bike 132 - The miracle on sand
Nine years ago, Joey Evans was facing a lifetime in a wheelchair after a terrible accident left him with two broken vertebrae. The South African worked hard to get back on a motorcycle and make his dream of riding the Dakar come true. He has already made it halfway through the race.
Alexandre Kowalski was waiting for Joey Evans at the bivouac in La Paz. The boss of the official Yamaha team wanted to show the South African a message of encouragement sent by phone by their mutual friend Dave Griffin, one of the biggest KTM dealers in the world and a sponsor of the miracle lad. Nine years ago, Evans was left paralysed by a motorcycle accident before miraculously regaining the use of his legs after several months in convalescence. The iron will of the South African rider, who has already made it halfway through the race, is worthy of admiration. "So far, so good", he says."My only problem is knee pain as a result of my fall in stage 3. I hurt my external ligaments, but the doctors patched me up and I can deal with the pain. I'll make the most of the rest day to catch a breather and tuck into a nice meal to regain some strength." Joey may be gritting his teeth, but he is also enjoying every minute. "The specials are nice and interesting", he says. "The fourth one was very difficult, one of those which are so hard that when you make it to the finish you're really proud of yourself." Just like the rest of the field, the KTM rider enjoyed the arrival to La Paz. "There were fans lining the road for almost 50 kilometres, I caught it all on my Go Pro. It's awesome to be here."
Topic: From "Para" to Dakar. (Read 40492 times)
