Russian cyclist extends lead at Vietnamese national race
The race, which is considered one of the toughest stages of this year’s tourney, took 98 riders through nearly 170 kilometers from Quy Nhon City in south-central Binh Dinh Province to Pleiku City in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, across the two mountain passes of An Khe and Mang Yang. Determined to enlarge his overall time gap with other competitors, Rikunov was among a breakaway that also included Igor Frolov of the Ho Chi Minh City-Vinama team, Vladislav Duiunov of Ho Chi Minh City-New Group, Javier Sarda Perez of Nhua Binh Minh Binh Duong, and Loic Desriac of Duoc Domesco Dong Thap after the first 50 kilometers. Frolov and Duiunov then staged an attack to get away from the three others in the group of five. With the support of Frolov, Duiunov continued to break away alone and reached the top of the An Khe Mountain Pass first. After that, Rikunov and Frolov caught up with Duiunov and took the lead of the race, sticking together and leaving a gap of over five minutes