Josée, one of the participants in the 2020 Trophée Rose des Sables (formerly known as Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles), one of the few African rally raids reserved for women, also has an unconditional love for travel, snowshoeing, and hiking. In fact, this love led her to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 2013, a project that sprouted after seeing a magnificent landscape photo from a friend who had returned from there.

Before the Trophée Rose des Sables: Mount Kilimanjaro

Ultimately, she embarked on the journey with a colleague and a childhood friend, backpacking to push her limits. “It was a way to change my mindset, but I was also interested in the challenge: going to a continent I had never seen before.

The adventure is much more about getting there than reaching the summit itself. I was looking for a project, something interesting and different. When I saw that, I knew it was it.”

Although her expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro was a perfect trip in every way, Josée is aware that the 2020 Trophée Rose des Sables experience will be quite different.

Indeed, while a team of Sherpa guides took care of transporting her belongings from one stop to another on Mount Kilimanjaro, and her itinerary was fully planned for her, in Morocco, Annie and Josée will be almost self-reliant. “We will be left to ourselves, even though we will be monitored at all times.

It will be a completely different challenge: I won’t be able to rely on others. We will have to be very focused throughout the day. Every decision we make will have an impact on what comes next.”

She admits right away that this aspect worries her, but knowing that she will face the challenges with Annie gives her a great deal of courage: “Annie is strong, even though she always says she is less strong than she appears. It seems like nothing scares her, and it gives me wings to see her like that. At the same time, I don’t want to disappoint her or myself. We don’t want to leave anything on the table, and I will give everything to make it happen.”

This constant commitment to pushing herself to achieve her goals is evident not only on the ice, of course, but also in their preparations for the Trophée Rose des Sables. Evaluating the budget, developing sponsorship plans, making various reservations, undergoing various training, nothing is left to chance.

It’s a discipline they acquired from their early years.