Dakar Red Bull Preview 2014: Helder Rodrigues

The 2014 Dakar begins on January 5 in Rosario, Argentina and will see the competitors complete a brutal race covering 8734km over 14 days.

In the first of our Red Bull previews we look at factory Honda rider Helder Rodrigues.

For many years Rodrigues has been the best-of-the-rest after Coma and Despres. He’s finished third twice and one of those was on a Yamaha that was built in his own garage, so his pedigree is undisputed.

At 34-year-old he has a wealth of experience and can also be credited with playing a huge part in the development of the Honda CRF450, which recent results suggest is now a match for the dominant KTM.