Dakar the toughest? SA's Landman explains why 'insane' Romaniacs is more dangerous

Kirsten Landman is undoubtedly one of South Africa's forefront endurance racers and the leading female to take up this daunting sport.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, the 2023 Dakar competitor is headed for Romania to compete in the Red Bull Romaniacs - the toughest, most challenging, most gruelling enduro race on the planet.

But wait a minute, isn't Dakar the toughest?

Always ready to talk about the sport she loves, Landman sat down with News24 to explain the intricacies in comparting Dakar to Hard Enduro, which has led to the realisation that what she is about to face in Romania is wild (to put it mildly).

Landman sets the tone with a harsh revelation: "Red Bull Romaniacs is the most insane stuff, and the obstacles (hills, inclines, etc.) you wouldn't even attempt to walk up, so you think, 'how would a bike even go up there?!'

"Romaniacs is extremely physical, and you need really good technical abilities. You are on a single bike track, hanging off the side of the mountain, and one mistake and you and your bike are gone."

It's not the same

The Dakar Rally is regarded as the toughest race on the planet. Ran over 14 stages over two weeks, competitors (cars, bikes, quads, trucks) are tested as mind and body are pushed to the limit.

Some stages can be over 900km long and are completed between 10 and 12 hours on the bike, but Romaniacs differs. It's very different.

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"Dakar is off-road, which is a lot faster," Landman says. "It's rally."

"And Romaniacs is what we'd call hard enduro. The bikes are different, the setups which we ride are different, the terrain we compete on is different. It's a lot more physical … In Romaniacs,