Daniel Sanders has made an impressive start in his bid to become the first Australian to successfully defend a Dakar Rally title -- but his limelight was stolen on the opening day in the Saudi Arabian desert by a history-making young teammate.
The 2025 champion Sanders, seeking to be the first back-to-back motorcycle winner in the great race for 11 years, finished second in the prologue in Yanbu on Saturday, but was stunned by the opening win being snapped up by his youthful Red Bull KTM colleague Edgar Canet.
The 20-year-old Spaniard, competing in his very first Dakar, could hardly credit his dream start as he won the short opener in 11 minutes 31.9 seconds to pip the Victorian world champ Sanders (11:34.1) and become the youngest ever winner of a motorbike stage in the race's history.
