André Thewessen and Eugene Kesselaar started the Tunisia Desert Challenge solidly on Friday. In the 56 kilometer stage there was plenty to lose, but the duo remained calm and limited the loss of time.
In the prologue there were two points where the navigators of the TDC had their hands full. Also Eugene Kesselaar, this week the co-driver of Thewessen for the first time. At a certain point several participants went into the mist which caused doubt to set in for a while. In the end it turned out that Kesselaar was just right and the duo could continue the test without further searching. It resulted in a loss of time for a few minutes, but Thewessen was nevertheless very satisfied.
André Thewessen is betting on top 20 in Tunisia Desert Challenge 2022.
“We are certainly satisfied”, Thewessen explains the story. “It was a fast piece, we rode really well and the navigation went well too. At one point Eugene hesitated for a moment, we turned around for a while. That was a shame, because it actually went really well. We turned around for nothing, but it took four minutes. That was the difference between sixth and fourteenth place, but we can’t complain. That’s still fine. Due to the search, we ended up behind others that we no longer passed, which was a shame.”
So far, the collaboration with Kesselaar has gone according to plan for Thewessen. “Luckily he liked it,” Thewessen laughs. “He had heard from others that I sometimes listened poorly, but afterwards he complimented me that I had listened well. Fortunately that’s not an issue. If we continue tomorrow as we started today, I’ll be happy. We try to ride clear, but we have to drive a solid pace. We didn’t do anything crazy today, we didn’t have any moments and that’s exactly what we want.”
On Saturday there is a stage over 354 kilometers on the program, which takes the participants mainly on fast slopes to Matous.
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