STAGE 5 - RACE IN THE LEAD: MOHAMED EL MORABITY LIMPS OFF, THE SUSPENSE RETURNS

The fifth stage of the 38th MARATHON DES SABLES LEGENDARY was marked by a dramatic turn of events: Mohamed EL MORABITY appeared to be injured and finished in slow motion. The three leaders were all within 3 minutes of each other.

It was to be a stage all about management for the EL MORABITY brothers: Mohamed (D1-MAR), in the lead with an overall lead of almost 53 minutes, just had to manage. Rachid (D3-MAR), in second place with a lead of 1 minute 36 seconds over Aziz YACHOU (D10-MAR), just had to keep Aziz in check. But around the tenth kilometre of the day's 31.4km rolling stage, Mohamed slowed his pace. But it was around the twentieth kilometre that he really began to make his mark. Stopped at the third checkpoint, he had his left thigh bandaged and finished the stage in slow motion. He limped across the finish line in 35th place, 52 minutes 23 seconds behind his brother. His lead has melted like snow in the sun, the cards have been reshuffled and tomorrow will be the decisive stage!

DUEL AT THE FRONT

It was Rachid EL MORABITY and Aziz YACHOU at the head of the race today. Rachid set off relatively calmly at less than 12.5 kph, but it was towards the middle of the course that he accelerated sharply, hitting the rolling sections at over 16 kph. Rachid knows that Aziz has a better top speed, so he does the job, at speed, and distances his compatriot metre by metre. Rachid crossed the finish line at an average speed of 14.3 km/h, 40 seconds ahead of Aziz.

In the general standings, the order of the three Moroccans remains the same, but the gaps are now extremely tight. Tomorrow's stage is wide open, and the Sahara tracks promise to be smoking hot.

CHANGES IN THE TOP 15

Hamid YACHOU's (D11-MAR) excellent performance today enabled him to snatch fourth place from Frenchman Yohann STUCK (D851-FRA). With a lead of 1 minute 40 seconds, Hamid is almost certain to retain this position tomorrow on the 21.1km rolling stage.

Mérile ROBERT (D33-FRA) remains 9th, also in a relatively secure position ahead of the final stage.

Mbark ELMORABITY (D20-MAR), younger brother of Rachid and Mohamed, finished a fine 12th in his first race after only a few months of specific training. One to watch over the coming years!

Finally, Frenchman Stéphane RICARD (D30-FRA) made it into the Top 15 for his first time. A specialist in medium-distance trail running and snowshoeing, Stéphane came in 14th place, and he's not shying away from the challenge.

CLASSIFICATION STAGE 5

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 5

*Provisional rankings