secured victory in this last stage and in the Galician Rally, which he seemed to have under control throughout. Jagu Julien and Guillem Martínez defended their positions with outstanding performances, securing second and third places on the overall podium, respectively.
Joan Pedrero: "From the first day, we knew we had to build a lead because it was a rainy day, and the rival I was up against in this rally started two minutes ahead of me, so I went out to find him, and from there, it was about managing. I pushed hard on some days, not so much on others, always intelligently managing the race, gaining a bit of time each day. Today, I went out with the goal of winning the stage, and by kilometer 12, I had caught him right where he made the mistake, and I pushed until the finish. My rear brake failed for a while, but everything went well. I'm very happy. I had a great pace on the track and controlled the race. I had an incredible time. Galicia is amazing. Usually, we're always in the deserts, but here it's another level. The grass, the vegetation, I love this race. A ten for the organization. There's unseen work, permits... and thanks to everyone who worked, we can ride our bikes through these mountains. I think it's the best race in Europe."
Jagu Julien: "Today, I started from the first position and made a small navigation error. That's how it goes. I lost a lot of time, but in the end, I'm second overall. It's been an incredible week in Galicia. The race, the roadbooks, and the organization have been really good. I'll definitely be back next year. This was my first completed rally since my accident in the Rally of Morocco. There are many enduro races, but when it comes to navigation, it's different. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win, and there's a lot of navigation here. At the beginning of the week, I got lost a few times, and then I tried to win day by day. Sometimes it was Joan, sometimes me, and in the end, it was for Joan, but I'm very happy. Since my accident, I've only been training on the bike for three weeks, so for me, this is a victory."
Guillem Martínez:" The race has been intense. I had a lot of fun except for a somewhat nasty fall in the third stage, but I managed to regain the feeling on the bike and feel comfortable again; and a navigation mistake due to lack of concentration, which cost me a lot. The rest went very well, enjoying it a lot. I came to this rally thinking it would be an easy roadbook like the one in Hellas, but here, the tulips and the distance between them made it more complicated. More technical. I'm very happy with my third position. It's true that after winning Hellas, you always want to be up there, but you have to be realistic, and based on my training and not having done more roadbooks since then, I would have settled for a third place before starting."
Scoring for the European Championship, the three fastest riders were Jagu Julien, Eduardo Iglesias, and Matthew Gird, while for the Spanish Championship, it was Joan Pedrero, Guillem Martínez, and Mario Lahoz who secured the first, second, and third positions, respectively. In the Enduro category, Guillem Martinez topped the podium accompanied by Eduardo Iglesias and Miguel Gutierrez. In the Trail category, Joan Pedrero, Mario Lahoz, and Brian Gómez took the top positions in the classification, and in the Maxitrail category, these were occupied by Alberto Yañez, Javier Solá, and Süleyman Aydin.
Adventure Galicia concludes the second edition of the Rally de A Estrada, which featured up to seven days of competition. Outstanding organization and meticulously crafted roadbooks remain the hallmarks of this race. An international event that, for a week, turns the town of A Estrada into the capital of Rally Raid.
All classifications: [link to classifications]
Source: Pablo Pillado. Photos: Ingine Creators.
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