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Sunderland evacuated, Van Beveren takes the lead in Dakar Rally Stage 4 | SPORT

Sam Sunderland (KTM) had to be evacuated by helicopter after an accident on Tuesday's 330km San Juan de Marcona test

Sam Sunderland sustained a severe back injury with doctors ruling out a return to the Dakar Rally.

Adrien van Beveren (Yamaha) secured his second career Dakar stage win by five minutes.

“It’s really special. I started in the second line, so it was good. I had a good fight with Barreda at the beginning of the stage. After that I was very thirsty, so I took my time – the Dakar will not be won over 100 kilometres. I told myself I had to be calm and wait for the moment to pass the riders in front of me. When we arrived in the dunes, I had the opportunity to come back. I’m happy because I came back and caught everybody and then I opened the way for more than one hundred kilometres in the end. Xavier was with me so it was super fun to ride. I pushed a bit, but, you know, to win the special by ten seconds or by one minute, it’s better to win by one minute, so it’s cool. I’m happy”.