Luc Alphand, daredevil on snow and sand
(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2006-01-17 06:07

Alphand retired from skiing at the end of the season but a year later he was entering his first Dakar Rally.

'Scary desert'

"I think I was addicted to speed through skiing. I had my daily dose of adrenalin through skiing. I had an opportunity to start car racing because of the name I had made through skiing and people heard that I loved car racing," he said in Dakar.

Alphand and Picard of France race across dunes during final stage of Dakar Rally at Lac Rose. [Reuters]

"The main goal at the beginning was to have fun. The first time in the car, I felt so safe with the body shell around me. The engine noise was great."

Alphand admits that his driving debut was as difficult as the beginning of his skiing career.

"It was a different world. I had a good advantage from the vision and the ability to analyse speeds but you need time to learn," he said.

"I was not really prepared for the desert. I was born for zero degrees and heights of 1,500 meters. Being outside in the winter was my life.

"The desert is a different world, 45 degrees C in the desert and more than 50 in the car is a real nightmare for me. The desert was scary for me at the start.

"The first Dakar was a nightmare. We finished in a helicopter two days before the finish and left the car in the desert. I said to myself I did not want to be there again."

Alphand however entered the Dakar again in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 finishing fourth and then second in the last two races before being crowned on Sunday under the shadow of the two young boys killed on the roads of the rally.

"Of course, we are thinking of them and their families but there are accidents at home in front of schools. There are reckless drivers at home," he said on Saturday after organizers announced that Sunday's last stage would not be timed.

"I am happy to win the Dakar Rally. I have taken risks, I drive at 200 kph on roads I don't know."