“The results this year have shown that I am stronger than I thought. My appetite is growing with the driving. For years I dreamed of participating in the Dakar Rally, now it becomes a real goal. Not yet in the upcoming edition, but I have already accumulated enough experience to believe that I will start there next year. Now we have to take care of the finances,” Modrzewska told PAP.

The only Polish woman to have participated in the FIM Bajas World Cup in March in Qatar was the best in the women’s category, in May in Portugal and in August in Hungary she finished second. In early December, at the final competition in Dubai, she placed third, but earlier performances earned her second place in the final World Cup standings, just behind Dutchman Mirjam Pol, winner of the Dakar last year. last and world cross-country champion. Third overall was Margot Llobera from Andorra.

“The final in Dubai surprised me a lot. I like racing in the dunes. I expected conditions like in Qatar – a hard, rocky and therefore fast desert, and it was more +enduro+, technically, extremely physically demanding” – she said. .

The team bronze medalist at the 2019 European Women’s Championships recalled that she had set the bike up wrong on the first day and struggled to find a rhythm, but later picked up the pace, felt more confident and regained her joy of riding.

“The result in sport is the most important, but for me the pleasure of training or competing is no less important. Especially since for me it is a big, but always an addition to my professional life, in which I thrive as a graphic designer” – she explained.

She also said she fell in love with riding a motorcycle on sand years ago.

“Krzysztof Hołowczyc mentioned you either love him or…hate him. I went to Morocco for my first desert rally in 2011 and…loved it so much I didn’t get the I felt like I broke my ankle, because despite I took so much pleasure in surfing the dunes in pain”, she recalls.

“After the next starts, I know that I am capable of competing with the world leaders and I will do everything to start in Dakar and prepare for it as well as possible” – she added.

Baja world champion Konrad Dąbrowski is due to retire from competing in the upcoming Dakar Rally after suffering from acute appendicitis just before Christmas, and surgery ruled out the possibility of a quick return to training.

“It’s sad news, but Konrad is young, so I hope he recovers quickly and can fight in this most famous rally” – concluded Modrzewska. (PAP)

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