2024-01-15 18:59:16
Drama on the Dakar 2024. Spanish biker Carles Falcon, who was in “serious condition” after a fall on the 2nd stage of the race on January 7 between Al-Henakiyah and Al-Duwadimi, has died, announced Monday his team TwinTrail Racing Team.
“Monday January 15, Carles left us. The medical team confirmed that the neurological damage caused by the cardio-respiratory arrest during the accident is irreversible,” the team wrote in a press release.
Sunday January 7, Carles Falcon fell heavily at km 448 in the special stage of the 2nd stage between Al-Henakiyah and Al-Duwadimi. He was airlifted to the nearest hospital in Al-Duwadimi before being rushed to Riyadh hospital. The motorcyclist was repatriated a few days later, with the agreement of doctors and family, to Spain. He suffered in particular from a fracture of the C2 vertebra and cerebral edema, according to Twintrail communications manager Carla Prat.
“Despite all the efforts of the doctors, the driver succumbed to his injuries (…) To his family, to his loved ones, the organization and the competitors of the Dakar present their most sincere condolences”, indicated Monday evening Amaury Sport Organization (ASO ) in a press release.
Since 1979, 28 competitors, including 23 bikers, have died
Since the first edition of the Dakar in 1979, 28 competitors, including 23 bikers, have died during or following the rally-raid, according to an AFP count, a figure testifying to the dangerousness of this category, where drivers sometimes reach speeds dizzying.
“A lot of sadness. We organize this event so that it is a party. But we know that it is a risky sport, all the competitors know it. When that happens it’s always a painful moment,” David Castera, the boss of the Dakar, reacted to AFP, who will pay tribute to the biker on Monday during the briefing in front of the competitors.
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Originally from Tarragona in Catalonia, Carles Falcon was a trained engineer and motorcycle instructor. A great sportsman, he practiced trail running and participated in his second Dakar, after a 68th place in 2022. “Carles was a smiling person, always active, who passionately loved everything he did, especially motorcycles. He left us realizing what was his dream: racing the Dakar,” declared his TwinTrail team.
He was entered in the “Original by Motul” category, without mechanical assistance, with bib number 135. At the Dakar bivouac in Hail, Saudi Arabia, bikers expressed their sadness at the news of the death of their colleague. “This sport scares you every year and we really realize it when it affects someone close to us. We are all dismayed, we think hard of the whole family and their team,” Spanish biker Javi Garcia told AFP.
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