Vietnamese cyclist Nguyen Thi That (Photo: webthethao.vn) Thenational No 1 cyclist finished first in the women’s elite 111km road raceclocking a time of 3 hours 11.37min on the last day of the five-day tournamentin Dushanbe city.
Vietnameseriders were among 40 competitors in the starting line. They were not considereda title favourite as they were up against powerful athletes from Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and the host nation.
However,That received strong support from teammates, Nguyen Thi Thi, Nguyen Thi Thu Maiand Bui Thi Quynh to join the leading peloton from the opening kilometres.
TheKazakhstani cyclists tried to push the race speed high to separate from thebunch but their efforts failed to leave the Vietnamese racers behind.
That,who competed for the Belgium Lotto Soudal Ladies Club for twoyears, met no difficulty to catch up with the pace and remained in the middleof the pack. With just 300 metres left to the finish, That made her move toleave all four Kazakhstani riders behind and snatch the title.
UzmutzhanovaMakhabbat and Slovyea Anshela came second and third, respectively.
Itis the second time that the Vietnamese, who turned 29 earlier this month,championed at a continental tournament.
Herfirst time was in 2018 before she signed a contract with LottoSoudal Ladies.
That’smedal is the second of Vietnam at the tournament.
Earlier,Nguyen Thi Be Hong secured a bronze in the junior women’s individual time trial15km event on March 26.
The17-year-old was third with a time of 21.57 minutes behind cyclists Anna Kuskova ofUzbekistan (20.06) and Dariua Kazakbay of Kazakhstan (20.54).
Itwas the first time that Hong took part in a continental event.
Afterthe Dushanbe event, An Giang province-born That will return home and train forthe 31st Southeast Asian Games in May.
Cyclingwill be held in Hoa Binh province with 12 events in road races from May 19-22and mountain biking from May 14-17.
Athleteswill have a 10-day training period at the competition venue to get familiarwith the weather and racing route./.
VNA
