Queen Of The Desert
LAIA SANZ
" I was never a typical girl ," Laia Sanz when questioned about the lack of glitz , of glamour , when questioned about the motorcycle rally known as Dakar . " I ' ve never been a princess . I feel sad when I open Instagram and see so many girls seeking attention by exposing themselves . There are also many female athletes who make great use of their sex appeal , but I don ' t want to be one of them ."
At the relatively young age of thirty five , this racer is a legend of motorsport , fighting for a right of respect afforded to others for just competing . Laia Sanz took on the 2021 Dakar for the 11th straight time , and for the 11th straight time she finished , and for the 11th time she won the unofficial female title .
“ Completing the rally , her finishing record is now 11 in a row , a truly remarkable achievement ,” suggested Jordi Viladoms , GASGAS Team Manager . It truly is a remarkable achievement , in fact many other , better known names , can ’ t come close to a record like Laia ’ s .
Laia is considered so good that the only woman to win Dakar , Jutta Kleinschmidt , twenty years ago and in a buggy , suggests that the Spaniard is someone who could win outright , especially in a four wheeled machine but for now , bikes it is , and with that she took on Dakar 2021 , the second to be held in Saudi Arabia , and considered one of the toughest ever held . So how did it all play out for Laia ?
A difficult preceding 12 months didn ’ t help Laia ’ s preparation for Dakar 2021 , the Spaniard was battling injuries and then compounded by contracting Lyme Disease , a tick-borne infection that causes headaches , fever , and lethargy . Occasionally the pain in joints can be quite severe .
“ It ’ s been a really tough year for me ,” explained the GASGAS rider .
“ I injured my hand on the second stage of this year ’ s Dakar , back in January ,” she continued regarding the 2020 edition of the world ’ s toughest rally . “ And although I carried on and completed the event the injury turned out to be worse than we thought .”
It took quite a while for the injury to heel and when it did , Laia began feeling unwell which was eventually diagnosed as Lyme Disease . The preparation for 2021 was protracted and interrupted , and despite not feeling 100 % right , Laia entered the event confident that a year ’ s knowledge of the terrain would be a huge help with the latest edition that promise to be more technical and
TRAVERSE 102