Paul Carruthers | January 19, 2003
Frenchman Richard Sainct claimed the third Dakar Rally victory of his career today. Sainct took victory by over seven minutes over fellow Frenchman Cyril Despres, with defending race champion Fabrizio Meoni finishing some 30 minutes behind in third place.
Despite finishing second Despres was never really a factor as this Dakar Rally was really between Sainct and Meoni. Still, Despres took the runnerup spot despite breaking his collarbone just four weeks prior to the start of the rally.
Meoni had transmission problems as he tried to win the final stage today, his KTM stuck in third gear on the high-speed run to the finish.
Paul Carruthers | Editor
Paul Carruthers took over as the editor of Cycle News in 1993 after serving as associate editor since starting his career at the publication in 1985. Carruthers has covered every facet of the sport in his near-28-year tenure at America's Daily Motorcycle News Source.
