Today's stage saw the departure of front-runner and defending Dakar champion Kevin Benavides. Also, some big drama shakes out with time gains and losses across the board. One more big day to go!
Today is the day at the 2022 Dakar Rally where the teams align and set their best riders up to win the big show.
We get an update from Husqvarna's Skyler Howes who is back home after a horrific crash
Red Bull KTM's Toby Price won the stage, creeping up in the general rankings but still considerably out of contention for a podium overall position .
Monster Energy Honda led the stage from the get-go today, but dropped time mid-stage and that immediately put Red Bull KTM's Matthias Walkner on the front of the stage to fend for himself. Walkner led well for most of the stage, but dropped considerable time at the final km's, finishing deep in the pack.
The other half of the Honda team, Pablo Quintanilla and Joan Barreda rode well and finished strategically to set up a great result on the final big day tomorrow.
Consistent 2022 race leader Sam Sunderland lost time today on his GasGas but still is in strong contention for an overall victory.
We get into all the strategy scenarios in today's show with quotes from Adrian Van Beveren, Sam Sunderland, Matthias Walkner, and Joan Barreda