N° 178 - TEAM DESERT ROSE
 - MACHLAB
- Ali
- ESP
- 30/03/1967
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Ali Machlab: “I want to enjoy the race and finish”
He will remember the Dakar 2007 as a nightmare. Ali Machlab does not even speak anymore about last year or about the bad luck that forced him to withdraw before ever reaching Africa. He fell during the second Portuguese “special”, due to a restless participant. His knee was injured and seeing the torn ligaments the doctors forbade him from racing in the second stage. All his dreams crumbled. Ali did not care about his knee and wanted to continue, so he signed a waiver and took full responsibility over his injury. All was ready for this rider from Bayreuth, who lives in Gran Canaria, to enter into the almost 30-year-old Dakar legend through his great will. However, another blow was waiting for him: someone stole his bike and put an end to his adventure in the Dakar. Ali does not want to talk about this intensive odyssey that only lasted some hours in Portugal. “I have completely erased that Dakar from my mind. Now, I only think about enjoying it.” And it is true that Ali deserves it. On bike, four years in a row, he gained experience in the caravan and on the parallel tracks, sleeping less than the participants, putting his physical limits to the test. Ali had analyzed every element carefully and did not want to leave anything to chance. He even participated in 2005 as co-driver to prepare himself and to gain more experience in navigation. So he felt greatly disappointed by what happened in his first participation as competitor. This year, Ali has put aside a great deal of pressure. “I just want to enjoy it. I want to finish and get this objective out of my head”. Since January he has been working hard to gain more muscle. “My muscles have recovered up to 80%. I have been training everyday and I know that I’m in good shape. I was in the top 50 of the Baja Aragón Open 2007 out of 120 riders”. With his KTM 450 his goal is to complete at least half of the 10,000 km that make up the race this year. And if he finishes he know what he is going to do: “I will buy the bike and keep it at home as a souvenir”.