Rider David Reeve has pulled out of the Dakar Rally after breaking his left leg.

ZAMBIA's star rider David Reeve's maiden participation in the gruelling Dakar Rally has come to a shattering end after he broke his left leg in Stage-11 of the competition while still holding an impressive 29th position.

Reeve, who had moved up from position 172 on Day One to his best ever standing at 29 at the end of Day 10, was met by flash rains at Fiambala and broke his left shin bone as he attempted to overcome a river.

The Mazabuka-based rider is expected to be evacuated to South Africa today before returning home.

Reeve hurt his left shin bone between the fourth (WP4) and fifth (WP5) check points of stage 11 and was immediately taken to a hospital in Argentina near the mining town of Capiapo, and was effectively out of the race.

Charles Bender, who is part of David Reeve's Dakar-2013 crew, confirmed the injury but was unable to say whether both the rider's tibia and fibula were broken in the accident that happened as he tried to overcome a river.

Other crew members in the Reeve Dakar-2013 crew are Gillian Dykes and Petro van Hout.

After passing WP4 where he was still holding position 39, Reeve failed to show up at WP5 and WP6, raising concern among the organisers who searched for him in the rough dry terrain.

Later, Bender said: "David Reeve is otherwise okay and was sleeping when I last saw him.

"Reeve had broken his left shin bone and was in a plaster cast and was due to be moved to Catamarca Hospital for a pin before being flown to Johannesburg in South Africa for further specialist treatment before returning to Zambia."