体坛英语新闻：Dakar Rally seventh stage shortened due to rain

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Monday's seventh stage of the Dakar Rally will be cut by half as heavy rain continues to cause havoc in the Bolivian section of the prestigious off-road race.

The La Paz-Uyuni route will be cut to a 161km timed stage with over 600km in liaison, organizers said on Sunday.

The announcement came after Saturday's Oruro-La Paz stage was cancelled and Friday's Tupiza-Oruro leg was shortened due to bad weather.

Defending champion Stephane Peterhansel of France leads the overall standings, one minute and nine seconds ahead of compatriot and fellow Peugeot driver Sebastien Loeb.

Their countryman Cyril Despres - who is also driving a Peugeot - is third, four minutes and 54 seconds off the pace.

Britain's Sam Sunderland heads the overall standings in the motorcycle category, 12 minutes in front of Chilean Pablo Quintanilla.

This year's edition of the off-road race features 12 stages, covering more than 9,000km in Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina before ending in Buenos Aires on January 14.