“Reaching the rest day and winning a special, it’s unbelievable. I am very lucky. I have been day-dreaming since last December. It is a bit like a Christmas present that I would receive everyday. This morning, I punctured and had to repair alone in the desert. Then, I caught up Cyril whose navigation has been incredible until the finish. We rode together, and at the end, I win my first stage on the Dakar. When I was a kid, I was dreaming it could happen to me, and today my dream comes true. Even if I belong to an official team, I still consider myself as an amateur. I visit the riders at the “malle moto” every day to share my dream with those who struggle every day to get to the stage arrival, exactly as I used to not so long ago. But today, what a pleasure!”

« I fell on stones 20 kilometres before the start of the special, and I broke my road-book. And then, it has been very stressing until the end of the stage. It had to strictly follow the track otherwise I would have surely got lost. I throttled as much as I could to catch up Marc Coma, what I managed to do at the refuelling at kilometre 175. It has been a big relief. Now, I am 6’ adrift Coma at the overall. At half the way to Dakar, everything is OK and we have a great fight. I would really like to underline Cyril’s performance. It is an exploit that he knew he had to make for the team before the rest day. And he did it. So, congratulation!

« My stomach was painful at the beginning of the stage, I had to stop at km 60 because of that. Then I rode at my own pace and I did my own navigation. When I headed to way point just before CP2, I noticed that Cyril (Despres) was turning around, he seemed to get lost. I didn’t change my direction and I clocked the second best time at CP2 and nothing changed until the end of the stage. I had great fun to ride in dunes today but I’m also glad to have a rest tomorrow. This is a good opportunity to get out of the stress and to be back in the race with ambition. My goal remains to reach Dakar in a better position as the one I had last year at the overall standing (9th). »

« Frankly, I am relieved to be here. To honest, this morning, I was on the verge of giving up. My shoulder still hurts but, above all, I have been suffering from a very painful wrist tendonitis since Morocco. It’s getting worse and worse everyday. The only reason I took the start this morning is as a tribute to Fabrizio (Meoni) who died on this stage last year. It was my only motivation. In the first kilometres, I rode very safely and a load of riders overtook me. When I arrived at CP1, I realised that there were about twenty riders ahead. So, I pushed myself to go further. Then, at kilometre 250, the guys in front of the race made a navigation mistake. I seized this opportunity to catch up some of them just before negotiating the first dunes. At this moment, I was not suffering that much so I got on the gas. But I fell. I lifted the bike up using mental strength and continued slower. At kilometre 287, we had to find a hidden waypoint. I thought it was on the left. Then I saw De Gavardo, who had started twenty minutes before me, coming back from the right side. It confirmed my first idea and so I headed that way. When I arrived at the waypoint, I saw that there was no other track. I continued without attacking too much and at CP2, there were only three riders left ahead. It cheered me up and as soon as we got off the dunes, I attacked as much as I could until the arrival. It is the first time I suffered that much on the bike. The pain completely exhausted me, both physically and psychologically. I don’t exactly how I feel and how I managed to reach Nouakchott. Now, I am looking forward to seing Doctor Olivier Dufour. Actually, the rest day arrives right on time for me. Even if I suffered a lot, my opponents lost about 15 minutes on me today as a proof that anything can still happen. It is a ray of hope.

“The 150 first kilometres were very complicated. There were many mountains and then the desert. Then, surely because of too much confidence, we made a huge navigation mistake and lost more than ten minutes looking for the good way. Then, everything went on well normally. But first of all I would like to congratulate Cyril for what he has been doing since he fell.”