"Croquette" wants another bite of the Dakar!

Dakar 2018 | Stage 6 | Arequipa > La Paz
January 12 ^th 2018 - 03:20 [GMT -4]

The man from northern France, who has ridden 15 Dakar rallies on a bike, has returned to the race this year as an assistance team member before trying his luck next year in an SSV.

He is one of the people you instantly recognise at the bivouac. Eric Croquelois, nicknamed “Croquette” was one of the emblematic riders on the event, and for good reason: he has ridden 15 Dakar rallies. His last one was brutally interrupted after a fall on the tracks of Bolivia, two years ago.

“The Dakar is what he lives for,” chuckles “Dom”, his friend since 30 years and always his mechanic. This year, Eric Croquelois has reappeared at the bivouac as a member of the assistance team for Dragon Racing, a team made up of amateur riders. “I’ve done almost everything on the Dakar!” he laughs.

Putting on a straight face, he adds: “This year, with Arnaud Demeester, who has won 7 times at Le Touquet, we wanted to participate in the SSV category, but we didn’t manage to raise the required budget. Well, it will just have to wait until next year!”

Renowned for his big personality, “Croquette” is full of praise about how the Dakar has developed: “I’ve experienced the starts in Paris and Arras, finishes in Africa, as well as the first editions in South America. Nowadays, the bivouac is like a small town where you can find anything (clothes, spare parts and so on). The race seems more like a series of sprints rather than a sequence of marathons and the riders are physically fitter. It’s no bad thing; it’s just a different era. Times change and not just on the Dakar: beforehand, we rode through the dunes at Le Touquet, but now it’s not possible any more…”