Brabec, second in the eighth stage, with Benavides just 22 seconds behind the leader. Epic Barreda

Yesterday I had a fall while pushing hard, where I had managed to make up quite a few minutes. I damaged my knee and it was looking unlikely that I would make the start line for today’s stage. I thought that I might not be able to participate today. The doctors bandaged me up and today I had the job of opening the track from the start of the special. Over the first kilometres there was a part of dunes with vegetation and I suffered a little - it hurt me a lot. Then the other riders arrived and we were able to finish the day without further problems. Now we need to see how the knee holds up, but without a doubt, the cancellation of the stage tomorrow will be a great help. Let's move on. We still have options with the desert stages and we will try to get the best out of our possibilities in this race.

I am satisfied with my Dakar, which unfortunately ended yesterday. I showed that I had good pace and speed and that I could be up among the leading group. However, the navigation instruments put me out of the race. Already in the dunes of Peru I had problems with the speedo-cap and the GPS and yesterday, again, it stopped working and left me without reference points. I tried to follow the rider in front, but on the hard-shoulder of the road I hit a rock and broke the front wheel. After a year of good preparation, my Dakar ended there. A pity, but we will follow the team and cheer them on to win this Dakar.

We have finished this second part of the marathon, in which we weren’t allowed to receive any assistance. The type of stage today was very similar to the races we have in California and I felt very comfortable, much more than yesterday, which was horrible for me, because I'm not a rider who likes mud. Today there were fast tracks and off-piste. The end of the special was good, battling with Antoine Méo. We will continue fighting over the next five days. Every year of the three in which I’ve taken part in the Dakar, stages have been cancelled, which is nothing new. If it's for our safety, that’s good.

It's been a good day. I started third and within a few kilometres I found myself opening the track with Adrien [Van Beveren], so we practically rode together all day. We were joined by Toby Price and Joan Barreda, who had gotten lost and found us. We finished in a pack. I was holding back a bit, knowing that I could not make much of a difference. I'm happy about that. Tomorrow we ride to Salta, my hometown; I really want to see my people, my family and recharge my batteries.

We finished the marathon with very good feelings after Joan was able to arrive and we have verified that he should certainly be able to continue in the race. We are happy that he made it to Tupiza today. I want to congratulate Ricky Brabec for his second place in today's stage. Kevin rode a very good race, moving in on the top overall position but conserving energy for the coming stages, which will be in Argentina. Nacho Cornejo finished this marathon stage very well, helping the team. I'm happy with how the team has behaved until today, and hope we stay focused on the job day by day.