It was almost a year ago that Kevin Benavides celebrated his first overall victory in the Dakar. In a few weeks, he faces the Saudi Arabia race again, defending the 2023 title after a very complicated season.
The Argentine from Red Bull KTM suffered two complicated injuries and admitted in a statement that he does not have the ideal competitive pace despite the recovery and preparation work: ‘The Dakar means everything to me. This year was special because I won with KTM and had the honor of fighting until the end with my teammate [Toby Price]. The rest of this year was very complicated. I was full of confidence after my Dakar victory, but then I fractured my femur at the beginning of the season, followed by my wrist later, which meant I didn’t have much time to compete on the bike. Behind the scenes, I was training as hard as I could to rebuild my physical fitness and mental strength, but it was certainly a tough year‘.
Benavides aims to be in the fight for victory until the end of the Dakar: ‘Now, going into a new year and a new Dakar, I really want to put 2023 behind me and fight for victory again. I know I have what it takes, we just need to get through without any setbacks and we should be well in the fight at the end of the race. We are only a few weeks away from starting and I can’t wait‘.
