Anthony Brown and Liesbeth Kanis won the first stage of the Viet Nam Mountain Bike Marathon 2017, which is underway in Sa Pa, Lao Cai Province.

Athletes compete in the first Viet Nam Mountain Bike Marathon in 2016. This year’s three-day event is ongoing in Lao Cai Province. — Photo vietnammountainbikemarathon.com

Brown from Australia finished the 48km race with 1,350m gain from Khoang Village in Sa Pa District’s Ta Giang Phinh Commune to Muong Hum of Bat Xat District, with a time of 2hr 29.18min.

Kanis of the Netherlands took 3:45.19 to complete her tour.

The second stage will be 68km with 1,800m gain from Topas Ecolodge to Thanh Phu Commune.

The final stage is 27km with 750m gain from Khoang Village to Hau Thao Commune.

This is the second edition of this race, following some outstanding feedback from cyclists from the 2016 edition.

Participants from several countries have registered for the race, organised by Topas Travel, which covers large parts of remote mountains. Competitors can see parts of the region that normally remain well out of reach. 

Topas has also hosted the Viet Nam Mountain Marathon in Sa Pa for the last four years, which attracted some 1,500 runners at this year’s edition in September. — VNS