Barreda: “You have to live with the pain. Anything can happen.”

Joan Barreda isn’t about to throw in the towel. This Tuesday, he had to face day one after breaking his left big toe. It wasn’t easy. He asked his friend and caravan partner, Pablo Quintanilla, for a larger boot so he could bandage him. But the first few kilometers were hard to adapt to, and I struggled every time I went up on that leg. He had to put his foot slightly forward to shift on the instep more than on the toes. It cost him some time, but he was optimistic that he finished fifth, 11 minutes behind stage winner Saunders and 10 inches 37 behind the Australian overall. Joan was likable after a few days on a route that didn’t give him the confidence he needed to open the throttle more than anyone else. Joan wants to keep fighting… give up whatever.

gear shift

“From the first moment it was very difficult to put into gear. It was difficult to put into gear and there were a couple of kilometers where I had to let the gas out in order to put it in gear. It was more difficult and , that’s where I suffered the most, if I have a section using the same gear like this, I’m on my feet and I’m doing very well, but the question is when should I change .”

pain

“We tried to put up with the pain and I’m happy because it didn’t hit my finger and it didn’t add to the pain, but it was pretty much the same all day. It was pretty good.”

didn’t waste a lot of time

“We have options and tomorrow will be an important stage with sand. I was able to push and I was able to maintain a good race pace in the second half.Tomorrow (this Wednesday, stage 4) let’s see if we can have a bit of a mentality to pull with a stronger pace from the start.Balance where you have to find the .

foot infiltration

“It’s not an easy target to invade. There are hours of stages, so no matter how much you infiltrate, there’s nothing you can endure for hours and get rid of the pain, so you have to endure the pain. You have to endure it. You have to accept it, get used to it and compensate in some way.The most painful thing is when you replace it with a tip.I put my foot forward and try to put the whole foot in.Hopefully the pain is a little better and I’ll be able to go more these days.”

Possibility to conquer Dakar and the dunes with a few changes

“I don’t know what to say to you. It depends on the dunes. It’s not my field, so I have a more protective mindset than attacking. Tomorrow we have another few kilometers and anything can happen.We had a good start so we have to stay positive.At the end of the day we were able to continue the race and be in a very good position. I was very happy to receive it.

bandage

“Yesterday we were doing a test with bandages on, the same with ID types and card types. I assembled the boots that Quintanilla gave me. Pablo Quintanilla is one size larger than me, so I can keep the bandages on this way.

Abandonment of BRABEC

“It’s a shame that Ricky is gone. He’s been a very strong guy this year and he’s been very strong this year. For Honda, especially in a long race like this year, it helps us a lot. It’s a shame because it’s a bike I’m not sure about.”