Stage Seven saw the riders of the 2014 Dakar Rally back in the saddle, after having Saturday off as their lone rest day. If the riders thought their re-entry was going to be easy, they were wrong, as Stage Seven marks the first part of another marathon stage — a stage where only the riders can service and repair their machines after the stage’s end. Today also marks the first time that The Dakar has been held in Bolivia, the 28th country to host the iconic race.
First out of the gate, Alain Duclos suffered a navigation error, and lost nearly 20 minutes on the course finding the right route. The mistake cost the Sherco rider his third overall position, as he falls to fourth overall, behind KTM’s Jordi Viladoms.
Halfway through the Dakar Rally now, and Marc Coma has a good cushion over the rest of the field. His advantage isn’t insurmountable though, and today Joan Barreda took his first chip at his fellow countryman’s lead. The HRC rider stole four minutes from his KTM counterpart, with Barreda now 38 minutes back from Coma overall. The deficit isn’t enough to concern Coma yet, but if Barreda can keep up the pressure he might stand a chance for the overall win.
Cyril Despres also had a productive day, as the Frenchman finished third on the stage. This moved him into tenth overall, and while Despres’ bid for the 2014 Dakar Rally is surely done (it would seem the Yamaha PR team has already packed things up, as their site hasn’t updated since their disastrous Stage Five), Despres’ first term on the Yamaha YZ450F Rally could still see him finish in the Top 5. Undoubtedly, a strong pace over the remaining stages on helps build his campaign for the 2015 rally raid.
Top 10 from Stage 7: Salta / Salta – Uyuni:
| Pos. | Rider | Country | Brand | Time |
| 1 | BARREDA BORT | ESP | HONDA | 03:28:41 |
| 2 | COMA | ESP | KTM | +00:04:03 |
| 3 | DESPRES | FRA | YAMAHA | +00:05:35 |
| 4 | PEDRERO GARCIA | ESP | SHERCO | +00:06:57 |
| 5 | PRZYGONSKI | POL | KTM | +00:08:56 |
| 6 | ISRAEL ESQUERRE | CHL | SPEEDBRAIN | +00:10:04 |
| 7 | RODRIGUES | PRT | HONDA | +00:10:57 |
| 8 | PATRAO | PRT | SUZUKI | +00:11:27 |
| 9 | PAIN | FRA | YAMAHA | +00:11:37 |
| 10 | VILADOMS | ESP | KTM | +00:11:57 |
2014 Dakar Rally Overall Standing after Stage 7:
| Pos. | Rider | Country | Brand | Time |
| 1 | COMA | ESP | KTM | 26:40:44 |
| 2 | BARREDA BORT | ESP | HONDA | +00:38:14 |
| 3 | VILADOMS | ESP | KTM | +01:16:03 |
| 4 | DUCLOS | FRA | SHERCO | +01:16:35 |
| 5 | ISRAEL ESQUERRE | CHL | SPEEDBRAIN | +01:39:29 |
| 6 | PAIN | FRA | YAMAHA | +01:50:42 |
| 7 | PRZYGONSKI | POL | KTM | +01:54:52 |
| 8 | RODRIGUES | PRT | HONDA | +02:08:18 |
| 9 | CASTEU | FRA | KTM | +02:23:50 |
| 10 | DESPRES | FRA | YAMAHA | +02:26:13 |
Source: Dakar; Photo: HRC
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