A great Dane?

A Danish biker in the desert is not a common sight. The last one to ride the Dakar on a motorbike was the trailblazer Jes Munk, who pioneered Danish representation in the event in 2011 and had his last participation in 2015 in a buggy. With many national titles claimed on his bike and a growing experience in international rally events, Thomas Kongshoj is now ready to take over the Saudi desert and take on the challenges of the Dakar with a three-year plan. 2023 will give him a proper taste of race he describes as “the biggest in the world”. And then he intends to return with more and more ambitions in 2024 and 2025.

On Saturday, Thomas Kongshøj will become the second Danish rider to take starter’s orders on the Dakar, 12 years after Jes Munk.  

 “I’ve dreamed of taking part in the Dakar for 30 years and my dream has now come true,” explains Thomas Kongshøj on leaving the technical scrutineering circuit, which this semi-novice from the great north passed without any nasty surprises. Diligent and focused, the many times Danish motocross and enduro champion has done the utmost to ensure that his first taste of the rally will take place in a trouble-free atmosphere: “I’m not too stressed out, but I can feel myself starting to get nervous nonetheless! Fortunately, I’m part of an experienced team and they’re helping me to deal with it, so that’s very reassuring”.

With his “family” at Joyride Race Service, Thomas has all the latitude necessary to focus on his performance. It is naturally the race itself that concerns and excites him with two days to go: “I’m going to go and train on the prologue route straight away to reacquaint myself with how the bike feels, because I haven’t ridden for two months since the Rallye du Maroc. I’m going to take it easy, but I’ll still need to try out some sections at full throttle to make sure I’m in racing condition. After that, we’ll take care of the final adjustments”. Husqvarna rider No. 93, whilst ambitious but also cautious, is not forgetting that he may have the opportunity to write his name into the history books by exceeding the feats of his compatriot Jes Munk, the sole Danish rider to have taken part in the Dakar on a bike prior to him, with 52nd place in 2012: “I’ve spoken a lot with him and he’s given me plenty of advice. For the moment, I just want to complete the rally and we’ll see next year if I can attack a little more to beat his score”. The challenge is on.