He was inspired by Laia Sanz and made history for Africa

Having female role models in sport is key for the youngest who want to emulate their achievements and have references in life. This process, repeated many times, is the best engine for female participation to continue to grow in motor sports. This is the case of kirstenlandman. Of Kwa-Zulu Natal (South Africa), He grew up in the world of motorcycles in his country, breaking the mold by being inspired by the rider from Corbera de Llobregat, Laia Sanz. He did this by fighting any stereotype with gas, ignoring the many people who told him that what he wanted was not possible. All this, until they reach their goals and make history in Dakar for all of Africa.

The Dakar it is a race where many are looking for important answers or where others are trying to squeeze out the opportunity to live life to the fullest. This is the case of Landman (8-5-1991). We found him in the afternoon, in the bivouac of Shubayah (Saudi Arabia), lying on the ground, under his motorcycle, fixing his engine to go out the next day in search of his goal to achieve a goal that he would overcome a few days later with great emotion, after competing in first time on a motorcycle in the most refined class of all Original by Motul (without help, fixing the bike at the end of each stage and sleeping in a tent. He wants to go one step further after became the first African woman to complete the Dakar on a motorcycle in 2020, at that time with help. But for Landman, those successes are something more important. A proof of life. To understand it, it is important to understand its history.

“I’m about to die, it’s a miracle”

“It all started when I was little. My cousin was 7 years old when they gave him his first motorcycle. At that time I was 8 years old and I fell madly in love with it. I begged my father to buy me one and after insisting a lot he bought me one ‘Peawie 80’. My life changed in that moment. In fact, I don’t remember life before that bike. I was 8 years old and life began for me. When I was young, it was just love and then it became my career”, describes Landman for this newspaper. From that moment on, his dream was clear. When he finished school, he was given another motorcycle and told that in order to compete he needed to find someone to sponsor him. He made it, but in 2013 his entire life was about to end. During a race in Botswana he suffered a massive accident that would change everything.

“It took them an hour and a half to find me because I fell in a bushy area. I remembered that I couldn’t move but I managed to not sleep. I went to the hospital at noon and they gave me morphine to relieve all the pain I was feeling. The doctor told me I had nothing but through some blood tests another doctor ordered me, they knew exactly what was going on with me: it damaged my pancreas and my small intestine. I’m about to die”he pointed out.

36 hours later, they performed a very complicated operation on him. “They opened me up and cleaned the inside. It took them 24 hours to clear me., so I’m open all that time. All my organs were affected, my heart stopped and they had to put me on life support. I was in a coma. I had surgery in South Africa and that was lucky. If I had been operated on in Botswana I don’t think I would have survived. It is a miracle. The doctor told me it was a miracle.”MD added while fixing his motorcycle.

The Dakar as shock therapy

After that, another motorcycle was about to leave. But Kirsten couldn’t understand life without two wheels. “If I don’t ride a motorcycle it’s like I don’t live. I know there is life beyond motorcycles but this is my life and my passion. This makes me happy”. It doesn’t mean you don’t feel fear. “I’m always afraid. Every time I compete, I feel so scared. I’m scared when I’m racing without a route because I feel like I’m out of control.”he added. because he chose the Dakar as shock therapy.

“Why did I decide to participate in a Dakar? The main reason is because I want to overcome my fear of speed. After my accident I told myself that I would never race without a route. After a while I realized that I had to face it. What better way than to participate in a Dakar? That’s why I participated in 2020 and have improved a lot since then. This year, I wanted to test myself more. I always follow the Dakar from home and I want to live that experience to the fullest”. And she did it without help, reaching the finish line in tears of happiness.

Laia Sanz, her inspiration: “She’s the best ever”

“It was a great experience. It was very difficult, I cried at some stages, I was disappointed, I wanted to give up and I was scared. I think this year I experienced what the real Dakar is. We had a bad time and this is very difficult. You suffer, but when you cross the finish line you think it’s worth it”, concluded Landman in front of MD, declaring himself a big fan of Laia Sanz forever. Catalan is his inspiration, an example to follow.

“There is no one like Laia in our generation, the same goes for climbers… but Laia is only one. What he achieved was something incredible. To be Top-10 in a Dakar… he’s a champion and it’s not normal. This is the best of all time. Above is a great man. He is kind and always has time for you. You messaged him and he replied. I learned from him that everything is possible. That I am a woman means nothing, I can compete like a man. I’d like to think there’s no difference.” he declared, happy to have achieved goals that some in his country thought were impossible. “In my career many people told me that I would not make it. But everything those people did motivated me to achieve it.

“I grew up watching pilots like Laia and now I feel like I’m also having an impact on girls in my country. I was the first rider in South Africa to get a sponsor from a team there and now they are sponsoring girls.” She also wants to be an example so that younger girls, like Laia did and Kirsten in their time, would dream of becoming motorcycle pilots in the Dakar. Necessary examples. Pioneers.