2008 Tour de Taiwan Stage 5: Shawn Milne threatens John Murphy's leading

The 5th Stage of 2008 Tour de Taiwan went to Hsinchu City yesterday. It started from Hsinchu City Hall through Dung-da Road and Province Route 61 to Splendid Coastline. This 148km-long race is the longest race in this Tour de Taiwan and conceals some factors such as wind in Hsinchu and cyclists' physical strength.

Sung-baek Park and Erik Hoffmann ever sprinted for a short-team leading, however, with lane's steadily in this race, the main group insisted the differences closely until the finish line.

Finally, Merida Europe Team sprinted the finish line with main group, but Shawn Milne, former champion of Tour de Taiwan, won the stage champion in this stage and threatened John Murphy's leading into a difference with 10 seconds. As a result, Shawn showed his determination to try retaining the champion this year.

Stage Results

Stage Champion: Shawn Milne (Team Type 1)

Asian Leader (Blue Jersey): Taiji Nishitani (Aisan Racing Team)

Taiwan Leader (White Jersey): Kuan-hua Lai (Giant Asia Racing Team)

Sprint Leader (Green Jersey): John Murphy (Health Net Pro Cycling Team)

General Leader (Yellow Jersey): John Murphy

Group Leader: Giant Asia Racing Team