Where there’s a will there’s a way

Dakar 2021 | Stage 3 | Wadi Ad-Dawasir > Wadi Ad-Dawasir
January 5 ^th 2021 - 09:15 [GMT + 3]

Though weakened and still convalescing, despite everything Laia Sanz has this year decided to once again hold her own to set an example. The woman who is the leading lady on the Dakar since her debut in 2011 is on a mission.

Still only two months ago, Laia Sanz doubted that she would be able to start her eleventh Dakar. Not due to the series of injuries she picked up during 2020, such as the one to her hand caused by a fall on the last Rally of Andalusia, but because she caught Lyme’s disease last autumn. “It completely knocked me for six and I have been virtually unable to train for two months,” explained the official Gas-Gas rider on arriving in Jeddah. “I’m still taking antibiotics and I’m expecting a difficult race. Though my goal is to finish in the top 15 once again, I’ll take starter’s orders without any pressure and I’ll just be trying to do my best”. Yesterday in Wadi Ad-Dawasir, Laia Sanz finished the second stage in 23rd position. The day before, in Bisha, she had completed the first special in 33rd place. The Catalan finished the first two days, deemed challenging and difficult by all the competitors, with a smile on her face. “It’s strange,” she admitted yesterday afternoon. “Although I’m short of practice, I felt better on the second day than on the first. I didn’t know whether I’d be able to finish the first day, but in the end I had the feeling that I’d found my rhythm, so I’m happy”. Far off her best form, Laia is merely hoping to complete the two weeks of racing. “We’ll see how my condition develops, I don’t want to worry about it too much”. Even if she does not want to tempt fate, you get the feeling the Spaniard is ready to suffer to reach Jeddah. For her, participating in the Dakar in Saudi Arabia is another way of setting the example. “Ever since racing has been my job, I’ve always had to fight to make a place for myself and to obtain any recognition,” she recently confided. “It’s this perseverance that has allowed me to obtain a place as an official team rider”. Over the years, it has also helped her to compete on a level playing field with her male rivals.