Russian cyclist Petr Rikunov of the Tap Doan Loc Troi team crossed the finish line first without any chase from other racers in the 11th stage of the 2023 Ho Chi Minh City TV (HTV) Cup tournament on Friday.

The race, which is considered one of the toughest stages of this year’s tourney, took 98 riders through nearly 170 kilometers from Quy Nhon City in south-central Binh Dinh Province to Pleiku City in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, across the two mountain passes of An Khe and Mang Yang. 

Determined to enlarge his overall time gap with other competitors, Rikunov was among a breakaway that also included Igor Frolov of the Ho Chi Minh City-Vinama team, Vladislav Duiunov of Ho Chi Minh City-New Group, Javier Sarda Perez of Nhua Binh Minh Binh Duong, and Loic Desriac of Duoc Domesco Dong Thap after the first 50 kilometers.

Frolov and Duiunov then staged an attack to get away from the three others in the group of five.

With the support of Frolov, Duiunov continued to break away alone and reached the top of the An Khe Mountain Pass first.

After that, Rikunov and Frolov caught up with Duiunov and took the lead of the race, sticking together and leaving a gap of over five minutes with the chasers.

After arriving at the top of the Mang Yang Mountain Pass first, Frolov was overtaken by tiredness when it was near the finish line. 

With less than 10 kilometers left to go, Rikunov made a decisive attack, moving ahead of Frolov to take the lead on his own. 

During the efforts to draw level with Rikunov, Frolov suffered a flat tire four kilometers from the finish line.

As a result, Rikunov crossed the finish line first in Pleiku City alone. 

This is also his fifth stage win in the tourney. 

More than one minute and 30 seconds later, Frolov arrived, securing the second place in the 11th stage.

The victory in Pleiku helped Rikunov solidify his hold on both of the most prestigious yellow jersey and blue jersey, which are given to the riders leading the time classification and the points category. 

Frolov currently maintains a grip on the red polka dot jersey for the rider with the most mountain points.

The 98 cyclists from 14 competing teams are scheduled to race for 179 kilometers from Pleiku to Buon Ma Thuot City in neighboring Dak Lak Province on Saturday.

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

In its 35th edition, the competition takes cyclists through 2,964 kilometers in 25 stages from north to south in celebration of Vietnam’s reunification on April 30, 1975.

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