Tour de Taiwan
Stage 1 Taipei
Winner: Will Clarke (Drapac Professional Cycling)
Second: Carlos Alzate ( UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team )
Third: Alexander Ray (Team Illuminate)
Australian cyclist wins 1st stage of Tour de Taiwan
Taipei, March 6 (CNA) Australian cyclist William Clarke was the first to cross the finish line of the starting stage of the Tour de Taiwan road race in Taipei Sunday.Clarke, 31, from the Drapac Professional Cycling team, finished the eight laps along Taipei's Renai Road, totaling 83.2 kilometers, on the first stage of the five-day race, with a time of 1:40:34.Meanwhile, 33-year-old Colombian Carlos Eduardo Alzate Escobar, from the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, took both the yellow and green jerseys for lowest overall time after point deductions, and for best sprinter of the stage, respectively.Japan's Yuma Koishi, who finished three seconds behind, was awarded the blue jersey as the Asian leader, while 21-year-old Ben Alexander O'Connor of Australia received the white jersey for clocking the fastest time among cyclists aged below 23.Wu Po-hung (巫帛宏) was the best performing Taiwanese cyclist on the first day, finishing 25th, 58 seconds behind Clarke.Tour de Taiwan has been recognized by the Switzerland-based Union Cycliste Internationale as a 2.1-class race since 2012 and is part of the Asia Tour.More than 160 cyclists from 30 countries, in 21 teams, are taking part in this year's event.The second stage of the race will take place in New Taipei Monday, with a route of 116.37 km along the northern coast of Taiwan.The third stage of 118.84 km will be held in Taoyuan Tuesday, the fourth stage of 166.56 km in the mountainous county of Nantou Wednesday and the final stage of 146.26 km will run from Tainan to Pingtung in southern Taiwan Thursday.