Dakar, Senegal, – The endurance bicycle race/expedition
“Paris-Dakar by Bike” was a race between two Swiss youngsters Eric Voutaz
and David Imboden. Voutaz showed up as the strongest and was 52 minutes
ahead after a race of 7.200 kilometer. The podium was completed by Dirk
Franckx from Belgium. Female winner was Toos van Beijsterveldt from The
Netherlands.

“Paris-Dakar by Bike” is a unique cycling race/expedition which starts at
the Eiffel Tower, crosses the Pyrenees, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara
desert. A group of 25 cyclists left Paris at September 6th to finish 10
weeks later at Lac Rose near Dakar. The riders from 14 different countries
had most days excellent cycling conditions, but had also to fight hail in
Andorra, high temperatures in the Sahara and countless climbs between the
French and Senegalese capital.

It was already obvious from the beginning that the best cyclists came from
Switzerland. The youngsters Eric Voutaz and David Imboden arrived most
stages together first. Many times they were accompanied by some of the
other riders, but it were always the Swiss racers which were in camp
first. It was the mountainous inland of Spain were Voutaz took the lead of
an hour on Imboden. The Swiss bank employee could consolidate his lead on
the African continent with the Atlas mountains, the never-ending Sahara
and the flat, but hot, conditions in Mauritania and Senegal. Voutaz proved
to be the best endurance athlete in the most diverse conditions, mentally
as well as physically.

“Paris-Dakar by Bike” is more than a race. The majority of the riders do
not compete. They cycle together at their own pace and enjoy the scenery
and culture of the European and African continent. The riders ranged in
the age from 25 to 65 years. Most of the them managed to cycle every
single kilometer and proved that the tour is doable for a wide range of
active people.

“Paris-Dakar by Bike” is not organized in 2010, since Bike-Dreams
organizes the second edition of “The Andes Trail”, a 11,000 km cycling
race/expedition in South America. The fourth edition of Paris-Dakar by
Bike is organized from September 4th till November 12th, 2011. Find all
information about both expeditions at the website of the organization
www.bike-dreams.com or mail to info@bike-dreams.com.