The annual cycling competition is co-organized by the Vietnam Motor-Bicycle Sports Federation, the Editorial Board of Sports and Entertainment Programs of the Vietnam Television (VTV), and Hoa Sen Group. It consists of eight stages that stretch over 1,045 km through provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, and Da Nang.
This year’s event, themed “the Journey of Heritages,” aims to popularize Vietnamese heritages, culture, and tourist attractions to foreign friends. It attracts the participation of twelve domestic and foreign teams.
The six foreign teams will be from Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Australia, and the Republic of Korea. Meanwhile, Hanoi, Vietnam USA Society English-Ho Chi Minh (VUS-HCM) City, Bike Life Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Loc Troi Group (An Giang province) and Military Region 7 are the six domestic teams that will join the race.
According to Coach Do Thanh Dat of the VUS-HCM City team, this year tournament will be more competitive because of the participation of strong foreign teams such as the Republic of Korea and the Netherlands. “It is an interesting challenge for domestic cyclists,” he added.
Apparently, all domestic teams are actively preparing for the competition. Several of them have recruited foreign cyclists. For example, the Loc Troi Group team has just replaced its two Iranian cyclists by two Koreans, Gong Hyosuk and Park Keonwoo, who are expected to serve the team in pursuit of yellow and green jerseys of the tournament.
The tournament will end in Hoi An city of Quang Nam province on September 8.
