The Dakar rally, originally known as the Paris to Dakar Rally has taken place since 1978 but was moved due to security threats in Mauritania to South America for the past decade. This year, the race known as the toughest endurance rally in the world crossing dunes, camel grass and rocks took place in Saudi Arabia for the first time and there were two South African off-road bikers in the race, Kirsten Landman and Taye Perry who both managed to finish the 7,900km race. KwaZulu-Natalâs Landman was first across the line, ending in 55th place overall, while Perry who had to push her bike the last couple of hundred metres came 77th. Biznews spoke to Kirsten, who had a crash that almost ended her career, about how it feels to be the first African woman to complete the Dakar rally and how social media has enabled women to promote their sports careers. â Linda van Tilburg
I have answered that questions so many times. I still donât have the words, happiness, relief, speechless, all these emotions. Itâs been two and a half years of work; it is 20 years of riding that led me to the start line and the fact that it is all done and that it went so well; in fact, I am speechless.
Tell me about the race, it was in Saudi Arabia this year, was that all dunes and sand?
That is what we expected. I have grown up watching Dakar from a young age and supporting it, as it is a well-known race in South Africa. Weâve had a few South Africans going to Dakar. So, you build up this idea of what it is going to be like, to go into Saudi Arabia. It is a desert and you expect that it is going to be predominantly dunes, really sandy, but it was actually very different. A lot of the time we rode parallel to the sand dunes, but we never rode in them, which was very strange. There was not much out there; some of the scenery was absolutely beautiful. But Iâve had better races and Saudi Arabia was a very different country. The welcome was very positive and that was nice to see. It was an experience; thatâs for sure.
Saudi Arabia is not exactly the place for women. How did that make you feel as it is a country where women are suppressed?
When they first announced that it was in Saudi; I was just thinking that I am going to Dakar and I am going to ride my bike; ignorance is bliss, as I have never been to Dakar or the rally, or Saudi Arabia and there wasnât much to expect. But within the rally and in the bivouac; when people knew you were there for Dakar; they were very friendly. But it is different being out in the general public. For the first four days we were in Jeddah; then on our race day within Riyadh and on the last day when we came back to Riyadh; you can see women are not in any way respected. They looked down on you, thatâs how we felt. But I think it is changing. The younger generation, theyâre coming through and they donât wear the traditional clothing that the older women do. This is positive and the rules have changed in the last few years and it is going to take a while to change. But coming from South Africa and you guys in the UK; we are so open and free to express who we are; dress how we want to dress and be whoever we want to be, and no one can say anything about that. Going to Saudi Arabia was weird.
I didnât disrespect the way they lived but was scared that I might do something wrong because of the stories I have heard. So, I wore long pants and baggy loose tops with long sleeves. We were lucky that we did not have to wear a burqa, although I packed one just in case. I always wore a cap; but it was an experience. I promote women in sport, and I promote anything to do with women and I am hoping that things would change in a country like that. There was a young Saudi Arabian girl who rides bikes and she wants to race Dakar. Hopefully things will change in that country.
To go back to the race. This is 12 days sitting on a bike; that must be so gruelling; what was the biggest challenge for you?
When I look back at the distances we covered; I think to myself: how the heck did I do that. I took it stage by stage; so instead of thinking at the start that there was still 7,900 kilometres to go; I never looked at it like that. I would take every day as a race on its own. That is only 800 kilometres to get through today; I donât think of tomorrow or the next day. So each day whatever I had to tackle on that day; I focused on the day and when I finished that; I would worry about tomorrow. I had a strategy of just keeping myself safe. Because it is Dakar; it is a dangerous race with high speeds and trucks and cars and quads, side by side. So, you have all these factors in it and this year it was very high speed.
My goal from the beginning was to get to the finish line and in doing that I needed to look after myself and my motorbike; to keep it smooth and steady; not to make any mistakes; donât drop the bike and just take it kilometre by kilometre. My focus was mainly to get to the finish line, and it worked. You get into this rhythm because I think you know how long it has taken for you to get this far and there is nothing thatâs going to stop you. Youâre just headstrong; you know what you have to do, and you just do it. Incredibly, everybody else is in that vibe; we are all there to survive and to get to the finish line. We all have this passion; most people donât just land on the starting line for Dakar by luck. They have worked very hard to get there; they have sacrificed a lot. Weâre here, weâre going to do it and try to have fun while weâre doing it.
You were also competing against another South African woman, Taye Perry in the race, was there a bit of competitiveness between you two?
That changed things up a lot. I came out with my official announcement in August 2018 and I had not spoken to or heard of Taye for four years. The last time we raced against each other was in 2013 and I hadnât seen or heard from her as we are from two different provinces in South Africa; we never bumped into each other. In January 2019, I saw that she was also going to do Dakar. In the beginning I was thinking, âoh this is hecticâ, but it pushed me to train harder and it motivated me to know it wasnât just that I had to finish Dakar; there was a media build-up and it became: whoâs going be the first African woman to cross the finish line, whereas before it was just to get to the finish line. It became a race to the finish line, and it was tough. Initially it was about finishing Dakar and now it was a race.
It got to me in the beginning, for the first six days in the rally, I battled; I couldnât run her speed. She is an off-road rider, we come from different backgrounds, she being a faster rider and me being more of an extreme âenduroâ rider. It is more technical, we ride at slower speeds and obviously from the experience of my accident, I have crashed. I know what it is like to crash and I have this fear. For me to go fast, is unheard of whereas she is fearless and faster. I couldnât run her pace. But I think that is where experience came through. Twelve days on a motorbike is long; 7,900 kilometres for one motorbike to go through. Itâs long and although bikes are strong; you have also got to be very careful with how you look after them. I knew how to ride smoother lines; not to ride the common line that everyone else was on; if 50 bikes have gone through it, the sand becomes thicker and gets chewed up and I was always riding off the main line.
I made sure not to drop my bike because you can drop these bikes and although they are strong, if you drop it in the wrong place or too many times; something goes wrong. Unfortunately for her, she dropped her bike a few too many times and it resulted in a mechanical (problem) that she couldnât fix. She lost a lot of time there and thatâs when I took the lead and there was time that she couldnât make up. That is the thing about racing; it is testing man and machine; that is what the Dakar rally does; you and your bike need to get across the finishing line. And unfortunately for her that is what happened, but it takes nothing away from the fact that sheâs an exceptionally good rider. And it just happened that it worked out in my favour.
You talked about the fear that you always have of injury; you had a massive injury and you were in a coma for a while?
Going back to 2013, we were racing in Botswana, the Desert 1000, two days, that is 500 kilometres a day and on the second day I had an accident where I crashed into a tree stump about waist high. My doctor told me at my last check-up, âKirsten how are you alive, clinically you should have been dead? All my organs had gone septic, I just missed dialysis; I was put into an induced coma for 11 days; I was on life support because I was on so much morphine that it was stopping my heart and they needed me to recover. I donât remember anything up until I was put to sleep when I was operated on. I swore never to take another day for granted and I literally haven’t. The sky has been the limit. I’ve just gone from strength to strength and you know, I think back now, and I don’t regret it for a second because I had such a change of outlook on life and it’s been so positive.
Incredible, very traumatic; I donât know how you got back on a bike after that.
You know my mother said to me as soon as I woke up and came to my senses, awake and talking, she said I said to her âI can’t wait to get out of the hospital so I can start training for the Roof of Africaâ, which was five months later.
So, was there something more that you wanted to achieve that is this great?
There is so much more that I want to achieve. I just donât know what it is yet. Dakar is in the World of Motorsport, whether it is cars, trucks, quads or bikes; itâs the pinnacle of anyoneâs career. You canât do anything more than Dakar. The feeling of experiencing this, to go through the motions and then cross the finishing line, is a feeling that I canât even explain to you; itâs addictive. I want to do more of it, because I love to be challenged and pushed to the limits, both emotionally and physically. I like to be tested. Iâve got to figure out what next; what can I get ready for. I love this sort of thing; the harder the better; to set the standard high for what women havenât done yet and to show them that it is possible. We are so capable of doing everything we put our minds and hearts to. When I was a little girl and dreamt of being a professional sports woman one day; I never in my wildest dreams thought I could achieve this and been through what I have been through.
Women are looked at differently now and there are different ideas now of what a girly girl is or what women should be. Ten years ago; they would probably have tried their best to get you in a bikini for  Sports Illustrated or some magazine. Is it different for you being a sportswoman now and promoting yourself as a woman?
I am who I am, and I am not going to change myself to fit how a woman is seen. At the end of the day. Caster Semenya, sheâs still a woman, we are woman and thatâs who we are. Society is changing and I think it is so positive because through social media, Facebook and whatâs going on in the world; you accept us for who we are, and you canât discriminate against us. And you know, like you say, back in the day; I probably would have to wear high heels and a bikini to get endorsements and sponsorships; but things are changing. They say sex sells but that is not who I am. I wonât do that, nor will I change who I am or be that person.
With social media things have changed. It is so positive. If you arenât real and try to be another person; I think it will backfire on you, which is so great. I am a tomboy, I skate; all my friends are guy friends. I am a female in a male dominated sport, but at the same time Iâm also a lady. I can put a dress on and not necessarily heels, but when I put my helmet on; I see myself as one of the guys out there. It is just the way I have grown up, but it is a good thing and it is positive. There are trendsetters like Megan Rapinoe in the US football team; they are changing it for women in sport, Serena Williams and Ronda Rousey and it is so positive to have people like that to look up to and they are making it possible for us to be who we want to be and say what we want to say. And I think itâs all thanks to social media as well.
