Brabec arrives at the rest day overall leader

Today we had the stage with the mass start. I think it was not the right day to do it as there was a lot of dust, a lot of stones which made it very dangerous. At first we were all quite calm, keeping the distance by the dust until the kilometre 155 where Paulo fell. I stopped and stayed until the helicopter arrived. Then I continued calmly because there was not much dust as many of the riders had passed me. By the time we got to the area of sand and dunes I was able to push a bit harder but I didn’t know who had made up time on me. Now we are waiting to get the time back but I am happy with my pace. I wish a quick recovery to Paulo and now it's time to recharge our batteries for the five tough stages that we have left.

Today was the second stage of the marathon. Yesterday went really well. I was really mad. I had to push really hard to make up for lost time so I had to really go for it. Today was more complicated because with a mass line start you can’t really make up time – you can lose it but you can’t make it back. Now we have a rest day so we relax a bit and prepare for the final stages.

It's been a good first week for me. I think I’ve done pretty well. The first days I took more calmly but now I have started pushing more. Today I started out on the beach in the first group and until the kilometre 200 I was opening the way so I did not have to eat much dust. Then I sat back to get an advantageous start of the Sunday stage. Now it's time to think about the strategy for what remains of the Dakar and rest and recharge the batteries.

Complicated stage today with a line start on the second leg of the marathon, where unfortunately Paulo suffered an accident and hurt his hand. I want to personally thank the sporting gesture of Sam Sunderland who stopped to assist our rider. Fortunately, Paulo is out of danger. It has been a very good stage of Ricky, Kevin and Nacho, who controlled very well and are in good positions. From here, tomorrow we get to enjoy a rest period that will be good for us to prepare and be able to face the second part of this Dakar with a high level of motivation.