HÀ NỘI — Gạo Hạt Ngọc Trời An Giang will enjoy the participation of cyclist Ali Khademi from Iran at the HCM City Television Cycling Tournament later this month.

Khademi was the gold medallist at the Asian U23 Championship in 2013. The 26-year-old competed for Iran’s national team and several professional teams in Iran.

Additionally, An Giang recruited Javier Perez from Spain who raced for Japan and Bike Life Đồng Nai last year.

With the two foreign cyclists and top domestic racers including Nguyễn Thành Tâm, Lê Ngọc Sơn and Trịnh Đức Tâm, An Giang are the leading candidate for titles in this year’s event.

Meanwhile Bike Life Đồng Nai inked a long-term contract with Loic Desriac, who was a former national U23 rider for France. He raced in Japan before arriving in Việt Nam.

To prepare for the HCM City event, Đồng Nai signed Edgar Nieto from Spain. The 32-year-old cyclist is expected to help his new team succeed both in HCM City’s tournament and other international events.

The HCM City Television Cycling Tournament this year will include 30 stages with a total length of 3,267km.

The event, which is scheduled to be held from March 29 to April 30, will make history as the bike race with the most stages. The Tour de France, an annual multiple stage bicycle race in France, consists of only 21 stages.

At present, many teams are practising in Lâm Đồng Province to hone their skills for the VNĐ2 billion (US$87,000) awards. — VNS