Petr Rikunov of Loc Troi Group on Sunday won first place in the race around Hoan Kiem Lake in the first stage of the 2023 Ho Chi Minh City Television Cup.
The cyclists accelerated and made chases right after the start signal despite the rain.
Igor Frolov is forecasted by experts to have many difficulties in defending his achievements, when he has to compete with Rikunov.
The attacks to separate the group did not create a long distance. But with Igor Frolov in the top, the speed of the race was pushed up due to the short track of only 42.5km and loops.
Frolov had a breakdown in his car and had to be driven by a motorbike to the repair point with four laps remaining in the race.
The defending Yellow Vest then promptly rejoined the race, but fell far behind, unable to dispute the position in the first group to finish.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Loc Troi team accelerated strongly to put rookie Rikunov in a favourable position to withdraw and he easily pressed the pedal to the most leisurely.
The next two cyclists are Pham Le Xuan Loc of Military Region 7 and Roman Maikin of Pearl Rice, respectively. Race time 53 minutes 47 seconds, average speed 47,412km/h.
“I am very happy and impressed with the race and the people here. There will certainly be many difficult and interesting things waiting for us ahead,” Rikunov said.
“It was raining, it was covered with mud, but we were still determined to fight, no one gave up. Choosing to race bicycles, we are so used to difficulties like this.” he added.
The HTV Cup race has been held annually since 1989 and is considered Vietnam’s ‘Tour de France.’ The second stage race from Hanoi to Thanh Hoa was 114km long on April 3.
