Daniel Sanders, the provisional stage winner in the bike race, commented at the finishing line that he thought he may receive a penalty for speeding. Indeed, the Australian did not respect a 50 kmph limit which could cost him 6 minutes on arrival at the bivouac. As a result, he would lose the stage to Ricky Brabec and see his lead in the overall rankings cut to 45 seconds. The American is also now the second overall.

It was thought that the 100% sand stage on the first part of the Dakar 2026 had been won convincingly by Daniel Sanders. After having caught Luciano Benavides just after the neutralised zone, the Australian opened the way at a hellish pace until the finishing line. The day’s podium was completed by Ricky Brabec (4'43’’ behind) and Tosha Schareina (5'57’’ behind), although Michael Docerty riding at a good pace has not yet finished. ‘Chucky’ had made significant gains in the overall rankings, moving to 6’45’’ ahead of Brabec, 16'15’’ in front of Luciano Benavides and 17'56’’ ahead of Schareina, which are the biggest gaps since the start of the rally! That was of course, before the penalty.

The Day At Dakar

Yesterday’s winner Luciano Benavides would be responsible for opening the way today. This difficult task (navigating without the tracks of other competitors) is rewarded by bonuses picked up on most of the special. It is possible to win when opening. Tosha Schareina has done it this year (on stages 3 and 4), while Luciano Benavides has already accomplished this feat in the past, in 2025, winning stages 8 and 9.

The number 1 is in first place this morning. Daniel Sanders regained control of the overall rankings on completion of stage 5, 2’02’’ ahead of Ricky Brabec. The winners of the last two editions of the Dakar (in 2024 for the American and 2025 for the Australian) are living up to their statuses, on a podium on which Luciano Benavides (5’55’’ behind) features for the first time in his career. Tosha Schareina was Sanders’ closest pursuer at the finish yesterday but a 10-minute penalty for failing to respect the signs on leaving the bivouac dropped him down to fourth place. The Spaniard now trails the leader by 11’59’’.

Although it will be necessary to wait for Michael Docherty’s time to see who leads the stage after 78 km, one thing is sure: Daniel Sanders is enjoying a good day so far regarding the overall rankings. The Australian has increased his virtual lead to 3'34’’ over Ricky Brabec, 7'37’’ over Luciano Benavides and 14'20’’ over Tosha Schareina, making him the quickest of the contenders for victory.

Michael Docherty has just completed the first 78 km, a long time after the leaders because he started 52 minutes after Luciano Benavides. The South African has lost the lead on the special to Daniel Sanders, who is now ahead of Ricky Brabec (by 1'32’’), Tosha Schareina (by 2'21’’) and Docherty (by 2'34’’). They are followed by Adrien Van Beveren (trailing by 2'35’’) and Luciano Benavides (3'00’’ behind, including the bonuses he has accumulated).

The first part of the Dakar has not exactly been a walk in the park for Adrien Van Beveren. However, the wind seemed to be turning in the Frenchman’s favour yesterday, before a cable got stuck in his rear wheel. Although he had been one of the quickest riders on the stage, this incident robbed him of any hope of battling for stage victory. AVB’s best result this year is 8th place on the prologue and stage 1 but he could do better today because sand is his favourite terrain and he currently occupies provisional fifth place on the stage.

Having started 6 minutes after Luciano Benavides, Daniel Sanders has just caught up with him on the tracks. The Australian and Argentinean team-mates will now be able to work together to both pick up the remaining bonuses. Both riders have just completed 162 km.

Sanders’ lead over his rivals has increased again after 162 km and he has also accumulated 17 bonus seconds thanks to now opening alongside Luciano Benavides. As a result, Ricky Brabec has dropped back to 2'41’’ behind and Tosha Schareina now trails by 3'18’’. These gaps are also increasing the difference in the virtual overall rankings: ‘Chucky’ is now nearly more than 5 minutes ahead of Brabec, who trails by 4'43’’.

Sanders is reigning supreme over the Saudi sand today. The KTM rider has again increased his lead between the 162-km and 186-km marks: including the bonuses obtained, he now has a lead of 3'52’’ over Ricky Brabec and 4'28’’ over Tosha Schareina! The title holder has unleashed his talent and could achieve the most convincing victory since the start of the 2026 edition of the Dakar (2'17’’ between Schareina and Brabec on stage 3).

Benavides is no longer accumulating bonuses since being caught by Daniel Sanders because the Australian has now slightly distanced his Argentinean team-mate! Benavides is more than 15 seconds behind the new opener and is therefore not within the necessary time frame to receive bonuses.

Docherty has not dropped from first place in the Rally 2 class on this stage. The South African leads Neels Theric (by 4'22’’) and Preston Campbell (by 4'31’’) after 162 km. He has also achieved the fourth best overall time in the bike category against the Rally GP riders. Docherty, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, is used to training in the sand, as shown by his performance in today’s dunes!

Stage results: Dakar - Live race coverage Overall standings here: Dakar - Live race coverage