Racing cars are designed to be as light as possible – so they can accelerate faster, and the technical components are subjected to lower loads. The technical regulations of the race often even specify the minimum allowed weight of a car, motorcycle or quad to even out the competition. And if the driver makes a small percentage of a car weighing more than one and a half tons, in quad category this reading can have a very large influence on the result.
CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team pilot Antanas Kanopkinas says that while preparing for his first Dakar, he exercised intensively and at the same time tried to gain weight: “It is a long marathon and from my point of view it was necessary to gain weight so that the body would have somewhere to get energy from. I weighed 90 kilograms at the start of the Dakar.”
Since A. Kanopkinas drove the biggest quad bike in the Dakar, he knew in advance that he would not be able to match the speed of the others, two-wheel driven models. That all changed later in the competition in Portugal, where he started alongside his team-mate Gaetan Martinez.
“The speed difference between us, riding the same quads, was huge on the straights – almost up to 8 km/h. We started looking for solutions and noticed that not only that: the forks of my quad bike lasted less, the braking was different. Gaetan weighed less than 60 kilograms, and I had only lost a little weight after the Dakar,” told A. Kanopkinas and said that then he decided to lose weight.
So far, consistently achieving his goal, he managed to get rid of fifteen kilograms. As a result, the athlete says, he needs fewer calories per day, and his stamina has increased even more. This is also felt when riding a quad bike – the maximum speed has increased and the load on the components has decreased, thus increasing the reliability on the tracks.
The biggest challenges in losing weight
The athlete does not hide that the biggest challenges in losing weight were giving up some of his habits: “My most harmful habit was snacking in the evenings, which I had to give up completely. Of course, I found all kinds of alternatives – I started running, which brought a certain charm to everyday life.”
Together with this goal, A. Kanopkinas’ lifestyle changed. For a while, he gave up alcohol completely, and now, he says, he sometimes allows himself a glass of beer or wine: “I really can’t call myself a saint, but I take care of myself very hard. At the moment I’m trying to keep my weight around 75 kg, but maybe I’ll try to reach 70 kg before the upcoming start.”
Although quads have been canceled in the upcoming Dakar Rally, A. Kanopkinas mentions that this does not mean that their team will not be able to be seen at this event.
