The work of Joan Pedrero

He’s about to turn 45, but he’s enjoying himself like a kid. Joan Pedrero (02/27/1978 in Canet de Mar) once again rode with the best. He finished 20th last year. this year is 23rd overall, just 8 minutes from the same Top-20. This could look like another great Dakar on his record. But this one borders on excellence. The success of this course is higher: he drives without assistance.

He is considered an Elite pilot because of his quality, experience and results of the past years. (15th in 2021, 16th in 2020, 11th in 2018), featuring his three Top-10 motorcycles (10th in 2010 and 5th in 2011 and 2013). He can repeat his deeds in the same way. The motorcycles and equipment they wanted would have been left behind. But Joan didn’t like that. To celebrate his 15th anniversary in the toughest race in the world, he wants to do something different: he competes because he wants to be under the same conditions as the riders in the Original by Motul category, the cleanest class, where the rider is not. have mechanical assistance from a team throughout the Dakar.

These ‘heroes’ They have to fix their bikes with their hands after a long special many hours that give gas on a very difficult stage, full of traps, and have to face the rain and cold. And when they finish getting their hands dirty, they have to sleep in a tent. What for some is a punishment, for Pedrero is a blessing. He got down in the mud and was having fun.

Fix the bike and sleep in a tent

As he is considered by the organization to be an ‘Elite’ pilot, Joan cannot be registered in the Original by Motul classification as this is not an adventure designed for professionals. But Joan didn’t care: “People already know I’m in the Original and I’m there at the front”, Joan said that when she received a surprise visit from the MD in the special area where Original riders fix their bikes using the toolboxes that the organization leaves in front of their bikes, she didn’t know what position he. He does not care. The only thing about him is smiling while driving.

“They always send me the result through WhatsApp, but I don’t care. If I have sun, I give it gas. If I don’t have it, I go down a little. And I can go faster, but I’m trying to take care of the mechanics. I’m going at 80%, thinking a lot about the bike, not crashing and not damaging it because right now we’re like teammates and we both have to be in good condition”.

“I was surprised. I was there, competing with all the elite riders, and while they were all resting, I was here fixing the bike. I had at least two hours of work after each stage, two hours you rest and I also sleep in the tent, on the floor. It reduces all that. But I’m happy, I have no pressure, I’m doing what I want and I feel very comfortable in this category”, said the Canet de Mar rider to MD in the bivouac.

“I’m enjoying it more than ever”

“I’m enjoying myself more than ever”he exclaimed. “Even more than my first Dakar. The first one was special, but you are very nervous and you have a lot of pressure. You go home and tell everyone: ‘I enjoyed’. But not like that, because you don’t know that’s what I feel now. It’s really enjoying a Dakar. For me it’s not a category, but a team, and that’s very important. You enjoy all the riders, they all work together and have a great camaraderie”, he adds. And this is Joan, besides looking for the good of her motorcycle, having a good time with the ‘Original’ family, 16 riders with whom she talks and laughs while they all work on their machines, one next to the other. . , and to whom he also helps with his knowledge to solve problems. He has found a family among them.

Joan tops the Original for about 3 1/2 hours in total. And every day that margin increases. Understandably they won’t let him fall into that classification. He is 45 years old, but with his usual speed, and above all, cunning and intuition behind his motorcycle that allows him to save the mechanics to the maximum while being fast and navigating without mistakes. This means he arrived at the camp before his current ‘family’ in Dakar.

The ritual of each day

There, his new ritual begins. He didn’t shower, ate and went to the caravan. That’s what he did as an official pilot. Now things change: “When I arrived I already had a routine. I arrive at the bivouac, remove the oil cap. I will eat while the oil runs out, and after eating I will come back. That’s how I earn a little. And then I’ll start fixing the rest.”, point. All this means that when many of her colleagues still have work ahead of her, Joan is already sleeping. When we interviewed him, on stage 9, he finished just 13 minutes behind the best rider of the day in the general classification despite living through a more difficult Dakar. And he planned to go to the store to sleep at 8:00 pm It was too much.

“This year, going without help makes the Dakar difficult. But for me, going to another Dakar and finishing 20th or 15th has not brought me anything new”. He wanted to discover another Dakar and his curiosity led him to discover a mysterious part of the race. He still doesn’t know if this will be his last chance at the toughest event in the world. What he does know is that no matter what happens, he will never forget this experience.