Alejandro Santamaría: The 5ª stage, for me the hardest of all the Titan Desert

Not because of the unevenness, nor the wind, nor the kilometers nor the rhythm. Today we were cycling through the desert with scenes of real misery. Some children in precarious situations by the side of the path we were walking on asking for food. In the middle of nowhere, a huge plains with nothing in sight making gestures of food. Meanwhile the titans traveling with bikes of more than 5000 euros. We having fun and vacationing in their world while they starve.

 

 

A lot of helplessness in the face of this situation that the Titan Desert has given us and has left us the rest of the day touched and with a great feeling of helplessness. There was little we could do at that time except leave our bars and food that we carried at that time there. A little help that will be of little use tomorrow, but at least so that they have a minute of happiness and a smile that will soon fade again.

In sports, today was also a difficult stage. 100km with a first part of dunes where you had to push the bike walking through the sand and also the unmarked stage where we had to navigate with our GPS following the coordinates they had given us. All stages are well signposted and there are mandatory checkpoints and everyone can go wherever they want to cut off or avoid dunes, or go along the marked route. But in this there was no sign. Only the road book and the coordinates for the GPS.

People everywhere and in all directions looking for the obligatory crossing points and refreshments. The coordinates seemed not to be right, or the navigators failed or what was missing were the navigators because it was usual to find titans pedaling in totally opposite directions.

 

GPS stage in the TITAN DESERT

 

A fun stage that has turned out to be longer than expected but that will undoubtedly magnify the challenge for those who manage to overcome the Titan. And for many this may be the great sporting challenge of his life. Many participants present themselves here in the form of a promise or as if it were their "Santiago road" or to see if they really are capable.

Here we are all the same and we all live in the same conditions and no one has privileges. It does not matter if you are a Tour winner, a manager of a multinational accustomed to luxury, a worker or a modest athlete. We all live in the same conditions and that is also one of the characteristics that makes the Titan Desert great, in a few tests you can say that you are on the starting line with a Tour de France winner and you spend the afternoon lying on a carpet with him in the shade. We all pedal and live together. 

Alejandro Santamaría

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