Dakar 2018, Stage 4: Sunderland out, van Beveren leads

KTM rider Sunderland had to be evacuated by helicopter after suffering an accident on Tuesday's 330km San Juan de Marcona test, having held a lead of over four minutes at the head of the overall standings with two wins in the opening three stages of the rally.

The Briton sustained a back injury in the crash that was severe enough for doctors to rule out his continued participation in the event.

Sunderland's exit has shaken up the order in the general classification, which is now led by van Beveren after the Frenchman secured his second career Dakar stage win by five minutes.

Riders began the stage en masses in groups of 15 departing at five-minute intervals, and it was those starting in the second bunch - including van Beveren - that led the way for the majority of the stage.

Van Beveren and erstwhile rally leader Honda rider Joan Barreda hit the sixth waypoint split by only six seconds, but the Spaniard dropped 10 minutes in the final stages, dropping to ninth.

In the end, it was Yamaha teammate Xavier de Soultrait who proved van Beveren's nearest opponent, albeit 5m01s down at the finish.

Matthias Walkner was third, another two minutes behind, and is now KTM's highest-placed rider overall after the demise of teammate Sunderland.

Just 1m55s behind van Beveren in second overall is Husqvarna rider Pablo Quintanilla - fourth-fastest on the stage - followed by lead Honda man Kevin Benavides and Walkner.

De Soultrait moves up from outside the top 10 into fifth, ahead of Toby Price (KTM).

Despite only finishing ninth on the stage, Barreda has climbed two positions overall to 13th, 22m08s off the lead - one place behind teammate Ricky Brabec, who has slipped from fifth to 12th.

Watch video highlights of Day 4...

Karyakin snaps Casale streak

Reigning Dakar champion Sergey Karyakin denied Ignacio Casale a fourth successive stage win, beating the Chilean by 43 seconds on Tuesday.

The victory consolidates Karyakin's second place in the overall classification, and leaves him trailing Casale by 25m30s.

Alexis Hernandez was best of the rest behind the pair through stage four, which allowed the Peruvian to pass Pablo Copetti for third in the general standings.

Standings after Stage 4 (Bike class top 10):

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	Adrien van Beveren	Yamaha	11h03m23s
2	Pablo Quintanilla	Husqvarna	1m55s
3	Kevin Benavides	Honda	3m15s
4	Matthias Walkner	KTM	5m23s
5	Xavier de Soultrait	Yamaha	7m34s
6	Toby Price	KTM	10m14s
7	Jose Ignacio Cornejo	Honda	12m06s
8	Franco Caimi	Yamaha	12m48s
9	Gerard Farres	KTM	13m05s
10	Antoine Meo	KTM	13m47s