Cycling

Vietnamese cyclist Nguyễn Thị Thật (left) poses with her new teammates at the Israel Premier Tech Roland in Australia. They will compete at the Tour Down Under 2023 from January 15. Photo of Nguyễn Thị Thật

HÀ NỘI — Nguyễn Thị Thật has recently joined Israel Premier Tech Roland cycling team and may have a chance to ride at the world's largest Tour de France for women this season.

Israel Premier Tech Roland confirmed the news with Việt Nam News yesterday.

Thật, from southern An Giang Province, has been invited to compete for the Swiss team joined her teammates in Adelaide, Australia, to prepare for her tournament, Tour Down Under 2023.

Thật, member of Việt Nam's Lộc Trời An Giang Team, will be one of the key riders at the three-stage tournament, which will kick off on January 15, along with veteran Silvia Magri, Mia Griffin, Claire Steels, Elena Pirrone and Caroline Baur.

Following the invitation, in addition to the Australian event, the 29-year-old will also take part in competitions in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and France this year. And it is possible that she will have chance to pedal at the Tour de France, depending on her performance.

"This is a good opportunity for Thật to approach a professional cycling environment which will help improve her technique and fitness," said Trần Hải Triều, general secretary of the An Giang Province's Cycling and Motor Sports Federation.

"At these tournaments, she can collect points for her world ranking and target a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics."

It is the second time Thật has been invited to compete for a foreign club.

In 2019 and 2020, she rode for Lotto Soudal of Belgium, a UCI Women WorldTeam, making her the first and the only Vietnamese cyclist to date to compete for an international club. But she had to return home earlier than scheduled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier, she took part in a training course of the International Cycling Union in 2018.

She has grabbed remarkable results, including a second place at the Erondegemse Pijl in Belgium and a third place at the Vuelta à la Comunitat Valenciana Féminas in Spain in 2019. 

Switzeland's Israel Premier Tech Roland team. The team managers have invited Vietnamese top cyclist Nguyễn Thị Thật to compete under their jersey this season. Photo courtesy of  Israel Premier Tech Roland

Roland Israel Premier Tech is one of leading teams in the UCI Women WorldTeam group, the highest level of women's cycling. They earned a slot to race at the 2022 Tour de France.

After the Tour Down Under, Thật will fly home to take part in the International Bình Dương Cycling Tournament in March. It is considered a warm-up event for the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia two months later. VNS