De Mevius, who sat a distant 32nd after Friday’s Prologue, made rapid gains over the course of the 414km test between Al-’Ula and Al Henakiyah to overhaul Mattias Ekstrom and then Carlos Sainz Sr (both Audi) to claim his first-ever stage victory in Dakar.
It was overnight leader Ekstrom who held the top spot in the early part of the first special, building a lead of over two minutes by the fourth checkpoint at the 170km mark.
