Dakar Blog - Day 5

Stage Report - Day 5 - 9th January 2020

Start Location: Al Ula
Finish Location: Ha'il
Stage Length: 353km SS (timed), 210km liaison, 563km total.
Stage Finish Position: 111th
General Classification Position: 109th

Competitors started the day in freezing temperatures with 130km of mixed terrain, before a refuel and then 220km of sand and difficult navigation. 

“It was so cold this morning, which sounds ridiculous for Saudi Arabia but I just couldn’t get warm, I had so many layers on! The first part of the special was okay, my hands and back were sore from the day before so just took it easy. The rest of the stage was all sand and you couldn’t be lazy with your technique so it was really hard work. There were huge drop-offs and patches of rock-hard camel grass everywhere.”

“I took it steady as always, just ticking off the kilometres. They seemed to take an eternity to pass though! I made it to the end of the stage in daylight for the first time since day 2, which was good. I have a feeling I’ll be out in the dark again tomorrow though as the special is 477km long with dunes throughout and long liaisons to start and finish the day. Wish me luck..”

Tomorrow's stage 6 goes from Ha'il to Riyadh, with a 478km SS and a total distance of 830km. It will be the final day of racing before the rest day in Riyadh.

Thanks for reading, more from us tomorrow!

Team #SHdakar2020