With five stage victories, one more than in 2024, Macik left his mark on this Dakar, although his compatriot Ales Loprais (Iveco) also won his fifth stage on Friday by winning in Shubaytah.
Van Den Brink won two stages as well as the prologue and finished second, after an intense battle with Loprais. In the final ranking, the gap between the Dutchman and the Czech is only 5:30.