The Erg Chebbi Special Day stage “Objectif dunes” is still, and rightly so, dreaded by the Trophée Roses des Sables neophytes who dread this great baptism of sand.
On the CP Depart, the morale of the troops thus oscillated between excitement and stress, envy and fear, and sometimes a nice mixture of all that. For Nelly and Caroline, of crew 42, we leaned for the big motiv ‘after the bitter failure yesterday. Nothing to do with the 40 ° which put the girls to the test but rather a mechanical concern which deprived them of the orientation stage.
After a few kilometers of tar to leave the bivouac, they all set off on the track, taking care to lower the tire pressure, as advised when approaching areas of soft sand. This is what the co-pilot of 226 was trying to analyze around 10:30. An hour later, we were already thinking of having a picnic on the side of crews 251 and 270: “ our program is lunch break and dunes. Not bad is not it ? “Indeed, beautiful perspectives in sight and above all, giant dunes closer and closer.
Shovels and helping hands
CP1 marked, 65 kilometers from the starting CP, the real start. On the 4 × 4 side, we obviously feared this event and the tankages were not long in coming. In this event, the solidarity between Roses is more than necessary and they do not hesitate to stop, even in tense portions, to give a shovel or a hand. The quad girls, for their part, were able to verify the reliability of their racing car in the sand. In the SSVs, we were rather confident, as the pilot of crew 545 confirmed to us by releasing a ” it should pass! That we already know premonitory.
– Flash Sport
The bikers, true heroines of the rally
The anguish was much more palpable on the helmeted face of Agnes, rider of motorcycle n ° 705. Not really a potential customer for the sellers of Moroccan trinkets who passed by there… The course in the dunes is sometimes complicated for the bikers who have to endure the heat and the weight of the equipment. You should know that they wear protections on the calves, elbows, shoulders and back, a real armor that must be endured in a great heat wave! All while managing the many falls in the sand. The effort is sometimes discouraging, it is not for nothing that they are the admiration of the whole caravan. Jean-Jacques Rey, himself a passionate biker, takes great pleasure in following them. And he wants to welcome them personally at the CP Arrival.
That’s what he did with Sarah (700), who despite having nice bowls, told us that she really had a blast. You should have seen this little piece of a woman of barely 28 years old tracing on her racing car between the dunes, while reading a rolling roadbook fixed on her handlebars. ” The other days, I felt good in the sand, but there physically, it’s something else! My back hurts ! “Certainly, but she did it brilliantly, congratulated by a big hug from Jean-Jacques on his arrival around 1:30 pm. We imagine that she then went to take a nap more than deserved … to get rid of the sand she had in particular in the mouth.
Ditto for Sophie and Léa-Marie (crew 268), who were overcome by emotion once the loop was finally completed. For crew 278, it was a big hug from the pilot to her tearful co-pilot. ” Yesterday, some girls told us that it was okay, that it was easy. But no, it is not easy! “
Indeed, some portions turned out to be very tricky but the Roses managed very well since the last crew reached the bivouac around 5:30 pm. No nightlife today in the dune loop!