Bryan Coquard (Europcar) out-sprinted Andrew Fenn (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) by about half a wheel to win stage 8 at the Tour de Langkawi on Thursday in Malaysia.
Francesco Chicchi (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) was a close third in the 165-kilometer stage that was mostly flat except for a short climb in the final section of the course.
Julian David Arredondo (Nippo), who initially took the overall race lead in stage 5, maintained his advantage. Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge) is 1:22 back in second, while Sergio Pardilla (MTN-Qhubeka) is 2:10 behind Arredondo in third.
Action resumes Friday with stage 9, a 124km route that takes the peloton from Pasir Puteh to Kuala Berang. The hilly stage has three intermediate sprints and a Category 4 climb.
The race ends Saturday.