Sam Sunderland: “I’m really happy to start this Dakar”

Dakar 2024 | Prologue | ALULA > ALULA
January 5 ^th 2024 - 16:31 [GMT + 3]

After injuring himself last year at the very start of the rally, super Sam Sunderland negotiated the first few kilometres of the 2024 edition rather nicely. With sixth place on the prologue, the British rider has stood himself in good stead the day before stage 1, which is set to be very difficult.

“It was pretty intense for just 27 kilometres, but it was a nice stage to start off with. The prologue is always a mix between trying to navigate but also trying to go as fast as possible and it’s always a fine balance. There were a couple of tricky notes in there, to be honest, that weren’t really clear and the tracks veering off all over the shop. You had to keep your eye on the roadbook, but I’m really happy to start this Dakar. I think we’ve got a lot of rough days in front of us and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it. For sure, tomorrow is going to be probably one of the most difficult stages, straight on the first day, so we’ll have to take care and stay focused, but it’s the same for all of us out there. We’ll do our best. Last year was not the best one for me, but the year before I won, so it’s the ups and downs of being a rider and hopefully this year we can recuperate after last year”.