Wigan Enduro ace tells of 'world's toughest race' challenge

On cold, windy afternoons in the Pennines above Rochdale, four-time world champion Enduro rider Jane Daniels can often be seen putting her bike through its paces at a former quarry turned off-road track.

She has been going there since she was 12, following her brother Gary after both were inspired to take up the sport by their road racing father Andy.

Jumping over ramps and tyres quickly became second nature for the Wigan racer as she went on to become one of the sport's most decorated riders.

Such is the 29-year-old's reputation, she was asked to take part in the famous Dakar Rally, becoming only the third British woman to complete what is commonly held up as the world's toughest race.

The race began as the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979 but has been staged in across the globe since 2009.

The 2024 event took place in January in Saudi Arabia and covered a total distance of 8,000 km (4,970 miles) with motorbikes among the five vehicle categories.

For Jane, it marked a very different challenge, and one she was determined to take on.

"It was two weeks of absolute non-stop madness. I absolutely loved it," she said.

"I'd never been before so I had no idea what to expect, just the length of the days you were riding, the scenery that you ride through, more rocks than you could ever imagine.

"An Enduro day would be between six to eight hours, but a rally day can be anything between ten to thirteen."

And she told how she had to call on her resilience on more than one occasion.

"I had a big crash on day six which wasn't ideal," she said.

"I was just out in the dunes in the middle of nowhere. They call it the empty quarter in Saudi Arabia, I was just riding along maybe for three hours and I didn't see a single other person and I was like oh, this is a little bit lonely, I don't want to be breaking down round here."

Traditionally, more men than women have taken part in the Dakar Rally. This year just Jane and Yael Kadshai, an Eduro rider from Israel, competed in the bike category.

"I've got a lot of people looking up to me," she said.

"There are a lot of young girls riding in the UK, with a lot more coming through which is really nice to see.

"I hope to do some training camps or something with them in the future. There were two other British women before me that finished Dakar but yeah, it's an unbelievable experience".

Jane finished 48th overall on her Dakar debut, and said she now had her sights set on the 2025 event.

"After a couple of days I wanted to set myself the goal of a top fifty finish, which I was really pleased with," she said.

"I'm going back out to Italy to speak to the team and have a little bit of a celebratory party to celebrate my Dakar finish. I'd love to do it again, yeah".

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