Defending champion Ricky Brabec has moved into second overall at the 2021 Dakar Rally thanks to his third stage win as overnight leader Nacho Cornejo crashed out on the gruelling 10th stage. It was another Honda 1-2-3 with
Joan Barreda and
Kevin Benavides following the American home. Kevin Benavides moves into the number one spot in the rankings with a 13 second advantage over Brabec,
A rattled
Nacho Cornejo underwent a medical examination after soldiering on to the finish following his crash at km 252. The Chilean, who started today's stage in the overall lead, has been left with no choice but to withdraw from the rally.
Australian
Daniel Sanders once again finished inside the top ten with sixth place.
Totaling 583km, day 10 of the rally took competitors south from Neom towards AlUla. An 83km liaison led the riders to the start of the 342km special stage where they then faced similar terrain to Tuesday‰Ûªs tough stage nine, with a mixture of sandy tracks and rocky pistes twisting through canyons and valleys. Although one of the shortest at this year‰Ûªs race, the day‰Ûªs special still proved incredibly taxing for all, with its high temperatures and complicated navigation.
Ricky Brabec took the reins at km 126 and never looked back despite having to open the way after overtaking Nacho Cornejo. It's his third win of the year (including the prologue) and his sixth overall and now moves him within striking distance of defending his 2020 title!
"I'm sure Nacho has a lot of pressure. Leading the Dakar is not easy. I don't think there's a lot of pressure from the team, but for a personal goal I think he has a lot of pressure," Brabec said. "He's a young kid, he's been riding well all week, he's been surprising everybody. He's the best navigator at this rally. We all know we all wanna win. Winning is the best thing there is in life. There's no real team orders."
