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Dune and Dusted as Dakar Rally Set to Kick off in Saudi Arabia

This picture taken on December 29, 2022 shows an aerial view of a bivouac by the Red Sea coast near Saudi Arabia's Yanbu ahead of the 2023 Dakar Rally which this year will take place in Saudi Arabia from December 31, 2022 to January 15, 2023. (AFP)
This picture taken on December 29, 2022 shows an aerial view of a bivouac by the Red Sea coast near Saudi Arabia's Yanbu ahead of the 2023 Dakar Rally which this year will take place in Saudi Arabia from December 31, 2022 to January 15, 2023. (AFP)
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Dune and Dusted as Dakar Rally Set to Kick off in Saudi Arabia

This picture taken on December 29, 2022 shows an aerial view of a bivouac by the Red Sea coast near Saudi Arabia's Yanbu ahead of the 2023 Dakar Rally which this year will take place in Saudi Arabia from December 31, 2022 to January 15, 2023. (AFP)
This picture taken on December 29, 2022 shows an aerial view of a bivouac by the Red Sea coast near Saudi Arabia's Yanbu ahead of the 2023 Dakar Rally which this year will take place in Saudi Arabia from December 31, 2022 to January 15, 2023. (AFP)

When it comes to endurance races in motor sport, nothing can quite compete with the annual Dakar Rally which starts its 45th edition on the Saudi shores of the Red Sea on Saturday.

This year's event stretches 8,549 km over 15 days of racing, including a four-day excursion into the as yet unexplored desert dunes of the vast Rub' al-Khali, or Empty Quarter.

"'Be Afraid' seems to be the message of the route for the 2023 Dakar," said organizers when they revealed the course at the start of December.

The warning does not appear to have put anyone off: more than 800 riders, drivers and co-drivers will set off in an array of motorcycles, cars, quads, trucks and light vehicles when the race begins on Saturday.

Among them some well-known names, including nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb (BRX) who is relishing the prospect of competing in his sixth Dakar.

"It's 14 stages, it's very long, a proper endurance rally," he said. "We need to find the right pace to get to the finish with as few mistakes as possible."

The Frenchman, who has just won the 2022 edition of the Extreme E, has a tough battle in front of him if he is to improve on his three podium finishes and chalk up that first win.

Notably, he will need to unseat defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), a quadruple winner of the event, but he will also be up against another WRC legend Carlos Sainz (Mini) as well as the Dakar great Stephane Peterhansel (Audi) who has won the event 14 times -- eight in a car and six on a bike.

On the motorcycle side, defending champion Sam Sunderland (GasGas) will face a stiff challenge from the likes of Daniel Sanders (GasGas), Pablo Quintanilla (Honda), Matthias Walkner (KTM) and Adrien Van Beveren (Honda).

The rally ends on January 15 on the Kingdom's eastern sea border.

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Djokovic Claims he Was 'Poisoned' Before 2022 Australian Open Deportation

Novak Djokovic of Serbia attends a press conference ahead of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 10 January 2025. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA
Novak Djokovic of Serbia attends a press conference ahead of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 10 January 2025. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA
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Djokovic Claims he Was 'Poisoned' Before 2022 Australian Open Deportation

Novak Djokovic of Serbia attends a press conference ahead of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 10 January 2025. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA
Novak Djokovic of Serbia attends a press conference ahead of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 10 January 2025. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

Novak Djokovic has claimed that he was "poisoned" by lead and mercury in his food while he was briefly held in Melbourne in 2022 before being deported on the eve of the Australian Open, AFP reported.

The former world number one had his visa cancelled and was eventually kicked out of the country over his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid.

He was held in a detention hotel as he fought a fruitless legal battle to remain.

"I had some health issues. And I realized that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed some food that poisoned me," the 37-year-old Djokovic told GQ magazine in a lengthy interview published Thursday.

"I had some discoveries when I came back to Serbia. I never told this to anybody publicly, but discoveries that I had a really high level of heavy metal. I had lead, a very high level of lead and mercury."

When asked if he believed his food was contaminated, the Serb replied: "That's the only way."

Djokovic refused to elaborate on Friday in Melbourne when asked if he had any evidence that his high heavy metal blood levels were linked to the food he was given.

But he did not back down from the poisoning allegations.

"The GQ article came out yesterday ... I've done that interview many months ago," Djokovic said as he was preparing for a tilt at an 11th Australian Open title and 25th Grand Slam crown.

"I would appreciate not talking more in detail about that because I'd like to focus on the tennis and why I am here.

"If you want to see what I've said and get more info on that, you can always revert to the article."

A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Home Affairs said it could not comment on individual cases "for privacy reasons".

But the government says a lease agreement with the Park Hotel where he was held provides for freshly cooked, individually portioned lunches and dinners for detainees.

- No grudge -

All catering staff have undertaken food safety certifications, it says.

And, as of December 31, 2021, the hotel had been providing samples of the food provided to detainees at each meal to the contractor responsible for detention services.

Australia says detainees had access to a variety of food and drink that was nutritious, culturally appropriate and satisfied specific medical or dietary requirements.

They were also offered breakfast items such as bread, cereal, noodles, tea and coffee at any time of the day or night.

Djokovic insisted that he does not hold "any grudge over the Australian people" despite the 2022 controversy. A year later, he returned to Melbourne where he swept to the title.

"A lot of Australian people that I meet in Australia the last few years or elsewhere in the world, have come up to me, apologizing to me for the treatment I received because they were embarrassed by their own government at that point," he said in the GQ article.

"And I think the government's changed, and they reinstated my visa, and I was very grateful for that.

"I actually love being there, and I think my results are a testament to my sensation of playing tennis and just being in that country."

However, he added: "Never met the people that deported me from that country a few years ago. I don't have a desire to meet with them. If I do one day, that's fine as well. I'm happy to shake hands and move on."