Here’s the schedule for the 2015 Dakar Rally, with a few key changes over last year’s race.
Most importantly, there are now two marathon stages (Stage 7 and Stage 10) in the second half. Marathon stages are especially tricky, as the riders are required to be self-sufficient, with no help from their support staff. This really separates the boys from the men (or the girls from the women).
The rally starts on January 4 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The rest day is on January 10 in Iquique , Chile. From there, the race heads north into Bolivia, then turns back south. The rally wraps up on January 17, back in Buenos Aires. The rally will be 9,295 km long, with 4,752 km of timed specials.
Several of this year’s stages will be over 3,700 m in elevation. That’s going to take a toll on competitors for sure; every year, Dakar organizers make the race harder, and at this rate, the only people able to compete in a few years will be riders with the conditioning of Navy Seals or Spetsnaz operators, with the financial backing of Jim Balsillie or Bill Gates …
You can read more about this year’s Dakar route, with detailed descriptions of each stop, here.
Stage/Day/From-to total KM/Special/Liaision
Stage 1 4 January Buenos Aires – Villa Carlos Paz 838 175 663
Stage 2 5 January Villa Carlos Paz – San Juan 625 518 107
Stage 3 6 January San Juan – Chilecito 657 220 437
Stage 4 7 January Chilecito – Copiapó 909 315 594
Stage 5 8 January Copiapó – Antofagasta 697 458 239
Stage 6 9 January Antofagasta – Iquique 688 319 369
Rest day 10 January Iquique
Stage 7 11 January Iquique – Uyuni (*) 717 321 396
Stage 8 12 January Uyuni – Iquique 805 781 24
Stage 9 13 January Iquique – Calama 539 451 88
Stage 10 14 January Calama – Salta (*) 891 371 520
Stage 11 15 January Salta – Termas Río Hondo 512 351 161
Stage 12 16 January Termas Río Hondo – Rosario 1024 298 726
Stage 13 17 January Rosario – Buenos Aires 393 174 219
(*) Marathon Stage
