Dakar stage 9: Briton Richard Main injured and out of race

Published: 17 January 2019 Updated: 17 January 2019

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Richard Main is out of Dakar 2019 following a big crash early into stage nine. The 53 year old Brit sustained a broken pelvis, internal bleeding and has 18 stitches in his chin. He has now undergone surgery to stabilise the fracture and try and stop the bleeding.

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It’s a tragic end to what has been a valiant Dakar campaign. Riding the Redline KTM, Main who started number 147 quickly progressed up the leader board and was running 74^that the end of stage eight.

In what was his first attempt at Dakar, Main was in touching distance of the finish.

All at MCN would like to wish him a speedy recovery.

By Michael Guy

Sports Editor - If you’re looking for sport insight that’s got its finger firmly on the pulse and gets to the very heart of the action with the fattest contacts book in bike sport (rather than simply relying on watching TV coverage and hoovering up what other people are saying on social media) – then Michael is your, erm, ‘guy’. An integral part of MCN’s in-depth sport coverage for over twenty years, Michael has been a fixture in every major bike sport paddock, and a few minor ones, too. He has spent a significant portion of his life living in the World Superbike global travelling circus, inside the British Superbike paddocks all around the UK, as well as traipsing the corridors of power within MotoGP and regularly making the Isle of Man a working destination for the legendary TT. Not only is he the consummate racing aficionado and journalist, but he’s also appeared on numerous podcasts, has delivered live race commentary from the booth, and has competed in trials, enduro, rally and track racing to a high level (with plenty of trophies and scars to show for his efforts, too). I you want to be in the know, Michael and the MCN sport team will get you close enough to the biggest stories in racing to be able to tell if they brushed their teeth this morning.