Nino Corredor wins at Guanzling

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Following his third place overall at Le Tour de Langkawi, Colombia's Victor Niño overcame illness to drop everyone on the steep uphill finish of stage 6 of the Tour de Taiwan at Guanziling Toong Mao resort, where he led Japan's Yusuke Hatanaka and Malaysia's Adiq Othman Hussainie across the line. A courageous Rhys Pollock retained the lead on a terrain that certainly didn't suit his physique. With one day to go, the respected Drapac team road captain eyes the first stage race victory of his career on Friday in Kaohsiung.

For both Niño and Pollock, the success was a surprise. "This morning in my bed, I felt ill," the 39-year-old Colombian said. "I was so tired that I had no morale. I thought I wasn't going to start. Once I got on my bike, I was better and then, I went to the front with 1km to go, where my teammates from Azad University had told me it would become hilly. I attacked with 700 metres to go because I had nothing to lose."

"I probably jumped 100m too late," said runner-up Hatanaka regretfully. "It's a good result for me and for the Japanese national team as well because we were three up the front and we increased our lead in the teams' classification, but my main feeling is still one of huge disappointment. I thought I could come across to Niño and pass him. What a pity."

"Niño was definitely too strong on the steepest part of the hill," said Hussainie, who moved into the top 10 overall, proving that he is one of Asia's most promising young prospects at the age of 20. "It's a pretty good result today," said the Champion System team recruit, who will make a move to racing in Europe with the China-registered Pro Continental team.

The local revelation of the Tour de Taiwan, Feng Chun Kai (Action Cycling Team), also gave a strong indication about his international future as he maintained his position in the top 10 overall (seventh) as well as his lead in the King of the Mountain competition. Once again, he performed strongly in the small group fighting for the final victory. "I hope to get more starts at stage races on the Asia Tour," Feng, 23, said.

"I believe that I'll be able to win the Tour de Taiwan in the future. I know that races in Europe are contested at a very high speed, but if I get a chance to go there, I'm prepared to restart my career from scratch."

Fifteen years his senior, Hong Kong's Wang Kam Po said, "Feng had the potential to succeed in cycling. He deserves to get more support from sponsors and associations."

"Feng is one of these riders who can do everything," said RTS Racing's Lee Rodgers who is competing at home as he lives in Taichung. "The Tour de Taiwan is my favourite Tour, including those I've just taken part in before: Tour of Qatar, Tour of Oman, Le Tour de Langkawi. Cycling is my hobby, not my job, so should I win the points competition here, it'll be awesome."

"The race is not over yet," said Wang as a warning. "Tomorrow, I have three chances to get the time bonus I need to get the yellow jersey."

Pollock remembered that in the past, his Drapac team went into the last stage with a lead of six seconds and lost the yellow jersey on the last day. "It's never over," said the Australian. "Kam Po is an extremely high-quality rider. We'll pay a lot of attention."

Sprinters Jonathan Cantwell from Saxo Bank and Roberto Ferrari from Androni also have the intention of keeping the overall rankings unchanged on the final day of the Tour de Taiwan in Kaohsiung.

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