
In its 35th edition, 11 teams and 98 cyclists will race 25 stages through 31cities and provinces from north to south.
"Cyclists will tour through almost 3,000km with only four rest days and ateam time trial day," said Ngo Quang Vinh, general secretary of the HCMCity Cycling and Motor Sports Federation.
"I think that to get high results, competitors must be focused and workhard. Meanwhile, team managers must carefully build plans for their teambecause it is a tough race with a tight schedule."
The first stage will be 25 laps equaling 42.5km around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi.
Cyclists will then pass Ha Nam and Ninh Binh toreach Thanh Hoa province. They will bike to Nghe An to reach the central regionbefore going to the Central Highlands. The next stops will be in the coastalprovinces with the beautiful beaches of Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan.
The peloton will travel to the southwestern provinces such as An Giang, TienGiang, Tra Vinh, Dong Thap, and Ben Tre, before ending at the IndependencePlace in HCM City at noon of April 30, National Reunification Day.
"This year, the organisers make somechanges, such as longer stages and stages with more hills and sloppy terrain tomake the tournament tougher," said Vinh. "It is expected to see acompetitive break through from all participating squads."
At a press conference on March 20, organisers announced that more than 2billion VND (84,600 USD) would be awarded to the best cyclists. The overallwinner of the 2023 HTV Cup will receive 200 million VND.
The best sprinter and 'King of the Mountain' will earn 50 million VND each,while the best young rider will take 30 million VND. The stage winner will alsosecure 20 million VND.|
All stages of the Cup will be live broadcast onHTV channels, local TV stations, and fan pages of HTV and the cyclingfederation./.