- Nordic pilot Axel Alletru wins the Dakar in his category.
- It was his first participation in the legendary rally-raid.
- An achievement for this accomplished sportsman, who became paraplegic at 20.
Axel Allétru dropped his buggy. The speaker returned to Lille early this Sunday. "Tired" of his first Dakar, finished in seventh place overall. And almost "surprised" to have won the standard category (limited to 120 km / h). A new feat for the pilot, born competitor, passed by BMX and motocross. He also became a multiple French disabled swimming champion after an accident that made him paraplegic almost ten years ago, when he was only 20 years old. He returns with 20 Minutes to this new feat.
Bravo to Simon Vitse! 🏅🔥
Bravo to Hervé Diers and Alain Brousse! 💪🏻🏅
Bravo to Cédric and Dominique, finish with a smile! 🙏🏻🏅
Bravo to Hugues and Croquette, the stars of @dakar! 😆🏅 @ TalentDigital2 # jepeux2020 # dakar2020 #depassement #resilience #inspiration #tousensemble pic.twitter.com/5OAkv3uCpV
Axel, how are you?
I'm tired… There were a lot of constraints on the Dakar: we are cut off from the world for twenty days, we eat poorly, very little, we sleep poorly at the bivouac, with mechanical noises all night long, and we're cold ...
Was it worth it, right, with this unexpected title?
Being at the finish would have already been a victory, so doing this performance against official drivers ... We can speak of a feat. Already, for a valid, it's good to finish, then for a disabled, it's extraordinary performance. When you're in the rally, you don't think about it too much. In the car, we are like the others and we forget, even if there are some constraints…
And you were at a disadvantage ...
In standard, we cannot exceed 120 km / h while in official it is 130 km / h. On the 8,000 kilometers of a rolling Dakar, that's a lot. There is a little frustration because we could have played the podium [general SSV, with an official vehicle], but it's already beautiful! We had a team (# jepeux2020) with limited means.
Did you surprise yourself?
When I left, I never thought I would achieve that. I did 8,000 km, puncturing only twice and not breaking anything, showing intelligence and maturity. I thought I was a good driver but I hadn't had a chance to prove it to others. It is a victory and a new challenge successful. I don't care about being a star, but if my story makes one person want to fight, to believe in it, that's fine with me.
And that also encourages you to persevere ...
The goal was to sacrifice a lot to get noticed. If two or three partners join us, we could go for the victory [in general]. I have the capacity. There is for example the Redbull team which trains young people in SSV to go by car. I hope there will be opportunities ... The goal is to shine above!
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