Shpilevsky retains yellow jersey, Ma keeps blue in the Tour of Hainan

Russian rider Boris Shpilevsky is back in familiar territory at the Tour of Hainan. The defending champion won the eighth stage to retain the yellow jersey. China's Ma Haijun took the blue jersey for the fifth time.

The cyclists rode the 178.5 kilometer stage from Dongfang to China's famous resort city of Sanya. Most of the distance featured flat roads, and none of the riders broke away early.

But with less than 60 kilometers to go, the first pack, including Shpilevsky and Ma Haijun, surged ahead to lead the peloton. The Chinese rider earned some points by claiming second place at the third sprint checkpoint. But the Russian rider finished the stage first in four hours 21 minutes and 11 seconds. Shpilevsky edged Joel Pearson and Francisco Ventoso to retain the yellow jersey. Ma kept the blue jersey as the best Asian rider.

Ma Haijun of Chinese rider

Ma Haijun of Chinese rider says, "At the last sprint point, my teammate and I worked together, using the stategy we practiced before. The plan worked well as I passed a Korean rider to finish second. "