Here, We Love Cycling speaks to Tabite Farouk, a native Morrocan, who is tackling his first Škoda Titan Desert on home dunes. He tells us the plans for the six-stage race he entered through the partnership with Škoda.
Speaking about his preparation for this arduous race, he explained: “To be frank, as I already train for triathlons 3 to 4 times a week during the year, participating in different local events (bike race, trial, semi-marathon), I have just levelled up the volume during the last two months to reach 200 km on the bike per week.
“My aim is to reach 400 km a week for the next 2 weeks to be fully prepared for this awesome challenge. I use Zwift for indoor training, some days I train two times per day, and I switched from a single long outing on the MTB on Sunday to two long outings on both Saturday and Sunday.
“As you know, now it’s Ramadan in Morocco and we fast on this holy month, so I keep my programme (with training peaks) on the rails, it’s very hard but the challenge and the prize to finish the Titan is very motivating.”
Motivation is plain to see with Tabite. The Fez native has been training hard for the event but like so many, he is competing in the race for the first time, meaning the nuances of riding not only in the desert but also during consecutive days will prove to be the main challenge.
For Tabite, tackling and completing the race is the main motivation. He added: “I am excited to participate in one of the most challenging bike races in the world. I am always looking for new challenges. My aim is to finish as a first-time participant.”
To track Tabite’s participation alongside all of our interviewees, head to Titan Desert’s official website and follow them on social media for live updates.
