Dakar Bikes, Stage 9: Goncalves woes give Price commanding lead

The Portuguese rider, who lost the lead on Monday after suffering a crash from which he emerged unscathed, stopped at the second waypoint with radiator problems, effectively ending his challenge for victory.

His demise gives KTM factory rider Price, who sealed a fifth stage win of the event with a dominant performance on a stage that was cut short due to high temperatures, a healthy advantage overall.

The Australian beat Kevin Benavides (Honda) by 7m10s on the day at the fourth waypoint, where the results were declared, and now has 24m47s in hand over Stefan Svitko (KTM), who finished the stage third, 10 minutes down.

Husqvarna's Pablo Quintanilla claimed fourth for the day, and moves up to third overall as a result of Goncalves' exit - 32m down on the lead, and less than a minute clear of Benavides.

Price's teammate Antoine Meo moves up to fifth, ahead of Yamaha factory rider Helder Rodrigues, KTM privateer Gerard Farres and lead works Honda rider Ricky Brabec, who jumps from 11th to eighth.

Yamaha now has three bikes in the top 10 following a shuffle lower down the order, with Adrian van Beveren and Alessandro Botturi benefitting from Sherco pair Joan Pedrero and Alain Duclos both losing ground.

UPDATE: Goncalves was later awarded a nominal time after the decision to shorten the stage, putting him third overall and 34 minutes behind Price.

Standings after Stage 9:

Pos.	No.	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	3	Toby Price	KTM	30h55m54s
2	5	Stefan Svitko	KTM	28m59s
3	2	Paulo Goncalves	Honda	34m01s
4	4	Pablo Quintanilla	Husqvarna	38m41s
5	49	Antoine Meo	KTM	42m08s
6	47	Kevin Benavides	Honda	48m03s
7	7	Helder Rodrigues	Yamaha	50m03s
8	23	Gerard Farres	KTM	54m10s
9	48	Ricky Brabec	Honda	1h04m08s
10	42	Adrian van Beveren	Yamaha	1h09m41s