N° 023 - TEAM SCANDINAVIA
- BERGLUND
- Thomas
- SWE
- 29/09/1969
- 186 cm
- 75 kg
|
| |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
|
| Scratch |
22
|
15
|
13
|
13
|
18
|
13
|
8
|
12
|
12
|
39
|
19
|
16
|
23
|
15
|
| Stage |
22
|
15
|
12
|
13
|
18
|
13
|
6
|
12
|
11
|
38
|
19
|
16
|
23
|
15
|
-
|
| Overall |
22
|
20
|
14
|
13
|
14
|
12
|
10
|
9
|
9
|
11
|
11
|
11
|
11
|
12
|
-
|
« Finishing in the top 10 is still the goal»
«I gave myself three Dakars to finish in the top 10 », Thomas Berglund frankly admitted before attacking the first South American edition of the rally. This pillar of a family of two-wheel enthusiasts (Mrs. Berglund rides a 125 KTM and his eight year old daughter already has a mini bike), was a solid enduro competitor before his Dakar debut in 2007 when he had very limited experience in African rally-raids. His inexperience didn’t get in the way of a 19th place finish overall, while he clearly found areas where he could improve in the future. “Navigation seems to me to be very difficult and there is still room for improvement for me in this area, but I don’t have the resources to do more rally-raids during the year”, says Berglund.
While the adventure ended early with a crash on stage 10 last year, the Swedish military officer hasn’t revised his objectives. His third Dakar attempt could be the one that sees him join the motorcycle category elite. “In 2009, I fell out of the race while running around 15th place, which corresponded to my game plan. I took a silly fall, while riding in the dust of two other riders and I preferred to retire because I injured my neck. As it turned out it wasn’t very serious, but I didn’t want to take any chances. In any case, finishing in the top ten is still my goal this year.” To mix it up with the best, Thomas Berglund will have to improve his road book reading skills. He will use the first days of the rally to get settled in and then take it to the next level.
Dakar start photos on line: www.maindruphoto.com