The ride was not exceptionally tough even by his standard but from almost not wanting to race to taking the first stage of the Tour de Taiwan 2010, the day was indeed extraordinary for David McCann from the Giant Asia Racing team.
The 37-year-old from Irishman said after the more than four hour ride from Kaoshiung to Chiayi that he almost gave the race a pass.
“I was struggling with a chest infection and I almost did not want to race today but I felt a little better and decided to give it a shot,“ said McCann, who not only took the stage but also will be in the Tour leader yellow jersey for being at the top of the General Classification (GC).
“The weather was warm today but not as hot as it was in Malaysia. And it being a fast route today with the wind behind us, we were able to come in with a decent time even though there were two climbs on the day.
“I hope that I will be able to maintain my lead in the next few days with the help of my team-mates.”
Stage 1 Results Download TDT Stage 1
Specialized Novatec Results - Stage 1
15th Chu Fan Hsin (+ 57sec)
30th Chen Tsun Kuei (+ 3min17sec
43rd Hsieh An Lung (+ 5min09sec)
53rd Yang Chia Hong (+ 6min31sec)
DNF Tsai Chen Chia (Crash mid way through the stage)
Team Classification - Stage 1
1 Hong Kong Team
2 CKT Tmit - ChampionSystems
3 Shimano Racing Team
4 Kenda
5 Giant Asia Racing team
6 Action Racing Team
8 Specialized Novatec
14 Equinox KFT Team
18 Exustar Cycling Team
20 E-Ma Cycling Team
