story of luciano benavides This is another example of the improvements they have made. dakar Something much bigger than just a sports competition. The spirit surrounding the world’s toughest rally can be seen in examples like the Argentine KTM rider who, despite breaking his cross two and a half months ago, has established himself as the new leader of the motorcycling world, despite having no one to rely on.

Luciano, younger brother of two-time Dakar champion Kevin Benavidez, at the Morocco rallyHe suffered a fall so severe that he was forced to undergo surgery to repair damage sustained to his knee.. But that meant missing out on a new adventure in Saudi Arabia. The Argentine had no intention of not competing in the world’s toughest rally and did not undergo surgery to achieve his goal. And now, having won three of the last four stages and become the new leader of the competition, I am dreaming big.

“For me, this Dakar started two months ago when I crashed, two and a half months ago when I crashed in Morocco. I broke my shoulder and broke my knee. My knee is also badly fractured. In fact, I’m pretty sure I need surgery. I think it’s already my turn after the Dakar. But well, after that fall it was almost difficult to get here. For me, the Dakar started that day, it started with recovery, and I did everything I could every day to maximize my recovery. And I also convinced myself that I had to just focus on myself, my body, and what I could do. So it was unbelievable,” he explained to the media upon arriving at camp.

“Yes, yes, I’m worried about my knees. My shoulders are also tired.”. I have suffered so much physically, but I knew I was going to suffer, which makes it even more special. I bent my knee again today, and it may have swollen a little again.. But hey, he’s holding his ground, so there’s no going back from here until the end. “We came into today doing what we could. We just have to keep moving forward and do our best every day.”

Questions are required. How do you endure all the pain that an injury suggests? This is where the mental effort required to participate in the Dakar comes into play.

“This pain can be tolerated if you do a lot of mental training. I think everything is going through your head and you have prepared a lot mentally to come to this Dakar. It’s something I really want and I’ve been looking for for a long time,” he said. I think when the desire is too great, the pain takes a backseat and you put your tension elsewhere, your energy elsewhere. If I had been thinking about my knees and shoulders, I wouldn’t have been able to lead. There were a few more issues that may have caused us to be 30 minutes late.

He almost retired in the first week

Benavidez knows he’s “starting a career where I have to be smart and attack when necessary.” The Argentine knows Saunders, his biggest rival and teammate at KTM, and it is clear that beating him will not be easy. But that’s already a lot considering he almost retired in the first week. First I had a problem with the shakedown and then on stage two I had a problem with my rear tire.

“I didn’t talk about the shakedown openly, I didn’t talk about it in public, but they asked me to take a photo and I grabbed a rock and jumped. I had a bad knee and fell and a lot of blood had to be taken.. I probably damaged my meniscus to the max. And in fact, I could barely walk, I mean, I didn’t know if I would ever be able to go outside. So imagine the millions of things that happened between that moment and where I am today. ”