Red Bull athlete, Christian Schiester's hot journey round the globe is moving on to the next level: the Austrian athlete is going to venture into the land of the pharaohs. In the midst of pyramids, sphinxes, sand dunes and oases, he will have to complete six stages over seven days, the total being 250 kilometers. In addition to the tremendous distances, Schiester will also have to deal with the deep sand and temperatures exceeding 60° Celsius designed to drive him to his limit and beyond. Nonetheless, Red Bull athlete is aiming high, “I suppose it will be the hottest of the 4 Desert Cups. Even though, being an Austrian, I am not exactly used to such temperatures I do feel ideally prepared and want to attain a top-three placement.” End of October, the 42-year-old Red Bull athlete sets out to complete the second of four desert adventures. This time it will take him into the pharaohs' magical deserts. But a caravan of camels will not be at the Styrian's disposition. Except for tents, all the equipment and the daily water rations have to be carried by the competitors themselves. This does put a great strain on the athletes, especially in the Sahara desert whose deep sands can be very tricky and challenging. Not only the difficult terrain will pose a challenge for the father of two sons. At night temperatures drop from 60°C to sometimes -10°C. Moreover the desert has always got unpleasant surprises in store; be it sandstorms, scorpions or sand vipers – anything can happen. “What I do is focus on myself entirely and blank out things like that. Should there be a dangerous situation, I shall deal with it duly when I am required to do so.” Schiester seems to be excellently prepared. The rest remains to be seen as he likes to say, “In Chile I lost my focus for two minutes only; unfortunately that was enough to get me on the wrong track and I jeopardised a top rank. Also, one is never immune to injuries, illnesses. I still want to be in the top-three.“ Roughly 150 competitors from 30 countries will be competing in the Sahara Race. They will have to complete six stages ranging from 20 - 80 kilometres over seven days. The stages are arranged to cover the most spectacular and varied part of the Sahara like 180-meter high sand dunes and scenic oases. After 250 kilometers of pain, sweat and scorching heat, the competitors will be rewarded with a special finish: they will cross the finish line right at the foot of the pyramids of Gizeh. __
