Deep in the Muck: Photos from the Dakar Rally

Check out the VICE Sports World News Roundup, published every morning, for headlines and funny stories from around the world.

After a suspended start due to rain, things are well underway in South America, the location of this year’s Dakar Rally. Competitors will travel across the continent. The first couple stages were, well, muddy. Here are some of the best shots.

American Robby Gordon stands on the hood of his truck after getting stuck in the mud.

Spanish driver Xavier Pons’ Ford met a similar fate.

Photo Credit: NICOLAS AGUILERA/EPA

French driver Sebastien Loeb fared better as he piloted his Peugeot through a muddy patch outside Cordoba, Argentina.

Photo Credit: FELIPE TRUEBA/EPA

The Dakar Rally isn’t just for trucks. Here’s Ruben Faria, from Portugal, surfing on a motorcycle.

Photo Credit: NICOLAS AGUILERA/EPA

David Casteu of France powers out of the muck.

Photo Credit: NICOLAS AGUILERA/EPA

Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues got a little sideways yesterday.

Photo Credit: NICOLAS AGUILERA/EPA

Medics respond to Argentine Julio Cesar Estanguet after he crashed his four-wheeler.

Photo Credit: FELIPE TRUEBA/EPA

Of all the danger and the action shots, it’s stuff like this—of Bianchi Prata against the backdrop of the Argentinian plains—which show the scale of the Dakar Rally. There’s nothing else quite like it.

Photo Credit: FELIPE TRUEBA/EPA