Nicolás Cavigliasso has won the eleventh stage in the Challenger category after a nail-biting duel. The Argentinian won by just 29 seconds over Paul Spierings and denied the Dutchman a hat-trick. Dania Akeel completed the podium at 1:03. In the SSV class, Brock Heger claimed his sixth victory and extends his lead to over an hour.
It was a spectacular battle in Challenger until the end. A maximum of 27 seconds separated the top two across all eight checkpoints. Kevin Benavides led at kilometres 43, 84 and 120, but Cavigliasso took the lead at kilometre 190 by 27 seconds over Spierings. At kilometre 241, Akeel even led by five seconds over Cavigliasso.
“27 seconds is the maximum gap there has been between the top two in the Challenger special at the eight time checkpoints reached so far,” the organisation reported. “Nicolas Cavigliasso has just posted the best time again but Paul Spierings (four seconds behind) has an almost identical time and Dania Akeel (trailing by 27 seconds) is not much further back.”
Second victory for Cavigliasso
For Cavigliasso it is his second victory after stage 4. He also won in Al Henakiyah last year during stage 3 of the 2025 edition. Spierings was chasing his third consecutive victory after wins in stages 9 and 10, but had to settle for second place.
“Nicolas Cavigliasso has held on to the end to win by just 29 seconds ahead of Paul Spierings, making it his second success on this edition of the Dakar (after the one on stage 4) and depriving the Dutchman of a hat-trick,” the organisation stated.
Dania Akeel finished third at 1:03 and Benavides fourth at 1:18. The top four finished within 1:18. Akeel led at kilometre 241 but lost ground in the finale and continues to wait for her first victory of 2026.
Cavigliasso climbs to third place
Cavigliasso climbs from fourth to third place in the classification at 44:04. Pau Navarro retains the lead despite finishing sixth at 7:20. Yasir Seaidan is second at 25:08, Lucas del Rio fourth at 45:49 and Puck Klaassen fifth at 1:03:00. Klaassen finished fifth at 2:50.
The other Dutch
In addition to Spierings’ second place and Klaassen’s fifth place, the other Dutch competitors also finished the race. Lex Peters came in 11th at 13:16. Kees Koolen came in 18th at 29:30 and Pim Klaassen came in 19th at 31:37. Dick van Culenborg came in 22nd at 42:27. Riné Streppel recorded the 29th time at 1:18:18, slightly faster than Henri van Steenbergen, who finished 30th at 1:24:09.
Heger claims sixth victory in SSV
In the SSV category, Brock Heger claimed his sixth victory of this Dakar after an exciting duel with Jeremías González Ferioli. Johan Kristoffersson led at kilometres 43, 84 and 120, but Ferioli took over the lead at kilometre 156. Heger struck back at kilometre 190 with a 17-second advantage. Ferioli fought back at kilometre 241 with a ten-second lead, but Heger ultimately won by 51 seconds.
Kristoffersson finished third at 3:05 (including 33:10 penalty) and shows rapid progress in his first Dakar. João Monteiro finished fourth at 4:18 and Kyle Chaney fifth at 4:19.
Heger extends his lead in the classification to 1:06:06 over Chaney. Xavier de Soultrait is third at 1:27:54, “Chaleco” López fourth at 1:55:50 and Monteiro fifth at 2:35:03. With his sixth victory, Heger shows he is on track for his second consecutive title.
Richard Aczel and Wouter Rosegaar are still in business. They came in as 17th with a difference of 31:25.
