LookAtVietnam – The longest stage of the Return to Dien Bien Phu Cycling Tournament saw a surprise win by two young racers yesterday.

The cyclists, who are familiar with hilly terrain, then created a two-minute gap with other contenders. (Photo: VNN)

The cyclists, who are familiar with hilly terrain, then created a two-minute gap with other contenders.

In the second group, veteran Nguyen Thi Hoang Oanh of HCM City, the yellow jersey holder Azian Alias of Malaysia and Phan Thi Thuy Trang from Agrifish An Giang made crucial attempts to catch up with the duo but failed.

Quynh of Hoa Binh team successfully pulled away from Thuong in final metres to win the stage, leaving the followers 200m behind.

She finished the 116km road in 3:15.42 with an average speed of 35.565km per hour. Her overall result of 6:40.02 was enough to help the junior rider steal the yellow jersey from Alias.

“My strong point is riding on slopes and hilly roads so I didn’t meet any difficulties in this stage. I was very confident about the pass and really happy when I won. I will try hard to protect my success,” Quynh said after receiving her jersey on the podium.

Thuong clocked in two seconds later, coming in second in stage three. Alias, who had a bad race yesterday, moved down to second place in the overall tour.

Despite Alias’s failure, Malaysia ran to the top of the team table with a time of 20:00.54. The second and third positions went to Binh Duong Water Supply and Domesco Dong Thap respectively.

The men’s race, which was 178km, Bui Minh Thuy of Vinh Long lonely pulled ahead when the tour passed over the Chieng Dong Pass. He created a four-minute gap with the other racers, but failed to maintain his advantage when the trio Le Van Duan of Sai Gon Plant Protection 1, Trinh Phat Dat of An Giang Plant Protection and Domesco Dong Thap’s Dinh Quoc Viet caught up at the 168km mark.

The four led the race for 8km before they were joined by all contenders. Nguyen Van Tai sprinted to the finish line with a time of 4:41.23, just half a bike length ahead of runners-up Duan and teammate Mai Nguyen Hung.

“It is the toughest stage of the race. We had to ride through hot weather and two passes. But I am riding very well to overcome all difficulties to win at the finish line,” Tai said.

With his second place, Duan had the best result and took the yellow jersey from Hung. Nguyen Minh Tam of Sai Gon Plant Protection 2 came in third overall.

The two top riders moved Sai Gon Plant Protection 1 to the top of the table, followed by Domesco Dong Thap and An Giang Plant Protection.

Mongolian Khangarid Naran is heading to take the ‘king of mountain’ title when he was the first to reach two passes of this stage with 25 points. Trinh Phat Dat of An Giang Plant Protection was second with 22.

Today, cyclists will race the fourth stage, 32km for women and 61km for men.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News