Rider dies after Dakar Rally crash

Spanish motorcycle rider Carles Falcon has died more than a week after crashing in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, his team said yesterday. 

Falcon, 45, had been in an induced coma since he was flown to hospital in Riyadh, and then back to Spain, after falling 448km into the second stage on January 7 from Al Henakiyah to Al Duwadimi. 

Race director David Castera told reporters at the time that the rider, who was competing in the endurance event for the second time after finishing 68th in 2022, had lacked a pulse but was resuscitated by the first doctor to arrive on the scene. 

“Carles has left us. The medical team has confirmed that the neurological damage caused by the cardiorespiratory arrest at the time of the accident is irreversible,” the TwinTrail Racing team said in a statement on Instagram — SuperSport.