Five questions for Karine Baillet, 30, from team n° 63 ‘Onyx’ – she’s a top French raid specialist (she’s participated in the Raid Gauloises ten years running, with a victory in 2002 in Vietnam, victories in the Raid Réunion d’aventures 2003-2004, and she came 13th in the world raid championships this year.)

How does a professional raider like yourself react to the Vittel Amazon Raid experience?

I didn’t come here just to put another paragraph in my CV. I’m here because I like the concept of a competition which is exclusively feminine and open to all. I’m here to coach a team which has different levels of ability. I really enjoy getting involved in the game, in fact, and I enjoy seeing the reactions of the girls who are experiencing their first raid. In this way, I hope I manage to transmit something of my passion to them. This year, we had a problem during the first trial, because we broke a pedal, and we lost 42 minutes at the start of the race which weren’t given back to us afterwards. We were 16th at the end of the first day. Even though we’re not a top-level team, and we’re not trying for first place, we’re still here to compete, and we were hoping for a place in the top five. After the day of trekking, we were in 10th position, exactly 42 minutes behind the leaders …

Do you manage to make a living off your passion?

No, but at least it doesn’t cost me anything. I have sponsors who follow me all year round. Otherwise, I have a regular job, I’m a teacher of fitness and physical education. And, concerning my desire to develop my own projects, I organise Le Touquet Raid Côte d’Opale. The next edition will be held the first weekend of April.

What are the questions which annoy you concerning your sporting activities?

What is the role of a woman in a mixed team? Do you feel as strong as the men? Is the raid a macho environment? That’s the type of questions that I’m usually asked!

But isn’t there some truth in the idea that it’s a world of machos?

That’s exactly why I stand up for the place of women in mixed teams, because we have a definite role to play. Today, women get chosen according to the profile and the course. This year, there were a lot of hills, so certain teams went looking for women who are good climbers. But next year, if there’s more kayak, they won’t hesitate to change their orientation. I think that women get replaced too easily. In fact, that’s why I created my own raid team in 2004. For one year of competition, you need between 40,000 and 45,000 €uros, and that’s being economical and choosing the courses. Most people don’t know that you don’t win money when you win a raid, except in the finals of the big series, where the winners can walk away with as much as 50,000 dollars.

What do you get out of participating in these raids which are so extreme, physically?

It’s my way of life, and I can’t imagine living any other way. Plus I like the multisports aspect of it, and the team project. If I keep coming back, I suppose that means I still haven’t really got everything out of it yet! (laughter)

Team n° 23 ‘TNT,’ a surprise team
Before taking the plane at Orly, Muriel, Antonia and Valérie didn’t know each other. And yet they’d been speaking on the phone every day. Specifically, since the 30th of June, the day that the management of TNT informed them that their candidatures had been accepted as participants in the Vittel Amazon Raid. In fact, this express transport company, a leader in the French and European market, had suggested to all its female employees that they should organise a team to participate in the Raid. All they had to do was write a letter of motivation. And to prove that the selection really was a national affair, the three Amazons who were chosen came from Lyon, Bordeaux and Nice. So when Muriel Labat, 38, Antonia Saura, 42, and Valérie Cordona, 34, met each other in the queue for the flight to Nairobi , they fell to hugging each other like old friends. Since then, through the different trials, their friendship has been growing steadily every day. “We found our complementarity and solidarity in just a few days,” rejoices Valérie. Besides this, they handled themselves remarkably well for contestants who had no opportunity of training together at all. First day – 38th. Second day – 76th. Third day – 66th, and 60th place on the fourth. Valérie wants to make one thing clear. “We collected a penalty of two hours on the trek, because we lost our check point card. That relegated us to the bottom of the list. Without that penalty, we would have been 19th before the final day.” But it’s no big deal. In any case, they’ll have the opportunity to avoid making the same mistake twice – the three new friends have sworn to come back next year.

A special note for team n° 4 ‘GN Resound.’
Anne Deloste, 39, is not the type of woman who admits defeat. When this nurse from the SMUR (Emergency Medical & Reanimation Service) from the département of the Var suddenly discovered that she couldn’t hear any more, she didn’t panic. Being used to the daily miracles of surgery, she thought that it would only take a minor operation before she would be able to hear her children’s voices once again. But as it happened, the doctors could do nothing for her, and she had to accept the fact that she would have to wear hearing aids in both ears. A pair of light, discrete appliances now enable her to be completely autonomous. But Anne, determined to demonstrate that deaf people are not cripples – “I work, I’m a normal member of society.” – set herself a challenge. She decided to participate in the Vittel Amazon Raid like any other woman. But where to find the money? Naturally, she turned to GN Resound, the company which makes her hearing aids. How? Simply by writing a letter to the French branch of the Danish company. Audacious! One evening, she received a phone call. Her letter had made an impression on the director, who invited Anne to Paris in order to discuss the details of the operation … Once the sponsorship was settled, all Anne had to do was find her partners. But instead of choosing friends, she preferred to work with people she didn’t know. “I love the idea of sharing this experience with people from different backgrounds, I wanted it to be a human adventure as well,” she says. By word of mouth, she found Linda Kahya (34 ans), manager of a clothes store in Antibes, and Irène Valéro (40), an employee of the Chambre of Commerce and Industry of the département of the Var. “I don’t like talking about myself, but I’d like my message to touch as many people as possible. Not hearing any more, or having limited hearing, is not a fatality,” continues Anne. “There’s nothing shameful in it, and there’s no need to hide for fear of looking like an imbecile. People with hearing problems shouldn’t feel they have to excuse themselves by saying – ‘Could you say that again, please, I didn’t understand.’ In fact, most of the time, it’s got nothing to do with not understanding. They didn’t hear, that’s all. ”


The final word from organiser Alexandre Debanne.
“The Vittel Raid worked well again this year, although we’re very sorry to announce that two of the Raiders were hurt. One of the contestants broke her wrist, and the other cut herself rather badly in the groin when she fell on her bike. She had to be stitched up and we decided to evacuate her to hospital just to be sure. She’ll be repatriated any time now. It’s never pleasant to witness that sort of accident. But there’s always one problem or another during the mountain bike trials. It was really a magnificent course this year, and, unfortunately, that’s one of the risks that we’ve come to expect in this type of event. Luckily, they were the only accidents in this year’s Raid. I thought for a while that we were going to make it to the end without any accidents at all, but I’d reckoned without the mountain bikes … Apart from that, it was a wonderful course, perhaps the most beautiful of the last few years, because this is Africa, and it’s a truly magical continent. We visited some extraordinary sites, and the ladies were able to move around in close proximity to the animals in Hell’s Gate National Park at Naivasha – that was a magical moment, because it’s the only place in the world where that’s possible. Furthermore, it was the first time that a race has ever been organised in a national park. You could walk around in the middle of the animals. And the hospitality of the Kenyans was perfect. We did have a few difficulties at the level of the organisation, though, due to some problems with telecommunications which made it complicated for us. Next year? There are a few ideas going around. There are an increasing number of countries that would like to welcome us, and that gives us a lot of pleasure. We’ve been contacted by Morocco, the Dominican Republic and China. Also New Caledonia, but unfortunately, at a distance of twenty-four hours flying time, it’s just too far away. For the moment, the most interesting candidature comes from the Sultanate of Oman, which is destined to have a fine future as a tourist centre. I’ve been all round that country on several occasions, and I’m looking at the idea with interest. On top of everything else, it’s a magnificent environment of a type that we haven’t yet visited with the Raid. Then there’s another country that everyone’s interested in - Brazil. Even the name is evocative, and it’s true that as a destination, it’s attractive to just about everybody. We’d really like to go there, particularly since this is the year of Brazil in France, and next year will be the year of France in Brazil. We’re already well engaged in discussions with Brazil – but I’m not letting go of the Sultanate of Oman for the moment. Get back to me at the end of November, that’s when we’ll be making our decision.”