Škoda Titan Desert Morocco 2023: between altitude and desert

The Škoda Titan Desert Morocco has announced its 2023 route. While in 2022 the desert was the main protagonist, this year the mountains and the contrasting landscapes take over.

Over 620 kilometres and 7,700 metres of accumulated height gain over six stages are the Škoda Titan Desert Morocco 2023’s calling card. Mountains, desert, fast tracks and navigation sections come together in one of the most spectacular and innovative editions in living memory.

The first two days will take place around the Atlas Mountains, an area of many kilometres that is new to the race and which will account for a large part of the height gain that the Titans will accumulate in their legs.

From there, the race moves on to more familiar terrains, where navigation, the ability to choose the best tracks and to regulate effort will be key.

Of course, the Škoda Titan Desert Morocco 2023 will include the usual challenges. Stages 3 and 4 will be marathon (without mechanical assistance and with unacclimatised haimas), stage 2 will include the Škoda Challenge (a time trial section with bonus seconds for the GC) and there will be navigation sectors on three stages, where riders will have to use their sense of direction to ride.

A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE

“Every year we look to innovate and create different adventures. I think this year we have really succeeded,” explained Jesús García, Titan World Series CEO. “This is precisely what continues to motivate us after 17 editions: to continue to generate unique emotions and to surprise the Titans”.

The Škoda Sponsorship Manager, Joan Massallé, shared the same view: “Cycling is effort and self-improvement, but also spectacularity and the ability to adapt to any circumstance. At Škoda we know this well, and these are values that we live by as a brand, especially at a time like the present when we are in the midst of a transformation towards electromobility.” “This sport is in our DNA, and through collaborations with the most important races in the world, such as the Škoda Titan Desert Morocco, we continue to reassert ourselves as the car of cycling.”

The event was also attended by some of the participants who will take the start on April 30th. Five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Induráin will be one of the big stars of the peloton. The cyclist from Navarre spoke of his “satisfaction” at returning to the desert, after his participation in the Škoda Titan Desert Almería in 2020.

Alongside Induráin, and sharing the same team jersey, will be the reigning champion of the race in the men’s GC, Konny Looser. Winner in 2021 and 2022, the swiss will face a tremendously demanding course to be able to repeat his triumph.

INTO THE ADVENTURE

Between April 30th and May 5th, half a thousand Titans will set off to complete the more than 600 kilometres that separate the starting line in Boumalne Dades from the classic finish line in the Maadid region.

Along the way, tough climbs, dune crossings, lots of desert and, above all, that Titan spirit that permeates all Titan World Series events.

But the adventure will not stop at the end of the Škoda Titan Desert Morocco. On October 7th, the fourth edition of the Škoda Titan Desert Almería is on the horizon, which will once again be the only one on the European continent. In November, the NEOM Titan Desert Saudi Arabia will bring the Titan World Series year to a close.