Sanz hopes to make her way into male bastion

Bengaluru, January 1: Though Dakar Rally is said to be the most gruelling off road event, women competitors have always dared to challenge the male bastion.

Germany's Jutta Kleinschmidt even holds the rare distinction of being the only female driver to win the Dakar in 2001.

Though no female competitor has been able to match Kleinschmidt's feat, there are many who keep trying every year and give their best with Laia Sanz topping them all.

Happy new year! I wish you good health this 2018 and enjoy a new @dakar!!! 🔜✊🏽

Feliz año, mucha salud y a disfrutar del #Dakar2018!!! 🥂🍾

Feliç any, molta salut i a gaudir d'un altre Dakar!!! 🎊🎉 pic.twitter.com/63hXRXUeWS

— Laia Sanz (@LaiaSanz_) December 31, 2017

The Barcelona-born bike rider has been a revelation at the toughest test of endurance rallies since making her Dakar debut in 2011. The 32-year has returned to race every year and holds the distinction of completing each edition of the Dakar she has competed and is all geared up for this year's event which begins on January 6.

"The Dakar has fascinated me since I was a child. Not only the racing, I was hooked on the landscapes in Africa, said Sanz as she gets ready for the two-week, 14-stage epic which will be run through Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.

Sanz has been the fastest women at the Dakar in recent times. In 2015, the Spaniard finished as the ninth fastest biker, a remarkable result which included a fifth place finish on a gruelling stage run through Bolivia's flooded slat flats.

"When I started to compete I was the only girl. Luckily nowadays there're other girls doing these races and in a few years there'll be even more of us competing in the Dakar and Enduro," added Sanz, who will be competing under the Red Bull KTM Factory Team banner.

As for Sanz's own expectations for the 40th edition of Dakar, she eyes an encore of 2015 when she broke into the top 10 for the first time. However, Sanz is realistic enough to know that there is a top class field awaiting her in South America and no wonder she has set a top-15 finish as the target.

"The highlight of my Dakar career was the ninth-place finish in 2015 and fifth on the infamous salt flat stage that same year. I'm still very proud of those results.

"My objective this year is to finish within the top 15 and that'll be a big challenge because there're so many strong competitors out there."