The first stage, covering a 50km route around Van Lang Park in Viet Tri, delivered an intense and engaging contest among 112 riders, including 13 international competitors representing 16 domestic teams.

Belarusian rider Dzianis Marchuk, competing for Kenda Dong Nai, claimed victory at the first intermediate sprint.

At the second intermediate sprint, the win went to Nguyen Truc Xinh of the Ho Chi Minh City New Group team.

A series of relentless attacks in the closing stages ultimately paid off for Sergei Kulikov of Loc Troi An Giang, who surged ahead to secure the stage victory. His performance also earned him both the prestigious yellow jersey for overall leader and the green jersey for points leader after stage one.

Finishing in second place, Pham Le Xuan Loc of Military Zone 7 claimed the orange jersey awarded to the best-performing Vietnamese rider in the opening stage.

The white jersey for the best young rider went to Ta Tuan Vu, also from Military Zone 7, contributing to his team’s lead in the overall team standings after the first day of competition.

The race continues on April 4 with stage two, a 100km route from Phu Tho to Hanoi, promising another day of high-speed competition and tactical racing.

Duy Nguyen