Opening of the “Non Song Lien Mot Doi” Cycling Race in Vinh City

Attending the opening ceremony were comrade Tran Luu Quang - Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; leaders of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training;

On the side of Nghe An province, there was comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province, and representatives of departments and branches.

Delegates attending the opening ceremony. Photo: Trung Kien

This is one of the sports and cultural activities to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the complete Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2019), the 129th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2019) and the 50th anniversary of implementing President Ho Chi Minh's Testament (1969 - 2019).

The tournament gathered 83 athletes from 12 racing teams and had the participation of national team racers, young team players preparing for international tournaments in 2019, foreign racers who have achieved high results in the international arena such as: Mirsamad Pourseyedi (Iran), VOH 2018 Yellow Jersey - Sarda Javier (Spain), Loic Desriac (France)...

This year’s race has 16 stages, with a total route of nearly 2,000 km, starting from Vinh City and ending at Thong Nhat Hall Park (HCMC). The tournament is expected to end on April 30, 2019.

The total prize value of this year's race is over 1 billion VND, in which the overall yellow jersey racer will receive a prize of 150 million VND, and the team winning the overall team championship cup will receive a prize of 80 million VND.

At the opening stage, the race started at 8:30 am around Ho Chi Minh Square. With the enthusiastic cheers of many Vinh city residents, racer Huynh Thanh Tung led the race with a large gap over the second place.

At the end of the exciting first stage, Huynh Thanh Tung won the Yellow Jersey, while Le Van Duan (HVM TP HCM) temporarily held the Green Jersey.

Tomorrow, 83 racers from 12 teams will compete in the second stage, with a 199km route from Vinh City to Dong Hoi, this is the second longest race (after Pleiku - Tuy Hoa).

Some photos at the opening day of the 31st Ho Chi Minh City Television Cup Cycling Race - "The Country and Rivers Connected One Strip"

The large-engine motorcycle group leads the race. Photo: Hai Vuong

From early morning, many people in Vinh city cheered enthusiastically for the racing team. Photo: Hai Vuong

A few minutes after the start, the racing team broke away. Photo: Hai Vuong

The weather was cool, and the racers were in good spirits. Photo: Hai Vuong

Racer Huynh Thanh Tung of Military Zone 7 team left the rest of the group far behind and finished early. Photo: Hai Vuong

Stage 4 around Ho Chi Minh Square consists of 20 laps, total length 54 km. Photo: Hai Vuong.

The final lap was a fierce competition, with meticulous tactical calculations from the top. Photo: Hai Vuong

Spectacular sprint. Photo: Hai Vuong

And the joy of the second place racer. Photo: Hai Vuong

The Organizing Committee awarded the Yellow Jersey to the first-place athlete. Photo: Trung Kien

The 2019 Ho Chi Minh City Television Cup "Non song lien mot dai" will take place with 16 stages, passing through many provinces and cities across the country such as: Nghe An, Quang Binh, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Gia Lai, Tuy Hoa, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong and ending in Ho Chi Minh City at the historic noon of April 30 at Thong Nhat Hall.