142 motorcycle riders have signed up for the 40th edition of the Dakar, which starts in Lima on 6 January. Defending champion Sam Sunderland scored a double whammy in 2017, when he completed the rally for the first time and won the race to boot.

Austria's KTM are once again the favourites, but the general classification is wide open, with their Honda and Yamaha rivals ready to pounce on any weakness.

Far behind the fight for the title, 28 riders will tackle the challenge. These extraordinary adventurers are there in greater numbers than at any previous point since the Dakar moved to South America.

"There are probably 10 guys with the capability of winning the Dakar." Sam Sunderland's diplomatic prediction obviously includes him as one of the contenders.

Based on the number 1 that will be displayed on his motorcycle and pinned to his race suit, some would even say he is the big favourite. At any rate, the Brit's analysis goes to show just how much things have changed since that time when the ever-consistent Cyril Despres and Marc Coma divided the spoils between themselves.

KTM's new leader is well aware that, in rally raid, dreams of glory can often crumble under the weight of unexpected events. He experienced it first-hand this year, when heavy rains in the Rally of Morocco caused him to drown his bike and wave goodbye to the world championship.

Toby Price, the other former champion racing this year, could also say a thing or two about how hard it is to defend one's title.

The Aussie spent most of the year convalescing after breaking his femur in the fourth stage of last year's race. However, the doubts around their leading duo do not in any way diminish KTM's firepower in their quest for a 17th consecutive victory. Last year's runner-up, Matthias Walkner, claimed the Rally of Morocco, while teammate Antoine Méo finished fourth and proved that he is also a force to be reckoned with.

KTM's rivals have had to settle for minor placings and stage wins so far, but their never-say-die attitude makes them once again a serious threat for the overall victory. Honda, for example, can never be written off.

Joan Barreda may not be the most consistent rider, but he is probably the fastest one, with 19 specials under his belt! However, HRC is pinning its hopes on 2015 runner-up Paulo Gonçalves, if he manages to fully recover from his recent fall during training, and Kevin Benavides, who had to sit out the 2017 edition but was hot on Walkner's heels a few weeks ago when he finished second in Morocco.

Yamaha, meanwhile, has finished on the podium with David Frétigné (2009), Hélder Rodrigues (2011 and 2012) and Olivier Pain (2014) since it returned to centre stage. Now, Adrien van Beveren (fourth in 2017), last year's best rookie Franco Caimi (eighth) and Xavier de Soultrait, who won the Merzouga Rally and finished fourth and fifth in the Argentinian and Chilean legs of the world championship, have brought in a breath of fresh air to the team.

Like in 2016, the most consistent rider of the season has been Pablo Quintanilla, who will be riding for Husqvarna again. As far as we are concerned, Sam, that makes it 11 guys with a shot at winning!

The turn of the 21^st century ushered in an era of Russian domination in the truck category.

Ever since Vladimir Chagin tasted his first victory at the feet of the pyramids in Cairo in 2000, Kamaz's victorious streak has only been interrupted three times: 2007, 2012 and 2016.

The Tsar called it a day after beating Karel Loprais's record with a seventh triumph, but the handover went without a hitch for the Russian team. His direct heir, defending champion Eduard Nikolaev, claimed his maiden win in 2013 before even turning 30, just like teammate Ayrat Mardeev in 2015.

This time around, the Dakar champions will be escorted by another rising star, Dmitry Sotnikov, who laid his talent bare for all to see with a second place overall last year.

It has been clear for a long time that the trucks from Tatarstan are the cream of the crop… and that Naberezhnye Chelny, where all three Russian drivers in this year's Dakar were born, keeps churning out truck-driving prodigies! However, many rivals will try to block their path to a 15^th title.

Team De Rooy's Iveco trucks remain the only ones to have broken the Russian streak in South America and will again be their toughest competitors.

After a spectacular transition to the truck category, Federico Villagra (third in 2016 and fourth in 2017) is now a legitimate pretender to the crown, especially now that he will be leading the Dutch team and the Argentinian delegation, which is more than ready to fête him on the podium set up in his home town of Córdoba on 20 January.

However, anyone keeping a close eye on the category has also seen the rest of the field inch closer to the Kamaz and Iveco trucks. The Czech Republic's Aleš Loprais and Martin Kolomý, both driving Tatra trucks albeit in different teams, pose a credible outside threat.

Meanwhile, neither Martin van den Brink in Renault (fourth in 2015 and two stage wins in 2017) nor Belarusian Aleksandr Vasilevski in MAZ-SPORTAuto (sixth in 2017) have gone unnoticed as they rise through the ranks. They will be in the mix for a podium spot… at the very least.

Among the amateur crews, Richard de Groot's troop is unlikely to pile the pressure on Kamaz, but it will clearly be a hit with the fans.

His big red truck is wholly manned by firefighters who get the celebrity treatment from their South American peers at every stop.

Marc Leeuw, racing in the rally for the first time since 2012, will bolster the Dutch contingent, again the largest in the category.

During the African era of the rally, only a handful of quad riders would routinely take starter’s orders.

On discovering South America, the Dakar also opened itself up to the many quad riders who speed over the tracks and dunes of the continent all year round and who have shown themselves to be the quickest competitors in their category on what has become the major date in their diary.

Besides the Patronelli brothers, who have taken five titles in the category, the Latinos have especially demonstrated strength in numbers at an elite level, picking up 18 podium finishes at the end of the rally over this period. This year, 30 South American quad riders will be tackling the Dakar, with very serious candidates for outright victory again amongst their ranks, even without the Patronelli brothers.

The first in line is Ignacio Casale, the winner in 2014, who possesses the most impressive roll of honour. Last January, the Chilean rider was suffering physically, but still managed to stand up to Sergey Karyakin and finished 2^nd in Buenos Aires.

In the meantime, he beat some of his forthcoming rivals on the Baja Atacama, as he fine-tuned his preparation in the best conditions. Casale will have to do battle with some esteemed Argentinean neighbours, such as Pablo Copetti (3^rd in 2017) or the eternally youthful Jeremias Gonzales (2nd in 2015).

The Bolivians will not be outdone either, thanks to their standard-bearer Walter Nosiglia, 3^rd in 2016 and a two times stage winner last January. Peru, which is making its comeback on the route of the Dakar, could also see its representatives shine in the general standings, just like Ignacio Flores did by winning the first stage of the Dakar in 2013: he will once again be present, as will his countryman Alexis Hernandez (8^th in 2017).

Despite the overall domination of the South Americans, three Europeans have triumphed since 2009: Czech rider Josef Macháček, Poland’s Rafal Sonik and Russian Sergey Karyakin. Macháček took a break from racing and has still not entirely returned to the consistency that saw him win five stages in total, but the two other riders are still very much in with a shout for victory.

The challenge will be the same for the two French quad riders who put in impressive performances on the last edition: Simon Vitse, who led the general standings at the midway point before withdrawing, and Axel Durie, who finished 5th on his first Dakar.

However, for the Hispanics, the danger could also come from the Netherlands, in the form of world champion Kees Koolen, who won his first stage last year, and former biker Bastiaan Nijen-Twilhaar.

Finally, although the category has lost Camelia Liparoti, who this year has been seduced by the charms of an SxS, there will still be a women’s title to fight for, between Bolivian Suany Martinez and Czech rider Olga Rouckova.

Six weeks before the start in Lima, in Paris Etienne Lavigne unveiled details of the sporting content for the 40^th edition of the Dakar, which promises a large portion of dunes in the first Peruvian stages from 6^th January onwards.

 In total, the route stretches to Córdoba over a distance of almost 9,000 km, of which 4,500 km will be raced against the clock. For this crossing of Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, 337 vehicles will be present.

 Among these vehicles, the bikes, quads, cars, Side by Side and trucks prepared in Europe are getting ready to undergo initial scrutineering in Le Havre before boarding for a transatlantic crossing and passage through the Panama Canal, signalling the start of the adventure…  

“In Africa at the end of the 1970’s or in South America at the start of the 21^st century, the riders and drivers taking part in the Dakar set off with the same desire to meet a challenge and the same thirst for discovery,” reminded Etienne Lavigne, the rally director, at the beginning of the presentation of the 40^th edition.

For this exceptional vintage, a special programme has been concocted to satisfy the expectations of competitors looking forward to reacquainting themselves with the Peruvian desert, whose delights they already tasted in 2012 and 2013. Indeed, they will be getting to grips with these majestic dunes straight away, stretching over five stages.

Sporting director Marc Coma assured the competitors that the programme of this first sequence will take in “all the types of sand in Peru”. Whilst these initial dune crossings will lead to an initial cull among the competitors, the change in register will also be difficult to handle when the rally enters Bolivia, where coping with the weather and atmospheric conditions will require the adventurers to display qualities of extreme endurance."

Above all, the five times winner of the event has designed the rally to ramp up the stakes as it progresses, with the decisive stages in the last third of the race, on Argentine territory.

“The Super Fiambalá stage (Belén-Chilecito), which will also be the second part of the marathon stage for the bikes and quads, could be the high point of the race if it is as hot as it usually is there,” points out Coma.

The list of participants published to coincide with the presentation includes 337 vehicles, all aiming to reach Córdoba, the capital of Argentine motorsport.

Among them, a handful in each category will be battling for the title. This will naturally be the case for Stéphane Peterhansel, who has won 13 times since the start of his career… thirty years ago! “Mister Dakar”, the leader for the last time of a Peugeot armada that hogged the places on the podium last year with Sébastien Loeb and Cyril Despres, will not only have to deal with competition from his team-mates.

The fleet of Toyota Hiluxes will be led by Nasser Al Attiyah, who remains unbeaten this season since withdrawing from the toughest rally-raid in the world on the 3^rd stage last January. As for Team X-Raid, “Nani” Roma, the winner in 2014, will be making his comeback as the team’s spearhead, with team-mates ready to make trouble for their rivals such as Mikko Hirvonen or newcomer Bryce Menzies, all behind the wheels of their brand new Minis.

In the bike race, nobody has really bossed the category since Cyril Despres and then Marc Coma definitively climbed off their bikes.

KTM has continued to triumph thanks to Toby Price (in 2016) and Sam Sunderland (in 2017) and now the Austrian firm can also count on Matthias Walkner or Antoine Meo.

Yamaha also have a new generation coming to the forefront with Adrian van Beveren, Franco Caimi and Xavier de Soultrait as leaders, whilst Honda will be relying on the experience of Paulo Gonçalves and Joan Barreda as well as on the youth of Kevin Benavides or Ricky Brabec.

“Original by Motul”: 28 biker-mechanics to take starter’s orders

In the spirit of the Dakar pioneers, some of the bikers and quad riders choose to tackle the route by pushing the concept of adventure and surpassing themselves to the extreme. Without an assistance team, they alone will be ensuring their machines remain in racing condition, even if they end up losing hours of sleep in order to do so.

The official Dakar partner Motul has decided to support these brave adventurers, formerly called “trunk riders”, by making products and equipment available to them at the bivouacs.

This category has witnessed an upsurge this year, with 28 riders registered (as opposed to 19 in 2017), including Olivier Pain (3^rd in 2014) who will be fighting with Jürgen Van den Goorgbergh or Lyndon Poskitt to claim triumph among the “daredevils”.