Spaniard eager to follow Dakar heroics by making Hard Enduro history in Austria.

Laia Sanz has already made history with her motorbike talent thanks in part to her Dakar Rally heroics, however she wants to make more at Hard Enduro’s toughest race this weekend when Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble takes place.

After winning women’s World Trial and World Enduro titles for fun during her career, the Spaniard made headlines with ninth place at the 2015 Dakar Rally.

Now she has set her sights on an altogether different achievement with this weekend’s Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble set to test the world’s best Enduro riders.

No woman has ever finished the gruelling test set in an Austrian mine and the 33-year-old is eager to rectify that, despite suffering a mixed 2019 season so far.

She revealed: “I like challenges and this is a huge one. Right now I’m very focused on Dakar but, because I’m from trial biking, I’m really drawn to this race. It’s been quite a difficult year, because I got ill before Dakar. I got hurt at the end of Dakar and I was off for two months. I cracked my tibia and the cartilage in my ankle.”

Sanz is a tough competitor and believes that, if she can stay with the leaders early on, she can keep within reach of the likes of compatriot Alfredo Gomez later on especially after training with her friend Jaume Betriu.

She added: “This race is amazing. Last year I was lucky enough to go. I only did the opening, but the mine really strikes you because it’s gigantic. It’s a whole mountain. I guess it’s the Dakar of Hard Enduro. Not many people have finished the Erzbergrodeo.”

Cross-country rallies are a punishing endurance test over days and weeks however Sanz believes that she can adapt to the shorter, if exhausting, format this time.

She explained: “Hard Enduro and rallies are completely different. Here, you give it your all for four hours. It’s a two-stroke bike with really soft suspension and super soft tyres. In the end, it’s all about technique. I would be thrilled to finish.”