For this fourth stage, the Gazelles leave the bivouac for two days. They leave for a so-called marathon stage, with the program twelve beacons to find and a night under the stars in autonomy. A prospect that delights the Gazelles on the starting line! ” We will find out! We hope to find our girlfriends to spend the evening together but no pressure… we’ll see… inch’allah!. « What makes us happy is that we’re going to sleep a little more ». The It must be said that the Gazelles were woken up half an hour earlier today in order to take the start away from the bivouac. And thirty minutes less sleep, after three and a half days of racing, that counts!
The day starts strong for Anne-Marie and Karima, from team 153! They have lost their first place in the standings, 500 meters behind Jeanet and Claire, from team 105, so they are trying to get as close as possible to the ideal mileage and that’s why, only one solution: follow its course at all costs. A philosophy to which Anne-Marie seems to adhere. The Gazelle must cross a mountain where the passage seems impossible. She decides to move large stones to ” that it is more comfortable to pass the 4X4 ». « Is it worth it ? asks her teammate Karima. After more than half an hour of moving stones, Karima tries the famous ” passage borgesque “. Without success. Anne-Marie then decides to take the wheel and manages to get on!
Stunning landscapes
But with this passage, the Gazelles are now lagging behind, you don’t have to wait to validate as many tags as possible for this first marathon day. And the field of the day will not spare the crews who are numerous to garden, i.e. circle around their CP without finding it. So, “we take full advantage of the landscapes » : « we are lucky to go through crazy places “, underline the Gazelles..
For this first day of the marathon stage, the Gazelles are spoiled and cross rich and varied landscapes: from the black and lunar mountains to the dunes, passing through plateaus lined with acacias. Obviously the passage of sand gives some cold sweats to the crews. Virginie and Jennifer, from team 170, find themselves tanked all alone in the middle of camel grass. Nothing to scare them. ” Every time we tanked, we managed to get out in 30 minutes “says Jennifer. ” Do not wait and rely on others “, Adds his teammate. The day passes and the gardening – also called frogling – continues. It must be said that certain beacons of several routes are sometimes close together: “ it’s vicious “Laughs Samia, of crew 246.
A bit of gardening on the menu for the day
Fortunately, the Gazelles can count on each other to recover. Solidarity is always important !
At beacon 5, when it was only 5 p.m., several Gazelles decided to stop and pitch their tents. Sabrina and Alexandra, of crew 248 are part of it. The Gazelles are afraid of not arriving in time at the sixth checkpoint and of finding themselves alone. And then their girlfriends are there, the prospect of a lively evening is emerging. Others still take the course hoping to reach the sixth beacon before nightfall! A sixth beacon that gives some crews a hard time. « the last CP was a little hard but there we end well “, are delighted Marlène and Valérie, of the team 156.
A first evening in festive but calm autonomy
The evening promises to be festive for the crews who have arrived at the sixth beacon to spend the night there. Marie and Valérie, from team 111, Christelle and Caro, from team 123 and Émilie, from team 133 meet for a well-deserved aperitif after a long day. And for this evening in autonomy, the Gazelles settle down in the middle of the acacias to watch a beautiful sunset. « It’s beautiful, it reminds me of South Africa “, marvels Marlène, of crew 156
While some Gazelles enjoy their evening under a superb starry sky , others are already thinking about the next day. Still others isolate themselves to take advantage of the calm of the evening and rest. There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep to tackle the second day of the marathon stage in good shape!
The night in autonomy gives the Gazelles a boost for their second day of the marathon stage.
After a beautiful night under the stars, the Gazelles are in great shape to tackle their second marathon day. At beacon 6, on course E, the Gazelles line up before 7 a.m. to validate the checkpoint and quickly head for the six other CPs of the day. For the buggies, it’s also time for refueling and meeting up with other crews to take stock. We feel that the night was beneficial and that the Gazelles are in great shape. Reinvigorated by their night, many of them take the time to put all their points of the day..
The difficulty of the day is that the stage is long and that suddenly, the Gazelles must draw their points on three maps. Not always easy to find! The first difficulties come very quickly. While some Gazelles slept at beacon 6, others did not have time to join it and stopped to bivouac at the fifth checkpoint. You can feel the relief in some Gazelles when they finally reach CP6. « He was hard to find we hear the crews say to each other.
The arrival at the beacons is also sometimes synonymous with great encounters but also reunions for the crew 120 . Jamila and Bénédicte find Hamid, a pointer they had met by chance last November when they
were training in the Moroccan desert in anticipation of their participation in the 31ste edition of the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc. The two Gazelles had found themselves mired in the mud and a bit lost. Hamid had come to their aid and Jamila and Bénédicte had ended up drinking tea with the pointer’s family.
While the Gazelles are generally enjoying their day, we feel that the prospect of the end-of-day shower motivates them to return quickly.
« We feel that the eight hours of sleep make the difference. We don’t approach the day in the same way. Besides, we are already at CP9 and it is just noon. It changes from usual ! “, ironically the Gazelles. Bad luck for the crews, the end of the day is accompanied by the return of the sand wind which spoils their crossing of the majestic circus of Tafenna.
IDEAL KM 105km Stage 5 Tuesday 29 March 2022
ESTIMATED TIME 10h
After crossing the Draa wadi, it is a major navigation stage that is offered to the competitors.
The reliefs are low or well hidden by the mist, concealed by the heat or… erased by the wind. Because in this region the wind often invites itself, very often even, to play the spoilsports.
The gazelles also cross a lot of sand, rolling and pleasant areas of course … but very short. The sand is very soft, very dusty and forms a multitude of small dunes and basins from one to two meters high; all strewn with camel grass or tamarisk on the ground. Really not a simple environment to stay on course.
The gazelles will have to work on their reckoning to know how to go north and find more hospitable areas. It’s not a simple rest stage between the two marathon stages, you have to perform today because if nothing is won in advance, some contenders for victory or places of honor will see their hopes fly away. on arrival at the bivouac this evening. A stage that marks by its technique and its difficulty.