Taichung, Taiwan - A non-threatening two-man break stayed away from the peloton to the finish of the 99 km Stage 5 criterium in Taichung Thursday, doing little to alter the general classification. Frank Pipp of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis still holds the race leader's yellow jersey, while teammate Shawn Milne retained the green jersey of the leader of the sprints competition and held his 6th overall position (2:25).

Benjamin Diemer (Merida Europe) won the stage ahead of Yevgeniy Yakovlev (Polygon), coming in 0:42 ahead of the peloton. Yakovlev used the 42 seconds plus bonus time on the line to jump up to 7th overall from 12th, 3:01 behind Pipp.

After losing the overall lead to Pipp in Stage 4, Dean Windsor (Drapac Porsche) made a little noise by winning the sprint for third place, earning him a few seconds in bonus time to move to 1:08 behind Pipp, while also taking enough points to close within one of Milne in the competition for the green jersey.

The Tour of Taiwan continues Friday with a 188 km road stage from Taichung to the capital of Taipei. This will likely be the last chance for teams to shake up the general classification. The race finishes Saturday with a 60 km criterium in Taipei to coincide with the massive Taipei bike show.

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