Known the world over as Mr Endurocross, Polish racer and USWE athlete Taddy Blazusiak has taken a little time out of his ‘normal’ competitive schedule to try his hand at theAbu DhabiDesertChallenge…

Competing among the best rally competitors in the world, USWE ambassador Taddy Blazusiak is currently taking part in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – round one of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship series. Keen to sample a taste of true rally racing, USWE caught up with Blazusiak to find out more about what brought Taddy toAbu Dhabi…

Why did you decide to race the first round of the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship inAbu Dhabi?

Taddy: “When I looked at my calendar of events I realised that I had a small break between the end of the SuperEnduro series and the start of X Games and Endurocross, so I decided to give theAbu Dhabievent a try. I spoke to a few people about my idea and things quickly moved forward. One of my sponsors, Orleans, actually runs a team in the series, so together with them, KTM, USWE and the rest of the guys that support me I was able to make it happen.”

Your first rally experience was at the Desafio Litoral inArgentinaduring July 2012. But racing inAbu Dhabiwill be your first true taste of a desert rally. Are you enjoying the experience so far?

Taddy: “Yeah, it’s great out here. I really enjoyed the Desafio Litoral, but there were no sand dunes to contend with. Here inAbu Dhabithere are only sand dunes and some of them are huge. This is what rally racing is all about and why I wanted to compete in this race.”

Have you ever raced in true sand dunes before?

Taddy: “No, not even on my enduro bike! Last Wednesday I did some testing with the team and I began to get a feel for things. We only rode for about 50km so it was hard to learn anything in that short amount of time.”

What goals and expectations have you set yourself for the event?

Taddy: “I’m just here to have fun and enjoy the experience. This is not my sport so I won’t be risking anything to win. My main goal is to learn as much as possible and get a feel for things. InArgentinamy main issue was navigation. Reading the road book at high speed is still difficult for me. If, by the end of the week, I can get comfortable reading the road book while racing in sand then I’ll have achieved a lot.”

Given your interest in rally, are thoughts of a possible start in theDakarRally in the back of your mind?

Taddy: “As soon as I sat on a rally bike people immediately asked me aboutDakar. Of course it’s something that interests me. It’s a race that every guy that ever raced an enduro bike wants to do. But for now those thoughts are buried in the back of my mind. Endurocross is my only focus – it takes up all of my time. It’s not possible to jump from my EnduroCross bike to a rally bike and be competitive on both.”

With X-GamesBraziljust around the corner many people might question why you’re racing a rally bike inAbu Dhabi. How are preparations for X-Games going?

Taddy: “I’m ready. I’ve been working my butt off to be ready forBraziland I can’t wait to get there. Racing the SuperEnduro World Championship was a big part of that preparation and since the final round of that series inFranceI’ve put a lot of laps in on my test tracks. I’m really excited about going toBrazil. The X-Games series is going to be huge and I’m in it to win it.”

USWE Sports AB – www.uswe-sports.com

USWE® Sports AB is a young and dynamic company based inSwedenspecialising in the development and manufacture of high quality hydration packs and systems for performance minded sports people. Driven to produce premium products that deliver high-end performance, since 2007 USWE’s engineers have worked hand-in-hand with both pro and amateur athletes to produce market leading hydration packs and accessories. USWE has quickly developed a reputation for quality and superior function. USWE ambassadors include Enduro World Champions David Knight, Ivan Cervantes, Christophe Nambotin, Pela Renet & multi-time WORCS champion Kurt Caselli, 2012 WORCS champ Taylor Roberts, and many more…