National cycling cup attracts nearly 60 riders

As many as 59 riders on 12 teams from across the country are competing in the 17th National Men’s Cycling Tournament–Ben Tre Television Cup that commenced in the southern province of Ben Tre on January 12.  
 

Ha Thanh Tam (left) wins the first-stage yellow jersey. (Credit: thethaovietnam.vn)

The five-day annual event aims to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Vietnam Communist Party (February 3, 1930-2015) and the 55th anniversary of Ben Tre Uprising (January 17, 1960-2015).

The cyclists are racing for total prize money of VND250 million in six stages covering 769km through the seven Mekong Delta localities of Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Dong Thap, An Giang, Kien Giang, Can Tho and Vinh Long.

Ha Thanh Tam, from the An Giang Plant Protection team, won the 102km first stage around Ben Tre province on Monday, clocking a time of two hours, 26 minutes and 29 seconds, followed by VTV Can Tho’s Le Van Dong and Tang Tri Hung of ADC–Vinh Long Television.

The 36km second stage – 18 laps around Ben Tre city – took place on the same day, witnessing the victory of Tran Van Quyen from the Military Zone 7 team, whose finishing time was 53 minutes and 26 seconds.

Regarding the team’s category, ADC–Vinh Long Television dominated after the first day of competition with a total time of 9:59:45, followed by Domesco Dong Thap 1 and the Military Zone 7.

The tournament will continue today with the third stage stretching 105km from Ben Tre city to My Tho city (Tien Giang province) and Cao Lanh city (Dong Thap province).

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)