Laia Sanz finished in 35th place in the third stage of the Dakar 2012, her best individual performance in the race so far. The Gas Gas rider achieved a fine rhythm all through the special, moving up a total of 19 places from her 54th place at the start and overcoming the heat and the constant changes of altitude during the day. However, according to the organisation, she missed a way point - as did around twenty riders - so she was penalised by 40 minutes, which left her in 69th place in the classification of the stage and 57th place in the general.

Laia began the stage with the handicap of starting in 54th place, which meant that she was in the middle of the dust cloud raised by the best quads and she could not pass them because the track was too narrow. However, just a few kilometres after refuelling, Sanz was able to bring out all her trial know-how: "We had come to a river, a very technical and complicated place, where most of the riders in front were having problems in going on. At that point I said to myself: ‘This is mine!’, and I took advantage of trial technique to pass around twenty riders and begin to open up some distance”.

The 11 times Women’s Trial World Champion gained some vital metres which catapulted her many places ahead in the general: “Physically I feel very strong. The many water crossings in today’s stage counteracted the heat we suffered yesterday, making it all a bit more bearable”.

Marc Guasch, her backup, crossed the line in 33rd place, but he had to face the same penalty as Laia and so was demoted to 66th in the stage and 59th place in the general. The Catalan competitor said he was satisfied with their progress and spoke of tactics for the future: “We are riding very safely, keeping up a good pace which allows us to relax in the navigation, something really important on days like today, when there were a lot of falls. We have to remember that there is still a long way to go, that we are in a slow Dakar and that we must try not to use more energy than necessary if we want to meet our objectives. The penalty hit us like a douche of cold water, but we have to accept it and carry on”.