Xinzhu City, Taiwan - John Murphy of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis remains in the yellow leader's jersey after five stages of the 2008 Tour de Taiwan. But what was a 0:15 lead going into the day narrowed to just 0:07 after former Health Net Presented by Maxxis rider Shawn Milne (Team Type 1), who won this race last year, took the stage win today, and the 10-second time bonus that came with it.

Murphy finished sixth on the stage, while also picking up three additional points and a two-second time bonus for his second place in the second intermediate sprint out on the road during the 148 km stage, the longest of the race.

"The finish was a bit of a mess," noted team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo. "Coming to the line, Merida took control early, but they went too early and ran out of gas. Type 1 took over from there and brought it to the line."

The stage was marked by numerous early attacks, Tamayo said. "Kyle Gritters did a great job of covering moves all day."

A three-man move went just after the start, and with no threats to the overall lead, Health Net Presented by Maxxis was content to let them go. Their lead grew to about a minute, and the trio scooped up bonuses during the first intermediate sprint.

After that break was brought back by several of the Asian teams, another larger break went, this time with Gritters in it. "We didn't like the make-up of that group because there were a few GC threats in it," Tamayo explained, "so we chased for five or six kilometers and brought it back."

That set up the final sprint. With the eight points Murphy earned on the stage, his lead in the points competition has grown to 20 over Takashi Miyazawa (Meitan Hompo-GDR). With his total of 11 seconds in time bonuses, Milne jumped up to second overall, just seven seconds back with three stages remaining. All three stages are flat, with numerous intermediate sprints - with their corresponding points and time bonuses on offer. This will ensure a tight battle for the overall title all the way through Sunday's finale.