Not an easy decision, but one that ultimately had to be made - Tiziano Internò has retired from the 2023 Dakar following stage four. After suffering a bad accident during the first special, the Fantic rider did his best to continue after sitting out stages two and three, but the pain and the realization that he wouldn't be able to carry on without taking excessive risks has led the rider/YouTuber to throw in the towel, at least for this year.
The conditions of the terrain, wet after heavy rain during the previous day and ruined by the passing of bikes and trucks, didn’t help but he has made the right decision, retiring at the 200 km neutralization point rather than risk a worse outcome.
Internò: “Dakar takes it all from you if even one detail goes in the wrong direction”
“I tried, I began stage four, but it was one of the toughest challenges ever considering that the surface, with the wet sand, didn’t exactly help by physical condition”, admits Tiziano. “I set out with Alex Salvini, but a few kilometres in I realised I didn’t have strength in my arms. I rode sitting down, feeling every pothole and crashing thirty times, getting stuck in the grooves left by cars and trucks”.
“The positive side is that I enjoyed the stunning scenery, but once I got to the 200 km neutralisation together with Mike Wiedemann, with whom I also shared fuel, I decided to stop”, continues Internò. “This race is complicated - it gives you the impossible but it also takes it all away if even one detail goes in the wrong direction. I’m sorry and I wanted to try, but I promise I’ll be back in 2024, more focused, with the singular goal of reaching the overall podium”.