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RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Defending champion Stephane Peterhansel maintained the Dakar Rally lead by winning Monday's shortened seventh stage in Bolivia.
The 51-year-old finished the La Paz-Uyuni leg in one hour 54 minutes and eight seconds, just 48 seconds ahead of fellow Frenchman and Peugeot teammate Sebastien Loeb.
South Africa's Giniel de Villiers was third in a Toyota, three minutes and 33 seconds behind Peterhansel.
The timed section of the stage was halved to 161km after heavy rain made sections of the route impassable.
Saturday's Oruro-La Paz stage was cancelled and Friday's Tupiza-Oruro route was shortened due to bad weather.
Peterhansel leads the overall standings, one minute and 57 seconds ahead of nine-time world rally champion Loeb. Spain's Roma Nani is third in a Toyota, 11 minutes and seven seconds off the pace.
Thee off-road race features 12 stages, covering more than 9,000km in Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina before ending in Buenos Aires on January 14. Enditem
