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Arequipa, the second most populous city in Peru, lies at the foot of the Misti volcano and, although today's special took place somewhere else, the Dakar saw an eruption turn the various classifications on their heads. Today, the competitors raced far to the north, in the Duna Grande and Duna Argentina areas near San Juan de Marcona, before moving higher (2,000 masl)...
The defending champion in the car category waved goodbye to the prospects of a third win after crossing the finish line of stage 3 a full 4 h 20 behind teammate Stéphane Peterhansel.
"The rally is over for us. We fell into a hole and broke the suspension. I'm sad and disappointed, but that's the way it is. This is what happens in the Dakar."
After starting the stage in the overall lead, the 2009 champion saw his hopes of a second win 10 years later dashed upon a stone and now trails Nasser Al-Attiyah by 4 h 23.
"We were really unlucky. We were going really well. [I was] slightly in the dust of a quad, I was in the track in third gear and I jumped on the one jump and I landed into the next jump, but...
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