Top Investment Manager’s Guide to Dakar 2025: Broken Spine & Clavicle

BRATISLAVA. Štefan Svitko has had a challenging year. Actually, not quite twelve months. When he returned from the Dakar Rally in January, he was glowing with happiness. After a long time, he managed to secure a spot in the top ten. He was very satisfied.

However, he didn’t want to talk about the possibility of continuing. It was obvious that there was weight on his shoulders. He hinted that it might have been his last start at the famous rally. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to declare it in such a way that he wouldn’t keep his word.

Internally, he was exhausted. A few weeks later, he had a serious fall and ended up in the hospital with a fractured thoracic vertebra.

A spinal injury is always a serious problem. Fortunately, the Slovak racer has no lasting effects. But the doctor warned him during a check-up that it was a wake-up call.

After such a serious injury, he couldn’t ride, and he didn’t even miss his motorcycle. When he finally sat on it a few months later in the summer, another fall occurred.

“And it was similar. I hit a rock. I did three or four somersaults, fell on my backside, and stayed sitting. At that moment, I just prayed to be able to get up. My first thought was: I won’t get up. Since I had previously broken a vertebra, I was afraid,” he says.

It turned into a complicated fracture of the collarbone. The bone broke into several pieces. During surgery, they had to connect it and secure it with screws.

In the past, he used to ride a motorcycle regularly, suddenly he had two injuries in a row and didn’t ride for six months.

“I went to the doctor and he told me: This is the end. Forget about Dakar,” says Svitko. It was as if this was what sparked his motivation.