Stage 9: La Serena – Coppiapo
There are 536.42 km (333.3 miles) on the menu for the 9th stage, including a 448.9-km (278.9 miles) timed section, and this is when things get serious, with fast tracks, mountains, but also some imposing dunes to get through, as well as several off-track sections to be negotiated. It will be an opportunity for the most experienced to show off their navigational skills, but also how adept they are at handling their equipment, which could be capital before a double whammy of two very difficult stages.
Robby Gordon, born 2 January 1969
Your ego energies are high, which means that you can stand up for yourself against almost anyone today. You have great confidence and will not easily allow someone to take advantage of you. Unfortunately this may also mean that you will get into fights and arguments. Try to remember that other people have egos too. You don’t have to defeat others in order to maintain yourself. You should be especially careful in your dealings with supervisors. They will not expect you to be as assertive toward them as you are likely to be today. You have a great deal of physical energy also, which means you can work hard and long. If you use these energies intelligently, you should be able to accomplish far more worthwhile work than on other days.
Today during the day you will keep your emotions under control, not in a repressive, negative manner, but in a way that enables you to take a more sober and realistic view of life. You are able to put up with considerable adversity and strain during this time because it gives you patience and reserve strength. While you are not inclined to talk about your feelings to just anyone, you do not evade them in yourself. You may very well go off by yourself at this time to think about and evaluate your development. If you have a problem, seek out an older person whose wisdom you respect, who can offer emotional support and suggest practical and immediate answers. You need common-sense answers now that can be applied directly.
Andy Grider, born 28 July 1973
Your energy level will be high, perhaps too high if you are not careful. Watch for signs of irritable impatience with others whenever things do not go exactly as you planned. Be assertive only when the situation calls for it, not whenever you feel like it. Also watch out for baseless conflicts with others, which you may not necessarily instigate yourself. Today you should be particularly careful of conflicts with authorities. Voice your complaints if they are legitimate, but expect a certain amount of hostile reaction to them. Also be careful that the tone of your complaint does not aggravate this hostility. What you get is usually a function of the energies that you put out. On the physical level, try to find an outlet for your vigorous energies.
This same aspect gives you a sense of discipline and self-control, which will make it easier to deal with the emotionally complicated issues in your life that you normally avoid. At this time you can deal with difficult relationships that you could not handle in the past with proper detachment and objectivity. You can reflect upon your feelings and examine them without letting them control you. Make whatever changes should be made in your personal life with confidence that you are seeing the truth clearly.
All of what is going on in your astro-world is a powerful stimulus to the mind and to all kinds of communication and interchange with others. You will be engaged in an almost continuous dialogue with others today, which should tell you exactly how you stand with respect to them and how they are reacting to you. It is extremely important that you be receptive to anything that is presented to you. If your thinking is dominated by concern with yourself and your own position, to the point that you cannot hear what anyone else is saying, this is likely to be a day of argument and unconstructive dispute. But if you are receptive, you will be able to learn much. At the same time you can promote your own ideas by making it clear to others that your ideas are not a threat to theirs and that you are willing to work with them as a team.
Today during the day all your aspects give you a pleasant feeling of restlessness, a desire for excitement but not to the point of disruption. You may feel like shaking up the people around you and jolting them out of their seeming lethargy. Or if you are not conscious of this desire in yourself, you may attract someone who shakes you up. Under any circumstances you want to be with exciting and stimulating companions. In your home and other close surroundings you are not willing to accept the same old situation. You may try to find ways to change your circumstances or at least provide some temporary excitement. It is possible that you will meet a new and exciting friend today, or an old friend will come back into your life unexpectedly. Friends may provide opportunities for advancement or for getting away from your usual scene for awhile.
Tonight you can assert yourself in a positive manner and stand your ground if necessary. You may feel more courage and confidence than usual, which you express by taking the initiative in making emotional contacts with others. You speak very directly and forcefully, but without being offensive, which others will respect you for. This is a good time to work as a leader with groups of people. You understand what is needed, and you can unify your objectives and theirs, usually by talking them around to your point of view. Whenever you talk with others, you radiate an inner excitement, as if you were ready for immediate action. Under this influence you have the capacity to start projects, although you should keep in mind that this is a short-term influence and its effects will not last long.
The Church of the Great Oval 