Red Bull.com

Cyril Despres started riding Enduro in 1998 – and became French Enduro Champion in the same year – 11 years after buying his first motorbike aged 13. Without telling his parents, the young Despres caught the train to Paris and did the deal with a salesman. He proved a natural, although he did break three toes and a thumb on that first bike.

In 2000, in order to race in his first Dakar rally, Cyril sold 6,000 bottles of wine to raise the necessary money. The gamble paid off and he finished 16th, announcing his arrival on the extreme Enduro scene. The result paved the way to better bikes and bigger races and he registered his first Dakar stage win in 2001.

The Frenchman has gone on to win the Dakar three times in 2005, 2007 and most recently, in 2010. Cyril also landed on the podium for second place results in both 2009 and 2003. Having tasted the joys of running his own team, he is now determined to tackle the 2011 Dakar in exactly the same way and the whole of his 2010 season has been dedicated to getting his team ready for a fourth victory. Cyril has reduced his race program and instead concentrated on developing KTM’s new 450 rally bike on which he won ‘first time out’ on the Rallye du Maroc.

Keep up with Cyril at his personal website.