Marathon des Sables: the Ahansals lead the race

The Ahansal brothers remained undefeated through the fourth day of the 20th edition of the marathon des sables.

Seven times titleholder, Lahcen Ahansal finished Thursday the longest Marathon stage, a 76km-long contest between Talmaïdert and Oued Ahssia, in 06h 29mn 47sec, five minutes before his brother, Ahmed.

Moroccan Lhoucine Akhdar and French Samuel Bonaudo finished third with 07h 17mn 32sec.

In women's category, Luxembourg's Simone Keyser Diederich kept the leadership after a solo race against the watch, finishing one hour earlier than runners up, French Virginie Thevenot (11h 06min 19sec) and Isabelle Degrand (11h 06min 3sec).

The Marathon des Sables is a six-day event through the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco.

Each day of the Marathon is an adventure unto its own, as each of the six "stages" ranges from 20 to 80 kilometres in length.