John Murphy of Health Net - Maxxis finished seventh in the third stage of the Tour of Taiwan, retaining the leader's jersey he earned earlier this week.

Murphy's team said he used the climbing form developed at the Tour of California to stay within three seconds of the Australian stage winner, Peter McDonald (Drapac Porsche).

McDonald moved up to second on GC, five seconds behind Murphy. Shawn Milne of Team Type 1 was third on the day and is now fourth on GC.

“The guys rode really well again today,” said Health Net team directeur Mike Tamayo. “There were a lot of crosswinds that did some damage to the peloton. We tried to stay attentive and police the front of the pack.”

“Murphy really showed his form by hitting the uphill sprint to the line at the front with 700 meters to go and finishing strong,” Tamayo said.

Murphy also won the second intermediate sprint on the road to earn an additional five points to solidify his lead in the points competition. The sprint win was also good for a three-second time bonus.

The eight-stage race concludes March 16th.