Spaniard wins Dakar rally in contrived finish

Nani Roma won the Dakar Rally on Saturday after an anticlimactic 13th and final stage during which team orders guaranteed the Spaniard would finish first.

Stephane Peterhansel, the Dakar's record 11-time winner and defending champion, began the race's shortest stage of 157 km with a 26-second lead, but the Frenchman slowed down and even stopped to let teammate Roma roll first to Valparaiso.

The move ensured Roma, Peterhansel and third-place teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar followed controversial team orders from late Wednesday to freeze their positions to guarantee a podium sweep.