The tournament includes 30 stages with a total length of more than 3,200km,from Lang Son to the southernmost province of Ca Mau. It will conclude in HCMCity on April 30.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairwoman of the HCM City People’sCommittee said the race is an activity to mark the 43rd anniversary of SouthernVietnam’s Liberation and the Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - 2018), the128th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890 - 2018) and theeighth national sports festival.
During the race, the organsing board and the Dong A Alumium Company, theevent’s sponsor, will organise charitable programmes worth over two billion VND(87,730 USD) to support disadvantaged children.
At the 51km race after the opening ceremony, Nguyen Thanh Tam from Gao hat ngoctroi An Giang team won the yellow jersey with a time of 01:06.48, followed byLe Nguyet Minh and Le Van Duan from the VUS-HCM City team.
Earlier, French racer Loic Desriac of BikeLife Dong Nai triumphed at thetournament’s individual category held in Lang Son city on March 29 while JavierPerez and Mai Nguyen Hung finished second and third. - VNA