Here, We Love Cycling speaks to Amanda Bohlin, a former professional triathlete from Sweden, who is no stranger to a challenge.
“I am looking forward to it, it will be very exciting,” she begins. “It is my first race of this type.” The 33-year-old is from Atvidaberg in the southwest of the country, around three hours south of the capital Stockholm. Amanda, for much of her career, has only been on the bike for a third of the time, tackling triathlons across the globe and winning numerous titles in the Scandinavian region.
When asked about her biggest achievements, she answered: “I have a lot of achievements I’m proud of. I can name a few: I did triathlons full time between 2013 and 2018, and have 2 golds in the Nordic championships, also third place in the Swedish Championship XCM 2021.”
As much as these are all noteworthy, they have no relevance to the sands of Morocco, a challenge Amanda is relishing, alongside visiting something so vastly different to her native Sweden. She explained: “We have a lot of forests with slippery roots and stones, and, of course, the cold. So, the total opposite of the desert. The challenge will be to have enough energy for all stages and to be hydrated!”
Even though this will be a different type of endeavour, training has not changed for the former triathlete – nor has her diet.
Those challenges of finding the energy and making sure you keep safe await all the riders and for some, in itself, pose the attraction of taking on the Škoda Titan Desert. For Amanda, though, the ability to take on a six-stage race in the dunes of Morocco was enough to motivate her for this race.
She added: “The concept of the race is interesting. To be in the desert and all that results from it. The nature is also a big part of that.”
If you would like to follow Amanda on her adventure in north Africa, you can find all the information over at the Škoda Titan Desert’s official website and social media channels.
