Quang Nam Vinh Long racer Martin Lass continued to demonstrate his sprinting skills when he won stage 13 of the cross-country cycling race for the Ho Chi Minh City Television Cup - HTV Cup 2024.
Lass celebrates his victory after finishing first in Quang Nam today. Photo: Duc Dong
After a day of rest and recovery, this morning, April 17, the race continued from Da Nang to Quang Nam. The route had no steep slopes, was windy and only 88.5 km long, so the An Giang team easily controlled the situation, protected the Yellow Jersey for Rikunov and brought the large group to the finish line to compete with the strong sprinters.
Five kilometers from the finish line, the riders of the two teams Nong Nghiep Vinh Long and 620 Chau Thoi Vinh Long dominated the pace, bringing Lass back to compete in the sprint. The riders of An Giang also formed an arrow to bring Rikunov back to compete. Laas sprinted later, but still achieved enough speed to pass Rikunov to finish first. This Estonian rider reached the finish line when the clock struck 2 hours 2 minutes 30 seconds, reaching an average speed of 43.347 km/h.
Lass beats Rikunov in stage 13 of the 2024 Television Cup.
Lass, 31, who played for Boga Hansgrohe, was a teammate of the world's highest-paid cyclist Peter Sagan from 2020 to 2022. From 2023, he will move to Astana Qazaqstan - the team that owns the legendary sprinter Mark Cavendish, who holds the record for most Tour de France stage wins. Laas is Cavendish's bait in sprints outside the world's three biggest Grand Tours (including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta à Espana).
This is his first time competing in Vietnam and in the first stages, he has not proven his strength. According to this racer, due to the time zone difference and weather, he was not familiar with the first stages. Along with little time to get used to the racing style, the track and his new teammates, he has not connected to show his level. But the more he races, the more he becomes a strong opponent to Rikunov. With his fifth stage win, he has narrowed the gap between the Green Jersey for the sprint king and his opponent to 16 points and promises to soon win the Green Jersey in the upcoming stages.
Other titles remain unchanged as Rikunov continues to hold both the Yellow and Green Jerseys. The Orange Jersey still belongs to Nguyen Tan Hoai (An Giang), while the White Jersey belongs to Pham Le Xuan Loc (Military Zone 7). The Ho Chi Minh City Vinama team still has the best team title, followed by An Giang and Dong Thap.
Tomorrow, April 18, the cyclists will race stage 14 from Quang Nam to Binh Dinh, 179 km long.
Duc Dong
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