That wins race on overall time

Despite not winning the final stage, veteran Nguyen Thi That held onto the yellow jersey for achieving the best overall time at the Return to Dien Bien Phu Cycling Tournament-People's Army Newspaper Cup which concluded yesterday.

With the support of her team, That from Gao Hat Ngoc Troi An Giang claimed the event's most coveted award with a time of 8:55.35 after five stages. Nguyen Phan Ngoc Trang of Binh Duong Environment and Water Supply and Drainage team and Trang's teammate Cao Thi Cam Le came runners-up.


That also retained the green jersey as best sprinter with 102 points, while Dang Thi Ngoc Huyen of Co May Dong Thap 2 took out the white jersey as best junior cyclist.

"I am very glad to win this event which aims to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the historic Dien Bien Phu victory over the French colonialists. I thank my training board and team for supporting me over last stages. With this, I will try my best to rank in the top three at the upcoming Asian event in Kazakhstan to boost the profile of Vietnamese cycling," said That.

The winning time for the final 74km stage from Tuan Giao Town to Dien Bien Phu City yesterday went to Pham Thi Kim Loan of Co May Dong Thap 1. She completed the stage in 2:17.00. That and her teammate Phan Thi Lieu came in second and third, respectively.

In the women's team ranking, Binh Duong triumphed, followed by Dong Thap 2 and An Giang.

On the men's side, Mohd Nor Rizuan Zainal of Malaysia won the final 130km stage from Thuan Chau Town to Dien Bien Phu City with a time of 3:15.05, followed by Aso Keisuke of Japan's Bonne Chace and Huynh Mai Duy of HCM City's SunTek Sao Viet.

Finishing fourth in this stage, veteran Le Van Duan won the green jersey with 81 points, while the white jersey went to Do Quang Vinh of the Military team.

Domesco Dong Thap Pharmacy's Nguyen Tan Hoai took the overall yellow jersey as the competition's leader with a combined time of 11:07.29.

In the team race, Dong Thap Pharmacy took the lead with a time of 33:25.06, followed by Sao Viet and ADC-Vinh Long Television 1.

The event attracted the participation of 115 cyclists from 23 local and international teams. Tournament organisers presented gifts to war veterans and those who had taken part in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign at the end of each stage.