Benavides wins at home, but Matthias Walkner wins the first Dakar for Austria and the 17th in a row for KTM

And with the 14th stage the Dakar 2018. The route between Córdoba and Córdoba has been short but very intense. Today the run was short with only 166 kilometers of connection and 120 km of timed special in which, as a major novelty, the pilots started in an inverted way. Contrary to the rest of the days, the fastest yesterday came out last today.

So we had to wait until the end of the day to be able to award the crown to Matthias walkner and it is that he has been the only one that has not made mistakes throughout this unpredictable 2018 and manages to become the first Austrian winner of the Dakar, in addition to offering KTM its 17th consecutive victory!

Matthias Walkner, the man who makes no mistakes

Today has been a very fast stage. Although many have come out to ensure the arrival at the finish line, the leaders have come out to win as usual, but above all they have stood out Kevin Benavides that finally manages to win in his land. The Argentine has broken all the sets and has not given any option.

Toby Price He was the second classified of the day, finishing the day just under a minute from Benavides and marking him very closely at all times. Finally, the Australian finished 54 seconds behind and managed to regain his form after spending almost all of 2017 in white due to his broken femur in the previous Dakar. Be careful with him in 2019, because if this year he finished in third place, he will surely want to revalidate the 2016 title.

The third square has fallen on the side of Antoine meo. The French rider and Enduro World Champion is one of the safe bets for the next editions. The Frenchman has added two stage victories in this edition and has shown that KTM was not wrong with his signing for the factory team, as he finished in fourth place overall.

Fantastic fourth place Daniel Oliveras, the same as Oriol Mena's sixth, Gerard Farrér's seventh, Joan Pedrero's tenth, Laia Sanz's eleventh (twelfth overall and winner among females) and Marc Sola's twelfth in a stage in which everyone had a great time.

But the one who takes all the laurels can only be one, and that is the Matthias walkner. The Austrian has enjoyed it very strongly at this stage and has taken it with all the calm in the world. The half-hour mattress with which he faced the last day has allowed him to enjoy every kilometer without risking anything and finishing the day in a relaxed eighth position.

Walkner finished today in eighth position, leaving 5 minutes and 38 seconds on the road, but despite the poor result he is crowned as just deserving of his first victory in the Dakar and the first championship title for Austria. Second place last year was a warning, and while he is still not that kind of explosive driver, he is a tenacious and cold pilot who does not make mistakes. And consistency in a competition like the Dakar is what gives you the titles.