In 1998 he wore the 118 bib on his back. Cristian Romero was at the time the first Argentinian to live the Dakar adventure on a bike. The attempt stopped in Mauritania, close to Atar after nine stages. The Buenos Aires native then failed to find the time to take on the Dakar again. Competition indeed isn’t his cup of tea: “I don’t compete in races anymore. On the other hand I often take off on tracks with a bunch of friends in Argentina or Chile. During four or five days we travel through the regions where the rally will go”. After being a good rugby second row player at CASI, one of the San Isidro clubs where his friend Agustin Pichot started, Cristian Romero switched to bike motorsports and worked on his technique: “My body forces me to be in shape and on a bike I don’t have strong assets. On the other hand I’m an all-rounder”. He was also helped out and given advice by biking references like Cris Hayden, Franco Picco, and his 11 appearances on the Dakar, or Kenny Roberts in his biking school of Barcelona. Used to riding a 990 KTM during his journeys with his friends, he will however go for a 690 on the Dakar that he just hopes to finish: “I feel confident at the idea of competing on the terrain here. I know that the Dakar has nothing to do with the other rallies that I have competed in but I know that I can make it to the finish”.
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