Petr Rikunov had his 9th victory at the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Television Cup

Stage 21 of the Ho Chi Minh City Television Cup – Ton Dong A 2024 bicycle race from Thu Dau Mot City (Binh Duong) to My Tho City (Tien Giang) took place quite attractively. The attacking efforts to find stage wins by riders who are less likely to compete for a high overall result brought about a breathtaking competition.

After starting, the An Giang crew proactively let the group of 12 riders escape to gain bonus points along the way. From there, the strong group of racers only ran for less than 3 minutes, despite the first group dividing the rewards at bonus points along the road (sprint).

Specifically, Tran Vuong Loc (Army) won in sprint 1. Meanwhile, Ha Kieu Tan Dai (Binh Minh Plastics Binh Duong) competed very closely with Nguyen Truc Xinh (HCMC – Vinama) in the sprint 2.

After that, Nguyen Truc Xinh suddenly launched a strong attack to single-handedly lead the race. Ho Chi Minh City’s racer sometimes created a gap of nearly 1 minute compared to his pursuers.

In the final stage, the Vinh Long crew rushed forward, causing the second group’s tractor to speed up to chase Nguyen Truc Xinh, looking for an opportunity for Martin Laas to pull out the finish line.

After that, they were supported by the Dong Thap riders (working for Tran Tuan Kiet) so they caught Truc Xinh about 2.5km from the finish line. After more than 20km he went solo at the head of the race.

At the finish line, the riders presented an impressive sprint performance to the audience. Military Region 7 racers worked hard for Quang Van Cuong, but this racer ran out of breath in the final stages. Meanwhile, Vinh Long’s two Estonian foreign soldiers also accelerated impressively, allowing Martin Laas to withdraw from the finish line.

But it was Petr Rikunov who had the decisive voice. He passed Martin Laas in the last 100m to reach the first level, winning his 9th stage of the tournament. Finishing in third place was Le Nguyet Minh (HCMC – New Group).

This victory helps the Russian racer firmly consolidate the overall yellow and blue jerseys.

On April 27, the riders will compete in stage 22 from My Tho City to Can Tho City with an expected route of 139km.