Tran Tuan Kiet of Dopagan Dong Thap showcased a strong sprint to win the second stage of the 2023 Ho Chi Minh City TV (HTV) Cup cycling tournament on Monday.

Kiet had a great performance despite Tap Doan Loc Troi’s complete control of the 110-kilometer race from Hanoi to north-central Thanh Hoa Province.

Cyclists from Tap Doan Loc Troi broke away to score bonus points along the route, advancing over a minute from the main pack.

The two packs merged about 20 kilometers to the finish line.

Members of Tap Doan Loc Troi then helped their two teammates, Nguyen Tan Hoai and Roman Maikin, to attack.

But they faced blocking from the Dopagan Dong Thap riders in the last three kilometers.

Eventually, Kiet outpaced Hoai and Petr Rikunov of Tap Doan Loc Troi in the final burst of sprint to snatch the stage win after two hours, 44 minutes, and 22 seconds.

After the first two stages of the 2023 HTV Cup, Russian cyclist Rikunov temporarily holds the most prestigious yellow jersey and blue jersey, which are given to the riders leading the time classification and the points category.

Ninety-eight cyclists from 14 competing teams are scheduled to race for 140 kilometers from Thanh Hoa to neighboring Nghe An Province on Tuesday.

The HTV Cup race has been held annually since 1989 and is considered Vietnam’s ‘Tour de France.’

In its 35th edition, the competition takes cyclists through 2,964 kilometers in 25 stages from north to south in celebration of Vietnam’s reunification on April 30, 1975.

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