Loic Desriac, the champion of the HTV Cup -- which is the annual north-to-south cycling tournament in Vietnam -- announced on Sunday his farewell to Bike Life Dong Nai over disagreement in many aspects after spending five years with the southern Dong Nai Province-based club.

“After five years with Vietnamese cycling as well as with Dong Nai, I regret to say goodbye to the team,” Desriac, 32, wrote in a post on his personal Facebook account.

“COVID has made everything more difficult, we didn’t have races like every year and when [sic] we didn’t have a common voice in many aspects, but I had a lot of good memories with my teammates and I appreciate that."

Desriac had competed for several international cycling teams, including Roubaix-Dalkia and Roubaix-Lille Metropole in France and Kinan in Japan, and been selected to the French men’s U23 national cycling team before moving to Vietnam in 2012.

The French cyclist suffered stomach bleeding in 2018 and fortunately overcame the disease later.

Desriac made an impressive comeback by securing the most prestigious yellow jersey of the VTV International Cycling Tournament – Ton Hoa Sen Cup twice in 2019 and 2020, before winning the championship of the HTV Cup in 2021.

The VTV International Cycling Tournament – Ton Hoa Sen Cup is the annual event co-organized by Vietnam Television and the Vietnam Cycling Federation, with 80 cyclists from six domestic cycling teams and six foreign clubs competing over 14 stages covering 1,800km.

The HTV Cup tourney has been held annually since 1989 and is considered Vietnam’s ‘Tour de France’ as it takes about 100 cyclists from north to south in celebration of the Southeast Asian country’s reunification on April 30, 1975.

Desriac told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper following his farewell announcement that he currently has no specific plans for his cycling career in the near future.

“But I’ll probably take a break for a while,” the Frenchman said.

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