Each day is a victory…

Dakar 2020 | Stage 2 | Al Wajh > Neom
January 6 ^th 2020 - 08:32 [GMT + 3]

For his first Dakar, Eric Martinez is tackling it with humility and determination. The genuine difficulties he has encountered from the very beginning of the rally are just part and parcel of the race.

 Eric Martinez, with his imposing silhouette, is feeling the affects of the day in the area designated for the “Original by Motul” category, whilst most of his fellow bikers have already reached the bivouac. For his first stage on the Dakar, he experienced a tough initiation. The snags on his overalls give an idea of how difficult his day was, but he is refusing to let it get him down: “I fell several times, twice where I could have hurt myself, but I managed to get through it okay. There were some rocky sections on which it was almost like trial riding, for several dozen kilometres, meaning you have to be standing on the footrests to keep your balance. After a while you start to get cramp, which makes you less clear-headed and you end up making mistakes”. Despite the difficulties and his 137th place in the general standings, the former army officer prefers to see his demanding first day as a source of genuine encouragement: “It was a testing day for me, because it was long and hard. David Castera had told us that it would include all the types of difficulty that we could encounter on the Dakar. So, completing it isn’t too bad at all and it’s already a minor victory. Now, the main thing will be keeping on top of tiredness and getting enough sleep”. To stay the course and reach Qiddiya at the end of the 13th stage, Eric’s strategy involves, “riding with safety rather than performance on my mind,” hoping that there are not as many rocky zones in the forthcoming stages!