Out of the 160 riders, he started in 85th position. By the end of stage 2 he had climbed up to 50th. Stages 4 and 5 saw him jump up the order, while he fell multiple times injuring his left shoulder and getting a bleeding nose. 15 kilometers into Stage 6, he had a bad fall while overtaking and got a fracture on the big toe of his left foot. What does he do about that? Three injections, tight taping, and an unbelievable 64th position at the end of the 318 km stretch. And the story doesn’t end there. Through the 784 kms long treacherous stage 8, which required him to service/repair his bike without any support, he recorded his best finish yet, ending in 32nd position after starting from 65th. In the following stages he would have to jump start his bike, nearly get swept away by a freak river, injure his right shoulder, and spend 30 minutes draining the air box and changing the filter. Once he made it to the destination, he had no energy left, even to get off the bike. Shivering and unable to speak, he was warmed up with a good shower and some traditional Bolivian clothes.
Dear Rediff Team, Let me introduce CS Santosh if in case u haven't "Heard" of him. The 31 year old, 6 foot, 72 kg lad from Karnataka has been the lone wolf in the Indian adventure biking scene since the last 10 years. He started participating in international events from 2010, winning India’s toughest rally, the Raid De Himalaya. He then went on to bag 9th position in the World Cross Country Championship. Riding a number 59 KTM 450 rally bike and supported by Red Bull, CS Santosh became the first Indian to participate in the history of Dakar, which is going on as you read this, through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia on a looping 9,000 km route, ending January 17 2015. I believe CS Santhosh deserves a little more respect here.All you have to do is remember that while you drool over Kohli’s advertisements or mourn Dhoni’s retirement or celebrate Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or, there’s somebody out there representing India, doing something that’s never been done before, without getting much support from the media or sponsors.
Re: Have you forgot CS Santosh
by madmax on Jan 21, 2015 05:50 AM
Rediff needs to do a research abt my best friend CS Santosh...4m Banglore. Fcku Rediff..
