DAKAR 2025

Daniel Sanders scores hat-trick and is now favourite to win Dakar 2025

Australian Daniel Sanders (image above) has stepped up the pace in the second part of the '48 Hours Time Trial' to take his third consecutive victory in the Dakar 2025 and open a gap of more than twelve minutes in the general classification over the American Skyler Howes, the Botswana native Ross Branch and the Spaniard Tosha Schareina.

After going to sleep as the virtual leader of the stage, Sanders has started the second part of the stage calmly, leaving Schareina to push from the start with the Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren going after him. They continued like this until some problem by the Spaniard - probably some small navigation error - cost him several minutes and he was overtaken by up to eight riders.

Skyler Howes finishes second in the 2025 Dakar 48 Hours Time Trial (image above)

It was Adrien Van Beveren who would continue to accumulate bonuses of more than 10 minutes, reaching the finish line before anyone else to take second place in the special behind Daniel Sanders, who thanks to more than six minutes of bonus time stopped the special clock at 11 hours, 12 minutes and 13 seconds.

Van Beveren was 6:45 behind after the bonus, with Skyler Howes 7:37 behind, slipping into third by four seconds over Tosha Schareina, who recovered some of what she had lost in the final stages, with Ross Branch ten minutes behind the Australian. However, a two-minute penalty to Van Beveren sent him fourth behind Howes and Schareina.

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