Middle East racer Nasser Al-Attiyah was closing in on Dakar Rally leader Stephane Peterhansel on a day where torrential rain forced the race to stop at CP2, 88 kilometres into the stage.
The Qatari, champion in 2011, started the day in second place in the overall standings and was 13 sec ahead of America's Robby Gordon with overall leader Stephane Peterhansel, the defending champion, three minutes behind.
But as the storms worsened, Al-Attiyah got stuck and then watched several of his rivals disappear into the distance.
Guerlain Chicherit reached the finish in the fastest time with Peterhansel over 12 minutes behind while Al-Attiyah was left sweating on his fate as the stewards conferred.
"Everything was going smoothly for us, we were putting the pedal on the metal, and everything was fine," said Al-Attiyah.
"When we got to the river, there were three metres of water, there was no way we could cross that. So we called the organisers, who told us the stage had been neutralised at CP2."
Rivers overflowed and the tracks were blocked between Salta and Tucuman, leading to chaos for the drivers.
"The stewards are currently meeting to decide on the next step," David Castera, the race director, said this morning.
In the bike race David Casteu toppled Olivier Pain from the top of the general classification as Joan Barreda won the stage.
Pain paid dearly 122km into the race as he and a group of wayward riders lost almost half an hour, with the detour costing him the lead.
Sarel Van Biljon won the quads race, but Argentinian Marcos Patronelli still leads overall.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us
@SprtNationalUAE
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88
Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883
