They all knew the rule: on a 9,000km course, any momentary loss of concentration can ruin a competitor’s chance of victory. This wasn’t the case with Cyril Despres, who made the most of a time compensation given to a number of unlucky riders who lost precious minutes in this nasty mud hole between Copiapo and Antofagasta in Chile. But in this episode, the Frenchman lost the lead in the general classification and was 1:26s behind rival Marc Coma. The duo continued their royal battle just until the day before the finish when the Spaniard was slowed by gearbox problems. In Lima, Despres clinched his four Dakar title.

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