Marko Hanželic
Defending champion, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah came to the second stage victory, with which he further distanced himself from the challengers for the final victory. Sleep Carlos Sainz was just under two minutes behind the Qatari in second place, the French Stephane peterhansel and on the third three minutes and 44 seconds. Overall, Al-Attiyah has more than 22 minutes ahead of Peterhansel and 27 minutes ahead of the Saudi Yazid Al-Rajhi.
"The day was anything but easy, as there were many stones on the way. Navigation wasn't easy either. I am very happy that I completed the stage well. At the beginning we had a flat tire, but then I drove more carefully on the rocky sections. I was then able to attack in the sand as well," he said after the end of the stage Al Attiyah.
Toni Mulec was again faster than the Slovenians and finished the fifth stage in 20th place. Behind the stage winner Adrien Van Beveren was 26 minutes and 35 seconds behind. Overall, he advanced among the top thirty and is now in 29th place (+3:48,52).
Simon Marčič finished in 99th place (+3:19,16). With this, he lost quite a few places in the overall classification, where he slipped to 68th place (+8:47,55). In class Originals (no team) is now 14. Marčič because of a punctured tire, he drove as many as 100 kilometers of the stage on the rim.
Today will be the turn of the sixth stage, which will take place from Ha'ila do Riyadh, and is the longest stage, 876 km long. However, the route will be slightly changed and most likely shortened, as the terrain is waterlogged in some places after the rain.
