Benjamin, a motorcycle and sports enthusiast with Dakar dreams

I’m Benjamin, 26 years old. I’m originally from Nord-Pas-de-Calais, on the Côte d’Opale, and now live in Nantes to join my wife. I’ve always been passionate about sport. I started at the age of 4 with basketball, and then went on to take up a whole series of licenses, whether in team sports such as basketball or soccer, or in running and triathlon.
More recently, I took up motorcycling. At the age of 18-19, I fulfilled a childhood dream: to take part in the Enduro du Touquet. I grew up next to this legendary race, lulled by its atmosphere. I’ve already been lucky enough to take part several times, and this year will be my fourth. In addition to the Enduro, I also take part in other competitions, such as the Loon Plage race, the Beach Cross, and this year, for the first time, I went to Grayan for another event in the French Sand Championship!

My ultimate goal is to take part in the Dakar within the next three years. But that requires a colossal budget, around €150,000, especially when you’re starting from scratch. Before you can make this dream come true, you have to go through a few compulsory stages: taking part in races like those in Morocco or Portugal, and registering for the Championnat de France des Sables, which is an excellent addition to your sporting “CV”.
Organizing the Dakar requires real preparation and a certain credibility. To finance this project, I decided to create a music festival!

I had a real trigger! When I was a kid, my godmother lived in a house near the dunes at Le Touquet. In those days, the Enduro still passed through these dunes. We used to leave her house to walk around and watch the race.
At the age of 5, I experienced an unforgettable moment. Jean-Claude Moussé, one of the leaders of the French Championship and a native of Cucq (a true local!), had a problem with his bike during the race. He had to get out of the dunes and ended up at my godmother’s house. His technical team came to collect his bike. I was able to chat with him, take photos and, most importantly, get on his bike. At that moment, I said to myself: “One day, I’ll do it.
Every year since then, I’ve gone to the Enduro as a spectator, and it’s made me want to do it more and more. When I was 18, I bought my first bike. I posted a story identifying Jean-Claude Moussé, who reacted immediately. We started chatting, and he invited me for a coffee. I was delighted to meet him! He’s a legend, having won Enduro and French Championships several times.

The best experience for me remains the Beach Cross in Berck-sur-Mer, a race in the north of France. The events are intense, with very sprinty 20-30 minute heats.
I’m an amateur, but there, performances in the heats qualify you for the finals (elite, silver or bronze). I made it to the bronze final, and came 3rd out of 90 participants. What really stood out for me was being able to start from the front, like the real pros. From the very first corner, I was 2nd. In the end, I finished in the top 10. It was an incredible experience!

This year, I’m planning to take part in an 80 km trail race in June, in addition to my motorcycle races.