As we head into the final days of the 2012 Dakar Rally it couldn't be closer at the top. Marc Coma cut down Despres' two minute lead to just 21 seconds today during the 10th stage of the Dakar.

Cyril Despres lost a lot of ground yesterday as his KTM got stuck in a river mud. But the three-time champ was able to catch and pass Marc Coma today with his third stage win of the 2012 Dakar rally.

Marc Coma has slowly been chipping away at Cyril Despres' lead and today during the 8th stage he finally managed to put himself back on top. Despres lost a lot of time in a muddy trap during today's stage and now trails the defending champion by 1 minute and 26 seconds.

Marc Coma is slowly closing the gap. The defending champion made a navigational error during the early stages of the 2012 Dakar rally that gave Cyril Despres a big lead in the front, but Coma is slowly reeling in his KTM rival.

The 6th stage of the Dakar has been cancelled. Marc Coma will have to wait until tomorrow for another chance to try to reel Cyril Despres back in.