Race sport manager Manuel Tajada confirms that the extreme conditions throughout the race place huge demands on riders and logistics alike. “Twenty per cent of riders typically give up early on, and this year was no exception. It is then logistically challenging to transport all competitors who have dropped out back to the camp from the desert, but we have a well-established system that has proven the test of time. We dispatch all the cars, vans and trucks we have into the desert for the racers,” adds Manuel Tajada.