Ha'il (Saudi Arabia), Jan 8 (IANS): Unexpected rain showers and floods are causing some damage in the program of this year's Dakar Rally. After the change of the structure of Stage 6, many riders reached the new bivouac in Riyadh during the night. For this reason and also due to the bad weather conditions, ASO organisation decided to cancel stage 7.

In order to continue the race on Sunday, Stage 8 will have the same route planned for Stage 7 Al Duwadimi-Riyadh, reduced to a length of 345 kilometres (shortened by 128 kilometres).

So, riders had to face a 476 km liaison in the direction of Al Duwadimi. There they will have their bikes in a park ferme regime and will sleep in tents supplied by the organisation -- like is common in the marathon stages.

In the first part, the field will weave its way around valleys in the heart of the mountains before tackling a wide-open desert. The final part will take place on fast tracks.

"The first week of this Dakar Rally was particularly hard due to several factors. Yesterday at the end of the afternoon there were not many riders back in the bivouac, so the organisation decided to cancel the next stage. Today our riders will have a different day from what they expected, with the liaison Al Duwadimi where they will start tomorrow stage 8. The bivouac was affected by floods, so they will have to sleep in a service area and get ready for a surprise marathon stage," said Ruben Faria, Monster Energy Honda Team's General Manager.