The route for the January 1–16, 2011, Dakar rally has been published, and much of it is desert.

Riders will travel north through Argentina and Chile before hitting the return path, which travels for a while along the west coast. The route will be a mix of old and new.

From the Dakar website: "For this third episode in South America, the riders, drivers and crews will be returning to some places that have already written themselves into the rally's legend, such as the white dunes of Fiambala, the vast Atacama Desert or the dizzying descent to Iquique. More particularly, they will have the opportunity to discover five new Argentinean provinces, come close to Bolivia and encounter the very northern tip of Chile in Arica, at the gateway to Peru."

Rules are also evolving and will favour competitors who can read.

"In order to respect the rally-raid spirit; the rules will continue to change in 2011, with all elite riders in the bike category obliged to ride on a machine whose power does not exceed 450cc. Furthermore, the GPS functions have been reduced for guidance to the WPM (way point markers), giving priority to reading and mastering the road-book."

For more Dakar fun, see www.dakar.com.