Good news continues to flow towards the Parc des Expositions at Tours. After the commitment from the best French riders such as Rodrig THAIN and Sebastien GUILLAUME, the confirmation of Graham JARVIS and the unexpected presence of American Kyle REDMOND, it is the turn of Laïa SANZ to join the ranks of committed riders with her entry in the new Women’s category!
Laïa SANZ is simply the most successful women in Motorsport!
Born in December 11th 1985, the young Catalan from Corbera de Llobregat near Barcelona made her first rider on two wheels at the age of 2 years old! Although encouraged by her father, the owner of a motorcycle dealership, and her older brother, owner of a Trials motorcycle, the mischievous Laïadid not hesitate one day to take the her brother’s Montesa Cota 25 (he was resting), to perform her first ride on a motorcycle at the age of 4! In a country and a region where the Trials is a myth and motivated by her mother, the Catalan took part in her first race at the age of 6 before getting her first win in 1996 (she was barely 11 years old) at the Seu de Urgell!
The story was already running and Laïa SANZclinched her first European Trials title at 12 years old! A World Champion title was not so far and in 2000, Laïa clinched the Intercontinental crown! Since then she has become unbeatable in the Trials section and has accumulated 12 world titles and 10 European titles.
Willing to give a new direction to her career, the official Gas Gas rider started Enduro in 2010 through the new World Championship discipline. Quickly at ease in the special tests however she had to wait for two seasons in the shadow of French rival Ludivine PUY, the Queen of the sport! The desire and talent of Laïa eventually overcame the dominance of “Lulu” who lost her title in 2012 in front of the ardour of the Llobregat resident who won her first World title in Enduro despite a very serious foot injury.
Trials, Enduro, Dakar… Nothing stops her!
Laïa SANZ showed courage and panache and for 3 years, she has made Dakar (the most difficult bike race in the world) one of her major goals! Three times the winner of the female category, Laïawas ranked 39th in the 2011 Dakar scratch, which shows her incredible talent and speed. She surprised everyone again during the recent rally on the slopes of Peru and Argentina by finishing 13th on the eighth stage in front of more than 150 male riders! Alas, a long delay due to mechanical problems did not allow her to enter the Top 30, which was her original aim.
The arrival of Laïa SANZ to Toursis a major event, which gives even more interest and excitement to the women’s category, which has been initiated by Alain BLANCHARD, the chief of ABC Communication and developer of the SuperEnduro World Championship with the support of the FIM.
The official Gas Gas rider will obviously be the favourite in the Women’s category, where British Jane DANIELS (Husaberg) and a brilliant France team led by Juliette BERREZ (Yam), Samantha TICHET (KTM), Geraldine FOURNEL (Husaberg), Marion GIMBERT (TM), Caroline DUCHENE (KTM) and Valerie ROCHE (Gas Gas) all promise an innovative and full of determination spectacle…
All the female riders will need all your support on a very technical track where their commitment and courage will simply amaze you!