Roses des Sables Rally 2026: A Female Duo Takes on the Moroccan Desert in a Side-by-Side

InfoQuad.com is proud to announce a partnership with Les Algazelles for the Roses des Sables Rally in October 2026! We are Nathalie and Christine, former colleagues and long-time friends, and we have taken on the challenge of competing in the 2026 Roses des Sables Rally in a side-by-side (SSV) across the Moroccan desert. First, we’ll introduce ourselves and the event. In this article, you’ll discover what motivated us to sign up. Follow us so you don’t miss any of our publications, where we’ll share—step by step—the challenges and stakes that lie ahead!

Les Algazelles : A Committed Team at the 2026 Roses des Sables Rally

We chose Les Algazelles Roses des Sables as our team name. We will be representing team no. 416 at the rally’s start in October 2026. But before explaining how we came up with that name, let’s get acquainted. To introduce ourselves, we decided to do it for each other! To begin, let’s give the floor to Nathalie.

Christine “Calming” Rivard, Pilot

Let me first introduce Christine, who will be our pilot during the rally. She is 66 years old and lives in the Portneuf region.

An active retiree, Christine holds a black belt in karate and Iaido. Iaido is a Japanese martial art practised with a sword. It is a discipline where technical efficiency, movement mastery, and spirituality are closely intertwined.

Athletic through and through, she’s ready to try anything that comes her way. She is also determined, persistent, and disciplined, which is why I am confidently embarking on this adventure by her side. She also loves dance, music, the arts, and many other shared interests that open us up to the world.

A long-time quad enthusiast, Christine previously rode mostly three-wheeled motorcycles. She is now ready to experience this new side-by-side adventure in an environment completely unfamiliar to her.

I call her the Calm One. Why? Because she’s a positive woman who’s always in a good mood. I’d even call her a real life of the party! Personally, I expect these qualities to be extremely helpful in moments of intense adversity.

Now that you’ve met Christine, it’s her turn to speak.

Nathalie “Intense” Delpierre, Co-Pilot

Now it’s my turn to introduce Nathalie, my co-pilot. A resident of the City of Québec, Nathalie is originally from France. She took a major leap 25 years ago when she immigrated to Canada. In my view, leaving behind everything familiar to start over in a new country is a true adventure in itself—making her the perfect teammate to face the great adventure of the Roses des Sables Rally with me.

At 56 years old, this former equestrian will now ride the desert dunes at my side—this time in an SSV. Altruistic and curious, she loves sharing, nature, and photography. Trust me, her skills will leave you in awe! Creative and passionate about travel and discovery, she takes on this new challenge with boldness.

An accountant by profession, Nathalie is methodical and excels at planning. Everything involving numbers goes through her hands! She manages the budget just as well as she holds the reins. I’m in good hands with her! To our future partners: you can support us with complete confidence.

I affectionately call her the Intense One. Why? Because even though her energy and complexity sometimes catch me off guard, I have to admit she’s got fuel to spare.

There’s no doubt about it—we form a powerful, versatile, and complementary team.

A Complementary Team for the Rally

“Self-improvement for ourselves, commitment to others.”—Christine & Nathalie, Les Algazelles

Now that you know us, you might be wondering where our team name comes from. Stay tuned—we’ll explain it in our next article, coming next month!

What Is the Roses des Sables Rally?

Heading to Morocco!

The Roses des Sables Rally is an incredible rally raid, 100% female and charity-driven, held every October for the past 25 years. This annual event welcomes ATVs, side-by-sides, motorcycles, and quads. It is an orienteering race combining athletic challenge, compass navigation, and a road book.

Participants from over ten different countries take on a tailor-made challenge suited to all skill levels. Throughout the event, cooperation and teamwork take precedence over individual performance. Each edition reveals stories of self-discovery, strengthened friendships, and solidarity. We can’t wait to share ours with you!

The Philanthropic Mission of the Roses des Sables Rally

The Roses des Sables Rally is more than just an orienteering race. In addition to encouraging women to push their limits, the organization supports charitable associations such as Ruban Rose (breast cancer awareness) and the Breakfast Club of Canada.

Ruban Rose: Breast Cancer Awareness

Since 2012, the Roses des Sables Rally has partnered with Ruban Rose, an organization dedicated to raising awareness for breast cancer screening—a disease that affects one in eight women. This partnership aims to reach a broad audience, particularly through the annual Pink October campaign. I vividly remember the year participants formed a human pink ribbon in the dunes of Merzouga—a powerful and symbolic image of solidarity that continues to bring visibility to the cause. In my opinion, it’s one of the most impactful moments of this collaboration.

Breakfast Club of Canada: Supporting Children at Home

The Roses des Sables Rally also works with the Breakfast Club of Canada, a charity dedicated to providing nutritious breakfasts to children so they can start their day on the right foot. With over 3,800 programs nationwide, the organization helps more than 650,000 children.

By offering a balanced breakfast, the Club improves children’s concentration and mood, contributing to better learning conditions. The Roses des Sables Rally supports this mission by encouraging donations to this essential cause focused on children’s health and education.

Children of the Desert: Humanitarian Action in Morocco

Finally, our participation in the rally includes an important commitment. By registering, we pledge to bring supplies to support children in the desert. During a humanitarian day prior to the rally, we’ll have the opportunity to meet the Moroccan people and distribute our donations. We already anticipate a day filled with emotion and meaningful exchanges.

The Origin of the Algazelles Project: A Human Challenge for Two

In Search of a Personal and Meaningful Challenge

Now that you know who we are and what the Roses des Sables Rally is all about, you may be wondering what pushed us to start this project. After reconnecting and strengthening our friendship, we were looking for a new project—a challenge to take on together. We considered several options: a sporting activity, a trip, community involvement, even humanitarian work.

In October 2025, the idea took shape. Nathalie was showing photos from a recent exploratory trip to Morocco. From her stories, the highlight of her journey was the incredible feeling she experienced in the dunes of the Merzouga desert. That’s when Christine made the suggestion that started it all: “Why don’t we do a rally in the desert?”

Oh! What an idea!

At our place, decisions are often made during late-night brainstorming sessions under the stars, with a little drink in hand. After sleeping on it, we met again the next morning. It deserved some thought.

Curiosity, Information… GO!

The next morning, before even having our coffee, one look and a burst of laughter were all it took—we were in! The Roses des Sables Rally checked every box we were looking for:

• A sporting challenge and personal growth;
• The opportunity to make a difference by raising funds for recognized organizations supporting women and children.

We quickly gathered the information needed to assess the project’s feasibility:

• Review of registration requirements (age, insurance, etc.);
• Assessment of prerequisites (physical and medical condition);
• Budget analysis (entry fees, vehicle rental, transport, etc.);
• Identifying sponsorship needs;
• Determining visibility requirements.

And here’s the best part: the 2025 edition of the rally was being broadcast, and registrations for 2026 had just opened. The stars were aligning—once again! Watching the first LIVE stage reports erased any remaining hesitation.

We can do this! What a thrill!

*For those unfamiliar, “kif” is a French expression meaning great pleasure or enjoyment, borrowed from Maghrebi Arabic, where it signifies “pleasure” or “bliss”.

Ten Months of Preparation… Follow Our Adventure

As you can imagine, there’s plenty of preparation ahead before setting foot in the desert. Over the next nine months, we’ll have our work cut out for us!

1. Fundraising;
2. Event organization;
3. Compass navigation training;
4. Driving and mechanical training;
5. Physical conditioning…

Follow the Algazelles Step by Step with InfoQuad!

So, what do you think? Interested? This is only the beginning! Thanks to our collaboration with the InfoQuad team, you’ll be able to follow our journey every step of the way. We’ll publish a monthly article leading up to our departure next October. Then, we’ll share our daily logbook highlighting key moments from each stage of the rally in the desert aboard our side-by-side. Next month, we’ll reveal the origin of our team name and the concrete launch of our project, including the implications and steps currently underway.

Follow us on Facebook for exclusive content and to support us further! Click here to visit our page.

Finally, we would like to thank Adrénaline Sports in Québec for providing Can-Am vehicles for our photo shoot.

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