STAGE 4 - LEAD RACE: AZIZA EL AMRANY MAINTAINS HER LEAD

Aziza EL AMRANY continued to extend her lead on the fourth stage of the 38th MARATHON DES SABLES LEGENDARY, despite a bout of heat. Adriana MOSER, third after the long stage, was forced to retire.

Nobody is safe from a breakdown, not even Aziza EL AMRANY (D7-MAR) who had been imperial until now. She suffered a serious heatstroke shortly after the halfway point and had to grit her teeth to finish the day's stage. Despite this blow, Aziza EL AMRANY continues to extend her lead over Aziza RAJI (D9-MAR). Aziza EL AMRANY won in 4h29'41'', 23 minutes ahead of Aziza RAJI.

ADRIANA MOSER: EARLY RETURN HOME

The highlight of the day went to Dutch rider Adriana MOSER (D850-NLD), who finished third in the women's overall classification at the end of the long stage. Handicapped by blisters on her feet, Adriana had experienced a difficult long stage, changing her stride to compensate for the pain. But changing her stride meant running the risk of injury... And indeed, Adriana was affected by severe pain in her leg. She still took the start this morning, but after 5km of pain she had to decide to stop the race. This fact directly benefits Gemma GAME (D204-GBR) who enters the Top 3.

LAURENCE KLEIN: A WINNING COMEBACK

After her very difficult long stage, Laurence KLEIN (D160-FRA) wanted to take revenge, and today she did just that with a very fine marathon stage, one of her specialities (French marathon champion in 2008). Laurence took 9 places back in the overall classification (21st), but what counts above all is the satisfaction of having managed to bounce back.

CLASSIFICATION STAGE 4

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 4

*Provisional rankings