Chris Birch is a five-time New Zealand Enduro Champion. He's a three-time winner of the Roof of Africa. He won the Red Bull Romaniacs in 2010. But can he handle the Dakar?
30-year-old rider will be taking on the Dakar for the first time. Birch has the talent to contest for the title, but the New Zealand rider isn't getting ahead of himself. For now, Birch's goal is just to finish the grueling 14-day race.
"Having done many other rallies, the Dakar is the ultimate race, a huge challenge," Birch said. "You can't say no to that. Now the Dakar is a lot different to extreme enduro which I normally do. It's actually quite surreal that it's happening. I really understood that while training in the dunes of Namibia. I'll have to get used to the speed. Riding isn't an issue; the biggest challenge is the length of the event and the lack of sleep. The main ambition is to finish. I first want to see how it goes during the first four or five days, and then I'll see if I can make it to the Top 20."
Here's a video about Chris Birch training for the 2012 Dakar Rally.
You can see a video about three-time Dakar champion Cyril Despres here.
