VietNamNet Bridge – Tran Van Kien won the third stage of the Return to the Countryside cycling tournament from Long An Province's Moc Hoa District to Dong Thap's Hong Ngu District yesterday, June 7.


Uphill battle: Tran Van Kien (left) sprints to finish first ahead of Huynh Thanh Tung of Military Zone 7 and Nguyen Luu Thanh Nhan of HCM City in the third stage of the Return to Countryside cycling race yesterday. The stage covers the 82km from Long An Province's Moc Hoa District to Dong Thap's Hong Ngu District. (Photo: VNS)
A great performance in the 87km race by Tran Thanh Nhanh of HCM City allowed him to take the yellow jersey from his teammate Ach Xa Na Qui.

Kien of An Giang Plant Protection 2 followed Tran Van Quyen of Military Zone 7 in a break away from the peleton at the 40km mark.

They were caught after a 20km run and passed over by seven other cyclists who played a key role in increasing the pace of the race.

Kien proved his remarkable effort later by joining the leaders with only 5km to the finish. His strong performance pedalled him to a stage win with a time of 2 hours 19.14 minutes.

Huynh Thanh Tung of Military Zone 7 and Nguyen Luu Thanh Nhan of HCM City crossed the line in second and third, respectively.

Although he was not in the top three, Nhanh's performance was good enough to help him snatch the overall lead and the yellow jersey. His total time of 5:45.36 was 4sec faster than the first runner-up Nguyen Huynh Phu Loc of Military Zone 7. Second runner-up Ha Thanh Tam of An Giang Plant Protection 1 finished the first three stages in 5:45.41.

In the team competition, Military Zone 7's cyclists boosted themselves to the top of the list even though they weren't the day's top performers with a three-day time of 17:17.32.

An Giang Plant Protection 1 were second at 20sec behind while HCM City were third with a total time of 17.28.37.

The amateur tournament saw Ly Quoc Viet of Ifaco-An Giang wearing the yellow jersey for the third day. His total time after three days was 5:58.06 followed by familiar rivals Phan Thong Nhan of Can Tho and Le Tan Lai of Chau Phu-An Giang.

The 120km fourth stage is today from Cao Lanh city to Soc Trang city.


VietNamNet/Viet Nam News