#DakaRecord: Stéven Le Hyaric’s bike

Stéven Le Hyaric has just completed an extraordinary adventure – a new world record – by cycling the distance between Paris and Dakar (5622 km) in 20 days to raise public awareness about the effects of global warming. Beyond a fantastic human adventure, let’s focus on the machine that allowed him to achieve a true athletic feat.

By Guillaume Judas – Photos: @Erisphere

285 km per day for 20 consecutive days: this is the distance Stéven Le Hyaric had to cover to connect Paris to Dakar, crossing France, Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania before arriving in Senegal. From the windy and humid plains of central and western France to the Western Sahara, passing through the steep climbs of the Basque Country, the gravel roads of northwestern Spain, or the crossing of the Middle Atlas in Morocco, he needed a solid and practical bike, adapted to the demands of the terrain he would encounter.

Specific adjustments

An aluminum Bergamont Grandurance was chosen by Stéven Le Hyaric in collaboration with the brand, and lent by them for the season. “I had already ridden a Bergamont during my previous adventure a year ago, Dreams of the Himalayas (2000 km and 90,000 m of elevation gain, 20 passes over 5000 m, 2 passes over 6000 m on the highest road in the world, the Great Himalaya Trail), Stéven Le Hyaric begins, and I was very satisfied with the bike’s reliability.” A mid-range build with Shimano 105 and hydraulic disc brakes, 50-34 and 11-32 11-speed gearing, complemented by a few adjustments specific to the adventure.

“I chose a Mavic Allroad rear wheel paired with a front wheel with a Shutter Precision PL-8 dynamo hub, for added safety, with a Bergamont rim,” the adventurer continues. “For lighting, as I often rode at night, I had a Busch+müller light connected to the dynamo, and additional Kriptonite lights. For tires, I was very satisfied with the Challenge Strada Biancha 33 mm, which were durable and had fairly low rolling resistance. I only flatted twice in Spain on gravel sections, and nothing on the rest of the route. For the saddle, I was won over by Selle Idéale, a quality handmade French product, which, although it seemed a bit stiff at first, conformed to my morphology.“

“In addition to the Look X-Track Enduro pedals (the same ones I used for the Himalayas), I rode with Mavic CrossMax Elite CM MTB shoes so I could walk when I stopped to refuel or interact with the local population.”

“I added Profile Design extensions to the bike for comfort and to install my two Garmins: a 1030 for route tracking and sports info (and also to upload my daily route to Strava every evening), and an InReach for satellite geolocation, live tracking of my route on my website, and automatic SOS sending if needed. Handlebars, stem, and seatpost were aluminum with Thomson brand components.“

Minimum luggage

“I had four bags in total, the largest of which was 19 liters and placed at the rear. I brought a minimum of belongings, with only two jerseys, two bib shorts, a long-sleeved jacket, rain protection, and long gloves. I only washed my clothes four times because at night, even in the Sahara, it’s cold and humid, and clothes don’t dry. At most, I rode four days in a row with the same clothes. With the sand, it was really unpleasant, but after a while in such a situation, you redefine your priorities.“

“For electronic devices, I managed to recharge them every evening at locals’ homes or in hostels, using my power bank and multiple USB ports. Practically speaking, I bought a SIM card for each country I crossed, but I was surprised by the quality of 4G coverage throughout my journey, except perhaps in Mauritania. But in Morocco, for example, the development of communication means seems essential for the government. More so, at least, than waste recycling.

This adventure is for me only the starting point of an even more ambitious project, to raise public awareness about climate change.

Because this adventure is for me only the starting point of an even more ambitious project, to raise public awareness about climate change, and the desertification of certain regions of the world. I plan to cross 6 deserts on 6 continents in 6 months by bike. The 666 project. In Mauritania, I saw entire fields of plastic waste. Needless to say, selective sorting is not a priority for a population that is already thinking about daily survival. In Morocco, the principle is that what is not seen does not exist. So they burn, with the CO2 emissions one can imagine.“

A disrupted preparation

In total, with the load, Stéven Le Hyaric’s bike weighed nearly 20 kg. Difficult to ride on the steep climbs of the Basque Country or when crossing the Middle Atlas, but sufficient to ride at a good pace on the flats, with a daily cruising speed of around 27-28 km/h, despite the accumulated fatigue day after day.

Stéven Le Hyaric nevertheless had to contend with knee pain as soon as he entered Spain, not hesitating to show his distress live on social media. “I wanted to show the reality of the terrain, the kind you inevitably encounter on this type of extreme adventure. Moments of euphoria, but also deep discouragement. These live videos ultimately helped me a lot, thanks to the kind reactions and encouragement of those who followed me daily. My preparation was disrupted by a fractured shoulder blade less than five weeks before departure, and I couldn’t ride as much as I wanted before the project. And then I realized in Spain that I was riding with 170 mm cranks, whereas I’ve been using 172.5 for years. But I finally managed to deal with this pain, which eventually disappeared each day after a good warm-up.“

The pursuit of the extreme

These adventures, however, remain secondary compared to the energy deployed by the adventurer to balance his budgets between each of his projects. And the same goes for the continuation of the 666 adventure. “I relied on the help of private partners and a crowdfunding campaign to complete this #DakaRecord, and I’m just breaking even, whereas I had to go into personal debt for Dreams of the Himalayas,” explains Stéven Le Hyaric. “I have to finance my trip but also that of the cameramen and the cost of their working days for the preparation of a documentary on the effects of climate change. Everything is not yet finalized for the rest of 666. It seems easier today to find funding for very large projects worth several hundred thousand euros than to support projects like mine. I expect to experience more difficult and very intense moments both in the preparation and during the crossing of these deserts. But that’s how I feel alive.“

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