Canet Loses Dakar 2026 Bike Lead to Sanders After Fall

Edgar Canet, the 20-year-old Andorran-based rider, has lost the lead in the 2026 Dakar Rally's motorcycle category after a minor fall on Monday's 400km stage allowed his teammate Daniel Sanders to overtake him with track-opening bonuses. Canet trails by just 30 seconds overall, while Tosha Schareina holds fourth, 4:41 behind. Adrien Van Beveren dropped to 10th after a heavy crash, 14:09 off the pace, and Lorenzo Santolino withdrew at km 313 due to irreparable damage to his bike's side and crankcase.

In cars, Andorran resident Mathieu Baumel and Guillaume de Mévius slipped to third overall, 1:09 behind new leader Nasser Al-Attiyah, after finishing dozens on the stage—won by Seth Quintero. Cristina Gutiérrez placed ninth on the stage and 15th in the general classification, 10:34 adrift.

Canet's troubles came as stage two opener for the first 100km. The fall caused no physical harm or mechanical issues but let Sanders catch up. Bonuses then propelled Sanders ahead following Canet's back-to-back wins in the prologue and Saturday's rocky 518km opener (305km timed), where a speeding penalty on Ross Branch handed Canet victory. He had led by 1:05 over Sanders and 1:37 on Ricky Brabec.

Baumel and de Mévius had taken Saturday's car stage by 40 seconds over Al-Attiyah, capitalizing on their prologue third-place start amid puncture-prone rocks. Several teams conserved pace for later challenges. Gutiérrez finished 15th that day, prioritizing control in a compressed field.

Schareina's solid fifth on stage two kept him fourth overall after climbing to fourth post-Saturday, 2:12 behind Canet then. Van Beveren was eighth on the opener, 5:52 back, staying competitive initially.

Wednesday's third stage features a 422km timed section with trickier tracks testing roadbook skills ahead of the marathon stage.

The rally runs until 17 January.