Dakar 2009 - January 2009
 

It is still called the "Dakar" - I guess it is a trade name that the organising committee do not want to lose:-

Dakar: homepage

I think the "towel around the head" logo is going to look a tad daft in South America though. :rolleyes2:

Seriously, what do you think will be the impact of this change of continent? Not on the race itself (they will get by) but on other bike riding activity.

Winter prices of hotels etc in North West Africa reduce/plummet downward?
(Morocco etc could be a really good place to be next January).

Prices for bike hire in Argentina/Chile increase dramatically? Flight prices increase? Or, there will be more bikes available for rent or sale down that way?
Does the change of season make any difference - going from a northern hemisphere winter to the height of southern hemis summer?

:funmeterno: or :funmeteryes:

But where between BA and Valparaiso
 

Dave,

Just looked over the Dakar website and they are VERY vague! Interesting they are using Valparaiso as a "turn-around". MUCH nicer than Santiago. If I was not a teacher, I think I would take off for "lands down south" to watch the "Dakar" from my moto...... Maybe I will quit and do it anyways......:cool4:

Toby (charapa) Around the Block 2007 |

I'll be passing through there next January. Seing the Dakar would be interesting, but I expect the whole thing will be inconvenient to those of us traveling.

Oh, well.

It is still just about 2 weeks in duration, so you would just have to get a bit of time off work, no?

It looks a bit strange reading the English version of the Dakar website in what is obviously translated from French, often imperfectly.
Hopefully, the Spanish version makes a better translation for both Argentina and Chile.

There has been an amount of tradition in following the race: travel companies have been offering organised tours, and individuals have been doing their own, similar, thing.
It will be interesting to see if a similar amount of "live audience" can be attracted in 2009.

The route:
This won't be published until much later (usually only a few weeks in advance, but maybe it will come out earlier this time for what is unknown ground to most of the competitors).
Dakar: 2009 Edition > The Route
In North Africa, it has been possible to figure out where the overnight stops are from the existing airfields; everyone knows where they are of course - the logistics of the race mean that these have been essential to keep the show on the road.
If you can pick these out on the SA maps then you won't be far away from the likely final route.
Crossing the Andes will be channelled by the terrain of course.

Cheers,