Schareina tops Dakar Stage Three as Sanders retains lead

2026 Dakar Rally

Stage Three – Alula to Alula

KTM has dominated the Dakar Rally up until Stage Three, with Edgar Canet and Daniel Sanders sharing the wins, and leading the standings, but the challenge of opening the third stage saw Sanders drop down the results, with the HRC duo of Tosha Schareina and Ricky Brabec taking top honours.

Totalling a gruelling 736 kilometres, stage three saw riders complete a demanding loop around AlUla, featuring the longest timed special of the rally so far at 421 kilometres. The route cut through the region’s sandy canyons, plateaus, and narrow tracks, where fading lines and frequent changes in rhythm placed a heavy emphasis on navigation, high speeds and technical sections.

Spaniard Schareina – runner-up to Sanders last year – won the day’s stage in AlUla by 2m17s, enjoying his first stage win since 2024. The result leaving him third overall.

Tosha Schareina

“It was good, it was not easy, many rocks again. The navigation was really really tricky. I tried to push, the strategy for today was to win and we did it. But it’s just the beginning, tomorrow we’ll start in front, so we’ll see. Always with the marathon we have to take care with tyres, the machine, ourselves, and we will do. I have a good position, I try to open all day, and that’s my goal. It’s just the third day, despite everything that’s happened, but yea, we are there in the battle and it’s good to see that.”

Australia’s Sanders’ victory in Stage Two saw him obliged to open the way for much of the 421 km special, the only other rider to join him was Ricky Brabec, who is proving to be another man on form. Brabec moves into second place in the general rankings, 1m07s behind Sanders, who retains the overall lead.

Ricky Brabec

“I think we kind of started in a good spot, it was far enough back to make a good push. So far it looks good, I did the best job I could. My only goal was to try and catch Daniel and get bonus time because I knew he was going to get a lot of it today. I rode the best I could, had fun, caught Daniel and got some bonus credit. I’m looking forward to the next couple of days and tomorrow we have the marathon, so we will get some rest, get the bike prepared and get focused for the next week.”

Opening the stage from start to finish, Sanders earned over six minutes in bonus time, and completed the day’s podium 3m28s behind the leader, with Luciano Benavides (+4m30s) and Skyler Howes (4m32s) completing the top-five, while Ignacio Cornejo was the top Hero, 10m38s off pace in sixth, directly followed by Ross Branch.

Daniel Sanders

“It was definitely a tough stage, as we expected in this area, and probably one of the most demanding navigation days I’ve experienced. The pace was a little slower than anticipated, but that made accurate navigation even more important. I’m really happy with how I rode and navigated overall, keeping a good rhythm and avoiding any major mistakes. There were a few small errors, but considering how difficult the stage was, it was a solid day. Not having to open tomorrow should help, and while it’s going to be another challenging stage, starting further back could allow us to make up some time.”

Luciano Benavides

“Overall it was a good stage for me, especially the first part where I felt really strong and had a good rhythm. After catching some riders ahead, the dust made things more difficult and I started to make a few small mistakes, including a couple of light crashes. The navigation in the second half was very tough if you tried to push, and it was easy to miss corners, so I paid the price there. Even so, I’m happy with the bike and the feeling, and it’s clear this is going to be a very demanding rally.”

Skyler Howes

“It was a long day but I really like this zone, there’s no denying it’s such a beautiful area of the country, this region is unreal, the scenery is really cool, although the navigation can be really difficult and today there was a lot of that and a lot of rocks. I had one mistake out there that I’m still kicking myself about, I kind of shut the brain off for a second which is a bummer, but otherwise I had a really good stage and I rode fine, so I’m happy with that. The final 100 km was the most difficult part, the tracks were so difficult to see especially with the rocks mixed in. You’re pushing and trying to the read the terrain and ride your maximum, but also navigating. But, I still like it a lot.”

Next was Canet, slightly behind the pace compared to the first three days and dropping one place down the rankings to fourth – with his eighth place finish.

Edgar Canet

“It was a really tough and very long day, with extremely demanding navigation and a lot of rocks, so it was physically and mentally exhausting. The important thing is that we got through it without any crashes, which is already a positive on a stage like this. I had a really good rhythm up to the refuelling, but afterwards I lost that feeling a little, although I’m still happy to be at the finish after such a difficult day. Starting second and following one line ahead worked well, and I think we did a solid job. With the marathon stage coming up, the focus will be on looking after the bike and tyres, especially in these rocky conditions, and using this experience to keep learning and improving.”

Adrien Van Beveren reached the finish with the day’s eighth best time, The Frenchman losing almost 13-minutes to his teammate, but improving by two positions in relation to yesterday, climbing into eighth place overall.

Adrien Van Beveren

“I’ve not much to say again, I tried my best. Overall, the terrain was quite rough, towards the end I made a small navigation mistake around the 310 km mark and lost some time, but then I tried to slow my rhythm and navigate perfectly. The guys in front did a really good job today and I’m looking for the best pace.”

Michael Docherty won the Rally 2 stage and claimed 10th overall, ahead of Monster Energy Honda HRC official riders Martim Ventura (+3m13s) and Preston Campbell (+6m57s). The South African claiming his third victory in four days of racing. He also consolidated his lead in the general rankings and is now 3m32s ahead of Ventura, who remains his closest pursuer on his very first Dakar.

Martim Ventura

“It was a tough day. Every day I arrive here I say it was the toughest special of my life and today I say it again. I had a crash near the beginning and mentally and physically I was a bit sad. I tried to continue the stage, it was super long and I didn’t do too badly. Dakar is like this and understanding where you can go. I’m not sure about the strategy for the marathon, maybe take it slower on the first day, I just don’t know, because we don’t have mechanics at the end of the stage, nor a physio, we’ll try to take it easy.”

Tobias Ebster appears to have lost his chance at the title for which he was one of the favourites (after ninth overall and second in the R2 class in 2025). Due to a hand injury following a crash, the Austrian rider is expected to withdraw: although the rules allow him to resume racing, he will no longer be able to make his riding count in the championship battle.

Aussie David Brock finished the stage 96th, and now sits 92nd overall, having picked up 16-minutes of penalties.

Toby Price dropped down to 30th in the Ultimate class, 33-minutes off pace.

Toby Price

“Stage 3 was a BRUTAL one for us and a fair few others, definitely wasn’t what we expected. Several issues hindered us throughout the day. I also gave my spare wheel to my teammate, which left me sweating for the final leg but equally happy to see him get across the finish line! Nevertheless, we finished the stage in 28th. We’re in the fight, I’m happy, the TGR W2RC & Dakar Team is doing an incredible job and let’s get ready for Stage 4!”

Next: Stage Four

Wednesday’s stage four of the Dakar Rally marks the opening half of the event’s first marathon stage. A short 75-kilometre liaison will lead riders into a demanding 417-kilometre special, set out in a loop around AlUla. Riders will then spend the night in a temporary bivouac, where no outside assistance is permitted.

2026 Dakar Rally Stage Three Results
(Provisional)

2026 Dakar Rally Standings after Stage Three
(Provisional)

2026 Dakar Rally Route/Schedule

2026 Dakar Rally route

RelatedPosts

Are you hard enough? 2027 KTM 300 EXC HARDENDURO confirmed for Australia

September 4, 2026

2026 KTM 690 SMC R Review | Brilliant, brutal but hard to justify…

September 2, 2026