Unfortunately, Darude was not responsible for this sandstorm.

The Africa Eco Race’s bivouac in Amodjar had been battered by sandstorms from late Wednesday night into Thursday morning, covering tables in sand and forcing many competitors to wear their riding goggles so they could see.

Organizers tried to work around this by moving the start 50 kilometers away from the original spot. However, after bringing the bikes out to the new location, they decided the risk was still too high and sent them back to the bivouac. Soon after, the AER announced Stage #9 had been canceled altogether.

It has been a bizarre few days for the race since exiting Morocco and crossing into Mauritania. The seventh stage on Tuesday was cut short when an AER plane had a mechanical issue on takeoff and crashed into a truck providing fuel for racers, injuring rider Andrea Perfetti. Perfetti avoided life-threatening injury and will be sent home for further recovery.

With Thursday’s leg canceled, the race will resume on Friday from Amodjar to the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott. Since the 12th and final stage does not count for the final results, everyone will only have two more stages to jockey for the overall wins.

Featured image credit: Thierry Traccan