Lionel Taminiaux wins fifth stage of Tour de Langkawi as breakaway successfully holds off peloton

Lionel Taminiaux has won the fifth stage of the Tour de Langkawi. He was part of an early breakaway and beat Julius van den Berg in the final sprint and took his second victory of the season.

The breakaway included Ryan Gibbons (UAE), Sander Armée and Hugo Toumire (Cofidis), Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto-Soudal), Max Kanter and Mathias Jorgensen (Movistar), Gianni Moscon (Astana), Lionel Taminiaux (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ander Okamika (Burgos BH) and Carter Bettles (ARA). The group took a lead of 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

In the final 5 kilometres, it appeared that the breakaway was almost finished, but that proved to be incorrect. Julius van den Berg and Lionel Taminiaux separated themselves from the breakaway to further improve their chances of victory. Both riders fought hard for the top position, and Taminiaux came out on top. Julius van den Berg had to satisfy himself with silver, while Carter Bettles finished third.