News: Stéphane Peterhansel has just finished his 35th Dakar and set a new success record with his victory on the second stage. The driver has already won the most legendary of all rallies six times on a motorcycle and eight times in a car, achieving a total of 83 stage victories.
The 58-year-old Frenchman, who lives in Switzerland, recorded a video interview in which he talks about his career and reveals what special training he and his co-driver Edouard Boulanger underwent before they took part in the recent desert marathon. They prepared physically and trained their eyesight and reaction skills on an e-mountain bike.
It is telling that such a big motor fan like him chose the bike to mobilize new resources in the second half of his long motorsport career. Here is an excerpt from the video interview:
“I use the bike a lot, for training: it is an excellent exercise to sharpen your eyesight, which is the key element to be able to drive fast in competitions like the Dakar. It should also be borne in mind that we don't have the car that we drive in competition at our disposal. Training with it is only possible during test drives, i.e. two to three times a year. That’s why every racer practices different sports and I like cycling.”
The video was provided to us along with a press release in which Peterhansel reports on his partnership with the Italian brand Thok E-Bikes, for which he has become a testimonial. Thok has intensified his collaboration with top athletes from a wide range of sports.
In addition to Stéphane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger, the so-called “Performance First Team” includes the MotoGP and rally driver Danilo Petrucci, who is also a Dakar participant. In addition, the Italian ski mountaineering champion Matteo Eydallin, the multiple motorcycle world champion Loris Capirossi and the aerobatic pilot Dario Costa. They all use the Italian brand's e-bikes for their alternative training and are intended to demonstrate the versatility of the e-bikes.