Sam Sunderland's defence of his Dakar Rally motorbike crown ended on this year's first stage as he was taken to hospital with back pain following a crash on Sunday organisers said.The 33-year-old English GasGas rider came to grief on the 52nd kilometre."Conscious and fully mobile, he nevertheless suffers from back pain and was airlifted to Yanbu hospital for further examinations," read a statement from race organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).Sunderland also had to retire from the 2018 edition - a year after he won his first title.
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