Two-time Dakar Rally class winner Alexandre Giroud will return to his quad roots in January when he competes in the Africa Eco Race for the first time.

Giroud won the Dakar’s Quad class in 2022 and 2023, one of four riders to win it multiple times and two to do so in back-to-back years (after Alejandro Patronelli in 2011 and 2012). The 2022 victory also kicked off a campaign in which he claimed the inaugural World Rally-Raid Championship for the category.

He finished runner-up in the 2024 edition, the last before the ASO axed the Quad class from Dakar. Afterward, the Frenchman made the switch to driving cars. Giroud entered the 2025 Dakar in the Challenger division, driving an OT3 for G Rally Team, but retired with an engine failure. His second attempt in a T3 car in January’s Dakar yielded better results as he was 14th in class.

Between Dakars, Giroud also tried his hand at navigating. Last July, he called the shots for sports car legend André Lotterer at the Baja Aragón in his maiden cross-country rally, and the pair finished tenth in Challenger.

While he enjoys the cockpit, he understandably yearns for the saddle too. The Africa Eco Race, which follows the original Dakar Rally route, permits quads. Alexis Varagne was the only rider signed up for the 2026 AER on one, which he used as the replacement for Dakar before committing to the full W2RC.

Team Drag’on Distribution, who supported his Dakar Quad efforts, will also prep his ride for the AER.

Featured image credit: Frédéric Le Floc’h / DPPI / ASO