Today is an important day. Last stage of the Titan Desert! If all goes well, I will be a Finisher.
We get up at 6 AM, like every morning, in an idyllic setting, such as Erg Chebbi. The camp is located at the foot of the dunes. It is the second day that we are here. We have to collect the suitcase, put it in the truck… On the last day of Titan we will stay in a hotel in Maadid. Camps are over!
Despite being the last stage, the shortest, I’m a bit nervous for everything to go well. Here it doesn’t just depend on the physical and mental state, which is clearly not a concern for me after having already done so many kilometres. Today we will go out to enjoy the last day, but I am afraid not to have any mechanical problem, or any fall… I might not get the Finisher stone if something happened!
We stand at the starting line. I’m very happy! We have already done the hardest part. Go!
Luckily, we said to go out easy, OMG! You should see how everyone came out! They wanted to get to the finish line. We were going very fast, but I felt good. We went out on a track where there were quite a few stretches of small dunes that made the bike slow down a bit. As you know, we’re pretty good at dunes, and we overtook a lot of people. The first 10 kilometres were very fast. Suddenly, we went through some dunes that we crossed perfectly and went up a little hill full of stones. We were already on the track with a lot of stones and, from time to time, we found sand from the dunes. I enjoyed it a lot! I think this stage will be a lot of fun!
At kilometre 20 I see a path that goes up a mountain with a 17% slope. People immediately have to get off the bike and walk it up. I try to get on the bike. Come on, Cris, you can do it! Well, yes, I manage to go up, advance a lot of people and despite going with my heart rate at full throttle, I really enjoy it. We are already up! We go through the checkpoint and face a somewhat technical descent with some stones and steps during it, but how I am enjoying it! Today there are no endless plains where the kilometres do not pass. We continue along some narrow paths, very cool paths in the middle of the desert, with a lot of stones, where you have to be very careful not to fall to the ground… How I am enjoying it!!! Last day and a stage that is turning out to be very entertaining, despite being very focused, but the legs respond perfectly. The kilometres go by, and we once again face a short climb, but very steep, similar to the other one. I climb sprockets and pedal! I feel fine. It shows that I have trained the climbs. We reach the top, and they alert us to the difficulty of the descent. For the first time in the history of the Titan Desert there is a very cool and fun trail. We’re having a blast! We stop at the second aid station (and last, in today’s stage) and load up with water and isotonic and with a short stop because today we are going well, and we know that it is only a few kilometres, unlike the other days. We continue pedalling, and we take a fast track with a lot of stones and, let’s pedal!, there are only 20 kilometres to go. We managed to go with a small group at a good pace, but without going flat out. We just want everything to go well and there are no unforeseen events. We want to be Finishers and maintain the third position in mixed duo. We passed through a small town, crossed two highways and even crossed a stream. What a feeling of freshness! The water is transparent. Can’t wait to get inside after so many days in the dry desert and with so much heat!
When we have about 5 km left, according to the track we had, and with Josep we are already saying, “we already have it”, I see the first arrival arch… What a thrill! I can’t hold back the tears! We’ve started to get excited… What’s about to happen is a dream come true! We continue pedalling 1 km, enjoying the last pedal strokes after 626 km through the desert with 5000 m of positive elevation gain.
Finally! Finisher of the Skoda Titan Desert Morocco with a third position in mixed duo!!! I have no words to describe what I feel. All the effort I’ve made to get here and what my family has done to combine training hours… Wow! Every single second has been rewarded. We could not contain the emotion and the tears did not stop coming down, of joy, of course! We have hugged with Josep. Now we are already Titans and, in addition, with a podium!!! Couldn’t have had a better debut!
FINISHER OF THE TITAN DESERT MOROCCO 2022!!!
