{"id":4718,"date":"2023-04-24T18:09:10","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T16:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/?p=4718"},"modified":"2023-05-05T18:15:24","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T16:15:24","slug":"meet-dakar-on-two-wheels-how-the-skoda-titan-desert-came-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/uk\/2023\/04\/24\/meet-dakar-on-two-wheels-how-the-skoda-titan-desert-came-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Dakar on Two Wheels: How the \u0160koda Titan Desert Came to Be"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not many annual MTB races boast such an unique and breathtaking environment as the \u0160koda Titan Desert Morocco. Set amidst the Saharan dunes and the Atlas Mountains, the race continues to mesmerise, make, and break riders year after year, even elevating some of them to Legend status. We Love Cycling caught up with Jes\u00fas Garcia, a CEO of the race\u2019s organising body and a former six-time participant, to give us an insider\u2019s view of its origins and development.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But first, a little primer.<\/p>\n

The \u0160koda Titan Desert Morocco<\/a> is a prestigious six-stage mountain bike race, held annually in Morocco’s Sahara Desert, that draws a diverse range of participants, including professional and amateur cyclists from all over the world. The event\u2019s origin is actually intertwined with the Dakar Rally<\/a>; the first edition was organized in 2006 and the race has since become one of the toughest and most challenging races globally. Among the roughly 5,500 participants over the years, viewers could have witnessed cycling legends such as Miguel Indur\u00e1in, Anna Ram\u00edrez, Josep Betal\u00fa, Roberto Heras, Melchor Mauri and Sylvain Chavanel.<\/p>\n

This year’s route of the \u0160koda Titan Desert Morocco, which will take place from April 30 to May 5, will start in the city of Boumalne Dades and finish in Maadid, with the riders crossing the Erg Chebbi dunes and the Jbel Ougnat mountain range. The route will cover a total distance of 625 kilometres, with over 7,000 metres of elevation, and the longest stage being 133.5 kilometres. The riders will have to face all stages unsupported while braving steep climbs, rocky descents, and massive sand dunes, as well as temperatures exceeding 40\u00b0C during the day. This, of course, creates a highly competitive and challenging atmosphere, but the race\u2019s manifesto, describing the \u201cTitan Spirit\u201d<\/a>, also encourages the riders to \u201cselflessly help a companion\u201c and form friendships. On that note, at the end of each stage, the riders get to socialise and unwind in the famous huge overnight nomadic bivouac in the desert for about 700 participants.<\/p>\n

Back to Jes\u00fas Garcia. With an academic background in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, he is currently the President of Experientia S&E, CEO of MKTG Spain and RPM Sports, and partakes in the organisation of the \u0160koda Titan Desert Morocco. Before he became a part of the Titan team, Garcia completed six \u0160koda Titan Desert Morocco races between 2012 and 2019, thus accumulating 3,829 km in total, making himself a Titan Legend. So you could hardly find anyone better suited to guide us through the race\u2019s evolution from multiple angles.<\/p>\n

\"\u0160koda<\/a>
Set between the formidable Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert in Morocco, the unique mountain bike race has been taking breaths away from racers and spectators since 2006.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n