Overview
- Luciano Benavides took his first stage victory of Dakar 2026 on the marathon second leg, finishing about 3 minutes 51 seconds ahead of Ignacio Cornejo.
- Daniel Sanders finished third on the stage and moved back atop the overall bike standings, with Ricky Brabec second and Benavides up to third at +5:55.
- Tosha Schareina received a 10‑minute penalty for a start infraction that dropped him from the top stage positions to 12th on the day and fourth overall.
- Key setbacks reshaped the stage: Edgar Canet lost nearly an hour fixing a rear‑tyre issue, and Adrien Van Beveren lost more than 25 minutes after a cable tangled in his wheel.
- Elsewhere, category leaders held steady with Henk Lategan in Autos and Martín Macik in Trucks, as riders head from Ha'il to Riyadh for Stage 6, the final leg before the rest day.