Nguyen Tan Hoai of Tap Doan Loc Troi failed to protect his blue jersey in the mountains classification after falling before the finish line in the 14th stage of the 2022 Ho Chi Minh City TV (HTV) Cup tournament on Tuesday.

Considered an easy round, the 14th stage, which had the cyclists race 50 kilometers around Tam Ky City in central Quang Nam Province, was not expected to have any surprises.

However, both Nguyen Tan Hoai and Le Nguyet Minh, two strong sprinters, fell just a few hundreds of meters before the finish line.

Without competition from the top contenders, Tran Tuan Kiet easily won the stage after one hour, ten minutes and 23 seconds, with an average speed of 42.6 kilometers per hour.

Tran Tuan Kiet reacts after finishing first in the 14th stage of the 2022 Ho Chi Minh City TV (HTV) Cup tournament in Tam Ky City, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, April 19, 2022. Photo: M.Q. / Tuoi Tre

The victory also awarded Kiet the blue jersey, which Hoai had previously held as the leader in the mountains category.

Russian rider Igor Frolov retained both of the prestigious yellow jersey and the polka dot jersey, which are given to the riders leading the general classification and the mountains category, respectively.

The cyclists are scheduled to take a break on Wednesday before racing 90 kilometers from Tam Ky City to Quang Ngai Province in the 15th stage of the tourney on Thursday.

Top finishers receive awards after the 14th stage of the 2022 Ho Chi Minh City TV (HTV) Cup tournament in Tam Ky City, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, April 19, 2022. Photo: M.Q. / Tuoi Tre

The HTV Cup race has been held annually since 1989 and is considered Vietnam’s ‘Tour de France.’

In its 34th edition, the competition will take 98 cyclists from 14 competing teams through 2,316.2 kilometers in 23 stages from north to south in celebration of Vietnam’s reunification day on April 30, 1975.

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