But unlike yesterday, today every kilometer over the crow-flies distance will count.
Today the competitors will have to find 7 checkpoints on the wide plains of Hassi Beraber, surrounded by the cliffs of Hamada du Guir on one side and the monumental Erg Chebbi on the other.
The terrain is quite smooth despite a few low hills and a first taste of sandy wadis. It may seem simple at first, but that’s just a mirage, because the map of the area is not that easy to read. The terrain is relatively straightforward, nothing is impossible to cross, but it's very easy to lose one’s bearings, as the circle representing one’s approximate position on the map inexorably widens…
But the first extra kilometers will lose their importance when, just around the curve of a hill, at the foot of a mound of sand or a wadi, the first red wind flag with the gazelle's head appears… every Gazelle's obsession from that point on.
And then it will be their first return to the bivouac and time for the evening routine. A visit to the "P'tits gris" in the Rankings office. Set up the tent. SEE the mechanics. Prepare the maps for tomorrow's leg. Dinner and a good night's sleep… the sandman is on his way…