pressure and perhaps even less from supporters , a top 50 placing would be nice but against many of the worlds best Houlihan knew victory wasn ’ t out of the question , but certainly not a goal .
“ They had record entries and many big-name racers ,” he smiles . “ I really only wanted to get to the finish line .”
ECO Race day two was when something clicked and Houlihan realised he was in a different event , a special event , and world class event .
“ We hit big dunes in Morocco , and it was then I realised this was a whole new level of speed and navigation compared to previous rallies I had raced ,” Houlihan was racing in Africa . “ I was out of my comfort zone .”
Compounded by a fuel pump problem the rider and bike were stuck , in the middle of Morocco , on the edge of the worlds largest desert . Daunting for anyone , more so for someone who had a timeframe to adhere to and a race to finish .
“ My teammate Pablo ( Guillen ) stopped and helped ,” Houlihan alludes to this sport being a true team event . “ After an hour we were going again but by the end of the day I was in 55th place .”
The following day demonstrated just how quick Houlihan can be , finishing in the top twenty . Realising he had taken many risks he decided to back off and aim for a finish , it paid off as he came home in 21st and ahead of many much more fancied riders yet , it came at a cost as his injured thumb was now “ destroyed ”.
Amazingly , Houlihan still had time to take in his surrounds and can appreciate where he was and what he was doing .
“ The landscape and scenery was amazing ,” a slight smile creeps across his face . “ The small African villages were like nothing I ’ ve ever encountered .
“ We started in Monaco and finished in Dakar , so it was a different surrounding each day from snow in the Atlas Mountains on day 1 with freezing cold temperatures to 40 plus degrees Celsius in the Mauritanian dunes .
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