Alphand leads after stage seven

Former skiing champion Luc Alphand kept his cool in the African desert to take the outright lead in the Dakar Rally on stage seven today.

The Frenchman, who won skiing's World Cup in 1997, was second behind Mitsubishi team-mate Stephane Peterhansel on the 310-mile stage between Zouerat and Atar in Mauritania.

Despite losing over four minutes to Peterhansel and suffering a slight neck injury, Alphand moved into the overall lead. "It is nice to be in front at the end of the first real desert stage," he said.

"But there is a long way to go. I hurt my neck a little and suffered a strain after a heavy landing, but not too serious. I got stuck four times today in total and think we lost around 15 minutes in the camel grass. But I am very happy to have arrived in Atar at this time without serious problems when there are so many teams still in the desert."

Peterhansel, chasing a third consecutive Dakar Rally win, is three minutes adrift, blaming that deficit on tyre problems.

Jutta Kleinschmidt is the lead Volkswagen driver in third place after the German team conceded the advantage gained from a dominant day yesterday.

Giniel de Villiers lost his overnight lead following a navigational error which forced him down to fourth overall, 10 minutes behind Alphand.

At least the South African remains in contention. His team-mate Carlos Sainz's hopes of a debut Dakar Rally win are in tatters after he lost half an hour stuck in sand and dropped to sixth.

Former winner Jean-Louis Schlesser, who had been fourth overnight, was another driver to lose his bearings, costing him over an hour.

In the bike category, former leader Cyril Despres fell out of contention despite a brave battle with a dislocated collarbone. Despres crashed yesterday but fought through the pain barrier to continue his rally today, losing half an hour and sliding to fourth.

Marc Coma continues to lead after finishing second on stage seven today while Carlo de Gavardo has emerged as his nearest challenger. The Chilean won his second consecutive stage to move within five minutes of Coma. Isidre Esteve Pujol remains third overall.