After consolidating his lead with victory on stage five, Frenchman Cyril Despres – along with the rest of the Dakar Rally field – found himself with an unexpected rest day after stage six, which should have seen the race enter Chile, was cancelled due to bad weather.
The race was due to pass over The Andes mountain range but Chilean authorities closed the Paso de San Francisco, situated at 4700m above sea level, overnight because of snow and rain.
