Cyclist Pham Le Xuan Loc finishes first in second stage

Loc completed the second stage after three hours 10 minutes and five seconds. He excellently won the yellow (best cyclist), blue (best sprinter), polka dot (king of the mountains) and white (best young cyclist - under 23) jerseys.

Cyclist Pham Le Xuan Loc (left) is the first to reach the finish line in the second stage.

In the second stage, entitled “Whole military starts,” 70 cyclists pedaled 132 kilometers from Hanoi to Hoa Binh province’s Mai Chau mountainous district. Cun Pass and Phu Cuong Pass were two big challenges of this stage. Experts assessed that cyclist conquering Phu Cuong Pass first would be the winner of the stage and the red dotted jersey since Phu Cuong Pass winner got 25 points while Cun Pass winner got only 10 points.

In the second stage, cyclists pedal 132 kilometers from Hanoi to Hoa Binh province’s Mai Chau mountainous district, crossing challenging Cun Pass and Phu Cuong Pass.

Cyclist Pham Le Xuan Loc topped the Phu Cuong Pass section. Notably, some meters to the finish line, Loc accelerated his cycling speed and successfully reached first.

In this stage, cyclist Ngo Van Phuong from Hanoi team ranked first in Sprint 1 race and cyclist Vo Thanh An from Vinh Long Team was the winner of Sprint 2 race. Cyclist Vo Minh Gia Bao, Loc’s teammate, was the winner of Cun Pass.

In the team category, Ho Chi Minh City team was placed the first with the total time of 12h9’6’’.

Awarding best riders of the second stage

Rider Pham Le Xuan Loc with the yellow jersey

Nguyen Ngoc Vu, Secretary-General of the Vietnam Cycling Federation, said that a rider winning four titles in a stage was an unprecedented record for Vietnamese cycling.

In the framework of the second stage, the For Vietnamese Stature Foundation, a voluntary partner of the cycling tournament, and Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank presented ten sanitation facilities, worth VND 600 million, to local schools and 25 bags of TH true milk. The Vietnam Medicine and Pharmacy Corporation presented 25 gifts to war veterans and policy beneficiary families in Hoa Binh province.

Gifts presented to local war veterans and policy beneficiary families

Presenting ten sanitation facilities, worth VND 600 million, to local schools.

Senior Colonel Ngo Anh Thu, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the People's Army Newspaper and Deputy Head of the Standing Board, Commanding Officer of the cycling tournament, presents an insignia of the tourney to Hoa Binh province's leadership.

Tomorrow, the cyclists will cover 136 kilometers from Van Ho district in Son La province to Son La city. The third stage is named “Opening ways to the Northwestern region.”

Translated by Mai Huong