Lionel Taminiaux takes his second victory of the season in Tour de Langkawi - "I was able to gamble in the final, I was confident in my sprint"

Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Lionel Taminiaux won the fifth stage of the Tour de Langkawi after a long day in the breakaway. He beat his breakaway companion and EF Education–EasyPost rider Julius van den Berg to take his second victory of the season.

Taminiaux was part of the breakaway group while his teammates were left to chase in the peloton. With no support, he decided to try his luck, "I was able to gamble in the final. Mareczko was still in the chasing peloton, so I was able to save some energy along the way. When Van den Berg attacked, I saw that Moscon and Gibbons couldn't close it, so I made the jump myself," said Taminiaux.

It was only Julius van den Berg who was left with him in the final kilometre. When Van de Berg started the sprint, Taminiaux counterattacked. "I was confident in my sprint. Van den Berg set up the sprint quite early, as a rider almost came close. In the last 50 meters, I could still pass him," said Taminiaux.

It is his second victory of the season and the 33rd victory for Alpecin-Deceuninck. "I asked the team management myself to ride here. After all, I felt good when I came out of the Vuelta. It turns out well," concluded Taminiaux. He holds the 72nd position in the GC, 34 minutes behind overall leader Ivan Sosa.