Adrien Van Beveren: "I was in the hunt every day of the second week"

Dakar 2026 | Stage 13 | YANBU > YANBU
January 17 ^th 2026 - 12:44 [GMT + 3]

Adrien Van Beveren finished his eleventh Dakar in fifth place. The Frenchman recaps the last two weeks with clear eyes and promises to come back for more next year.

"They often say that just finishing a Dakar is a victory in itself, and I want to take heart from that, but I also feel like I could've used a third week! I had a tough first week, struggling a bit to find my rhythm and dealing with all sorts of drama: a crash, a coil of wire getting caught in my wheel… It was a hyper-eventful opening week. The second week started much better; the stages were really solid, we bagged a win and I was in the hunt every day. That's what I am going to take away from this to come back in 2027. I think I took a bit of a knock to my confidence in Portugal. Getting your mojo back after a crash like that takes time, and I think that process was just what I needed."