HA NOI — Sean Smith of Dutch team CCN won the fifth stage of the International Cycling Tour to the Northern Delta yesterday.

The 118km stage from Mong Cai City to Lang Son City saw tireless efforts made by cyclists of South Korea, CCN and An Giang Plant Protection in a bid to move up the standings. They tried to break away early but were reeled in by cyclists of Ha Noi who were fighting to protect teammate Trinh Duc Tam's yellow jersey.

With around 20km to go, Tran Quoc Dung of Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap 1 and Smith escaped from the peloton and opened up a 2min lead. Smith outsprinted Dung to the finish, and crossed line in 2hr 52.46min. In the chasing pack, Bui Minh Thuy of ADC-Vinh Long Television beat off stiff competition to finish third.

Trinh Duc Tam of Ha Noi retained the yellow jersey with an overall time of 15:58.58. Lex Nederlof of CCN is in second with 16:01.49 and Nguyen Tan Hoai of Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap 1 ranks third with 16:04.09.

Hoai's third place was good enough to help his team take the lead in the team event, followed by CCN and An Giang Plant Protection.

Cyclists will compete over the 160km sixth and final stage from Lang Son City to Ha Noi today. Tam and his team will be attempting to prevent any breakaways to ensure the pack finish the race together and overall victory, while cyclists from Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap 1 will be looking to keep pace with CCN racers to maintain their narrow lead in the team competition. — VNS