Cyclist Russian Petr Rikunov (second left) celebrates winning the eighth stage of the HCM City Television Cycling on Monday. Photo nld.com.vn

ĐÀ NẴNG — Russian cyclist Petr Rikunov won the eighth stage of the HCM City Television Cycling Cup on Monday.

With support from his teammates, Rikunov of Lộc Trời Group, won the 80km stage from Đà Nẵng City to Tam Kỳ City of Quảng Nam Province with a time of 1:54.15 and an average speed of 42km/h.

With this result, Rikunov defended both his yellow as green jerseys.

Nguyễn Văn Bình of HCM City New Group came to second and Nguyễn Tấn Hoài  of Lộc Trời finished third. During the sprint to the finish line, Quàng Văn Cường of Lộc Trời Group unfortunately fell but was only slightly injured.

With the second place, Bình was rewarded the title of orange jersey as the most impressive athlete. This is the first title to appear in this year’s event to encourage Vietnamese cyclists with the best results on the individual rankings.

In this stage, Phạm Lê Xuân Lộc of the Military Zone 7 still successfully defended his white jersey for the most outstanding young cyclist.

The nation's largest cycling tournament has attracted t11 teams and 98 cyclists who are racing 25 stages through 31 cities and provinces from north to south.

It will finish at the HCM City's Independence Palace on Reunification Day on April 30.

The race is aimed at popularising Việt Nam’s picturesque destinations and cultural identity among domestic and foreign tourists. —VNS