51 cyclists quit the cross-Vietnam cycling race

The journey from Binh Dinh to Gia Lai is not too long, with 166km. But with two passes An Khe and Mang Yang and many steep slopes, this is still a big challenge for the riders. Only those who are good at climbing the pass and properly distributing their strength can conquer the route. Therefore, there were 51 cyclists who could not complete the race, had to get on the pick-up truck.

Entering An Khe pass with 7km, foreign soldiers Igor Frolov (Vinama Ho Chi Minh City), yellow shirt Petr Rikunov (Loc Troi Group), Javier Perez (Binh Minh Plastic - Binh Duong), Loic Desriac (Domesco Dong Thap Pharmaceutical), Vladislav Duiunov (Ho Chi Minh City New Group) attacked and jumped ahead. At the top of the pass, Vladislav Duiunov was the winner, followed by Igor Frolov and Petr Rikunov third in second.

After crossing the pass, there are slopes, so Igor Frolov actively attacked, Petr Rikunov still followed closely as shown with the ball. Both riders separated from the remaining three foreign soldiers to conquer Mang Yang Pass - climbing 3km, and Igor Frolov won to consolidate the Red Shirt title.

Frolov and Rikunov then headed towards their destination together, leaving a distance of sometimes up to five minutes from the latter. 27 km from the finish line, Frolov accelerated to escape Rikunov but failed. When there were 8km left, it was Rikunov's turn to attack strongly and eliminate compatriot Igor Frolov to reach the finish line alone, winning the race after 4 hours 10 minutes 15 seconds of competition, reaching an average speed of 38,841km/h.

The reigning Yellow Vest Igor Frolov was not only left behind, but he also had bad luck when the car broke down and had to be stopped to fix it, so he finished second, 1 minute 38 seconds behind Petr Rikunov.

With this comprehensive victory, Petr Rikunov continued to firmly consolidate the Yellow and Blue Shirts and help Loc Troi Group firmly hold the first place in the team. Racer Pham Le Xuan Loc (Military Zone 7) finished 9 minutes and 58 seconds after Petr Rikunov to win the White Shirt – the best young driver. Ao Orange - an impressive Vietnamese racer is still in the hands of Tang Quy Trong (Loc Troi Group).

Due to the strong foreign troops, 51 Vietnamese racers were unable to complete the race, including strong riders such as Quang Van Cuong (Loc Troi Group), Tran Nguyen Minh Tri (Domesco Dong Thap) and especially especially "sprint king" Tran Tuan Kiet (Dopagan Dong Thap).

According to the tournament rules, a driver who fails to complete five stages will be disqualified from the race. Therefore, these drivers still have the opportunity to conquer the next stages but their achievements are not counted in the final results. Therefore, Tran Tuan Kiet from second place in the Blue Shirt was eliminated from the final title.

Tomorrow, April 15, the team will race the 12th stage from Gia Lai to Dak Lak with a length of 179km.