Helder Rodriguez won the opening stage of the Desafio Ruta 40 on Tuesday.
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As the sun rose in Argentina, the Desafio Ruta finally got underway on Tuesday.
It wasn’t all plain sailing though, the start was delayed by an hour as the adverse weather conditions that had wiped out the opening day continued to affect the opening stage.
Competitors will have been relieved to begin the 346 kilometre stage from Tucuman to Catamarca.
Team HRC rider Helder Rodriguez wasn’t distracted by the delays.
Rodriguez produced a peerless performance to complete the stage with no significant mistakes and take the win in a time of four hours 59 minutes and 49 seconds.
#3 Helder Rodriguez“Today I am happy. I am finished today and win. Today is a long day with a special, very technical, a lot of corners all the time, all the time, and for me nice. I win the first day. I am happy with the bike perfect, today amazing in these corners and finish the day, for me very, very happy.”
15 time Dakar rally entrant Nani Roma made an impressive start on four wheels, while Orlando Terranova and Victor Matromatteo were also strong.
Wednesday’s third stage will see entrants race 466 kilometres from Catamarca to Belen, the longest stage of the race.
