CYCLING NEWS:FOR THE third day running, David McCann once again defended his race lead in the Tour of Taiwan, writes Shane Stokes.

The Belfast rider finished ninth in the bunch sprint which settled yesterday’s 123.4km race on the Taichung circuit. The only threat to his lead was the stage win and time bonus collected by Takashi Miyazawa (Japan National Team).

Miyazawa’s victory was his second in a row and he has moved to fourth overall, 20 seconds off McCann’s lead. However, the Belfast rider still holds an 11-second lead over William Clarke (Genesys Wealth Advisers) and Philip Gaimon (Kenda) as he did before the stage. Today’s 157.3 km mountain stage will suit him more than Miyazawa.

The 2.2-ranked race ends on Saturday.