the 2013 Dakar after a historic season, in which she won her 12th world trial title and her first enduro title. It hasn’t been easy for him, as along the way He has suffered two major injuries, one to his knee and one to his foot that forced him to undergo surgery. Still, the KH-7 pilot faces her third round of the Dakar with a triple objective: to reach the finish line in Santiago de Chile, to be the first woman and to get into the top 30 overall.
In both her debut in 2011 and 2012, Laia achieved a formidable victory in the women’s category and a creditable 39th overall position. Looking ahead to this new edition, she feels more mature and ready to aspire to more.
“I have the same enthusiasm as the first year but less trepidation because I already know what I’m up against. I would like to do well and, if the mechanics and the crashes respect me, be higher in the general classification than the previous two years,”
he says.
The big question is whether the two serious injuries suffered during the season will end up taking their toll on him in the face of the extreme conditions he will face during the endless stages of the Dakar.
“I have a very clear conscience that I have done the job well at the end of the year. It’s true that I’ve been out of action for five months because of a knee problem and a toe injury, but since then I’ve worked really hard and made the most of my time. For me, this is the beginning of a new season.”she says hopefully.
Laia will have a new bike in this edition, a Gas Gas EC 450 Raid. “We’ve had little time to prepare it, but we’re at an optimal point and I hope everything works out well. In any case, the first few days I will take it easier than usual, aware that in the end it is not the one who runs the most who is in front, but the one who has the fewest problems and makes the fewest mistakes.” sentence.
Another great novelty for the rider from Corbera de Llobregat will be the change of backpacker. Miguel Puertas will be in charge of assisting Laia during the race, in place of Marc Guasch.
Despite having a backpacker, Laia assures that this year she has the firm intention of “Riding alone from the beginning to improve myself day by day on the way to the finish line of Santiago de Chile”. In fact, in her first Dakar she rode most of the time alone and in the last edition she had to complete the Dakar alone from the ninth stage, when Guasch suffered a spectacular accident that forced her to abandon.
Laia Sanz will fly on January 1 from Barcelona to Lima, where she plans to pass the verifications on January 3. The 2013 Dakar will start on the 5th in the capital of Peru and will end on the 20th in Santiago de Chile, after 14 tough stages covering nearly 9,000 kilometres.
Information and photo: Mediagé
