We change gears, and head to the Dakar Rally. Spaniard Carlos Sainz was looking to close the gap on overall leader Stephane Peterhansel in stage six -- as the event crossed borders between Peru and Bolivia, and is the final leg before the multi-country off-road race gets a rest day.

Taking place at altitudes of up to 4000 metres, the marathon's sixth stage marks the end of the opening leg in Peru, with competition moving on to the Bolivian Altiplano. The 55-year-old Spaniard Sainz, who won the race in 2010, closed the gap behind overall leader Stephane Peterhansel to 27 minutes. Settling for runner-up in the test, 13-time Dakar champ Peterhansel will head into the La Paz rest day with a sizeable lead on Sainz.  

Nasser Al-Attiyah ends up third in the stage, finishing behind Sainz by five minutes.

Moving to the standings, Peterhansel still tops the table, Bernhard ten Brinke's deficit to Peterhansel has increased to one hour, 21 minutes, with Al-Attiyah a further four minutes down, and de Villiers slotting in fifth, 11 minutes behind the Qatari.  

The motorcycle stage would be won by Frenchman Antoine Meo, who manoeuvres his Factory KTM to the finish 30 minutes quicker than overall leader Kevin Benavides of Argentina and Australia's Toby Price. Drivers get a rest day Friday, before heading out of La Paz to Uyuni on Saturday.

Benavides is the first Argentinian to lead the general table in the bike race at the Dakar, and is trailed by Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren and Austrian Matthias Walkner. Stage winner Meo moves up to sixth.