Before the race started, Jose Serpa was tipped to be a serious contender for the overall classification of the 2008 Tour de Langkawi. But with 25 teams and 150-odd riders, controlling the race is near impossible and making the right break is a bit of a lottery. So when things didn't go to plan on Day 1, he decided to tack and change course.

After numerous attempts, the versatile Colombian finally made the right break some 35 kilometers into the sixth stage of the Tour de Langkawi, a 182.8km undulating affair up the south-western seaboard. Among 16 escapees there were teams with more than one rider represented, but this didn't bother Serpa, his direttori sportive Gianni Savio and Marco Bellotti also telling him so.

But one thing they did say to bother about was the final kilometer in Kuala Rompin. Informing him of a sharp 90-degree right-hander 600 meters from the line, before a sharp left leading onto a 300-meter finishing straight proved crucial to his victory Thursday. Coupling the benefit of foresight and the element of surprise, the 28-year-old attacked 500 meters out before diving head-first into the final corner: "And when I looked behind I saw I had a significant gap, so I sprinted, giving it absolutely everything in the final 300 meters... and it worked."

Tour de Langkawi 2008: Serpa drives to the line

Not unlike the precocious Alejandro Valverde, it was a classic move by the gifted Serpa to out-sprint Alexandre Usov (Ag2r La Mondiale), Johnnie Walker (SouthAustralia.com-AIS) and the rest, whose boss Savio could only speak about with admiration: "Never in 24 years as a sport director have I seen a rider as good as Jose was today," said the Italian.

Some words from Savio, the silver fox almost a quarter-century into his job as director and team manager of one of cycling's longest-running teams. "Gianni interpreted the race very well," Serpa responded. "He and Marco Bellotti looked at the plan [before], and the secret behind our team's continual success is that the directors always have a good look at the [stage] plan, form an idea about the way to ride it, and then we interpret it when the moment comes."

The maillot jaune of Matthieu Sprick continues to live life on the edge.

Still a second ahead of Drapac-Porsche's Mitchell Docker and no more than 13 seconds in front of the other 18, his demeanor the past days suggests he's not losing any sleep over it: "I wouldn't say the yellow jersey gives stress - it gives focus.

"It's not easy to stay the leader with one second's advantage, but since the goal is to win overall, it's better to be one second ahead than one second behind," Sprick said with a smile of a typically reserved Frenchman from Alsace, but who now lives in Molsheim near Strasbourg.

Tour de Langkawi 2008: Another day in yellow for Sprick

The much-awaited stage that ends atop Fraser's Hill is now just two days away. So how's Monsieur Maillot Jaune feeling - legs a little tired, perhaps?

"It's just the normal fatigue you feel after six days of racing, but I think they should feel the same way [on Saturday] as they do now," he said, summarizing his riding abilities as "average everywhere, super nowhere".

Though before Saturday, more déjà-vu on Stage 7: a short, 126.6km bumpy ride from Kuala Rompin to Kuantan, midway up the eastern seaboard. And the way things have gone so far, breakaway or bunch gallop, it's anyone's guess.