Manoeuvring a 170kg motorbike in desert dunes for more than 10 hours a day is the challenge that Laia Sanz is intensely preparing for.

As she prepares for one of the world’s toughest races – the Dakar – Sanz performs the same routine every morning: she loads her motorbike onto the trailer of her Seat Leon X-Perience and drives down to the track.

Sanz trains a total of six hours daily, which she splits between the track and the gym. Her training sessions are geared towards “gaining aggressiveness and taking total control of the motorbike”. Nothing can be left to chance: stamina, intelligence and skill are needed to be one of the best female riders in the world.

Constant dedication is essential if you want to be among the elite in any discipline. After racing for several hours on the track Sanz looks forward to leading a normal life. When she gets out of her racing gear, her main goal is to spend as much time as possible with loved ones.

“It isn’t easy to balance everything. I like to maintain a healthy lifestyle – practise sport, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy myself,” she says.