Stage 4 of the HTV Cup in Hué saw the first stage victory of Vietnam’s most renowned sprinter, Le Nguyet Minh (TP Ho Chi Minh), ahead of Loïc Desriac (Bikelife Dong Nai).
The Frenchman made the podium for the first time while Nguyen Tan Hoai retained the yellow jersey for one more day.
"I was pissed off after stage 2 as I couldn’t sprint because of some problems with my bike," declared Le, who was the hot favorite in Dong Hoi but suffered a flat tyre with 3km to go.
Article continues below"I was unlucky two days ago, but that makes my joy of winning bigger today."
Le mimicked the baby’s bottle on the finishing line and dedicated his victory to his wife and newborn son. The whole race was controlled by the two teams from TP Ho Chi Minh, the Ho Chi Minh Cycling Team and MM Megar Market.
It was a scenic route of 2.1km to be covered twenty times, making the stage a mere 42km, passing on the Truong Tien’s bridge and Phu Xuan’s bridge over the Huong River, also known as the Perfume River because of the orchards flowers that fall into the water in autumn.
Thanks to the time bonus, Le moved up to fourth overall and Desriac to sixth but Luong Van Sinh of Hanoi, one of the pre-race favorites, lost 44 seconds in the splits towards the end of the race.
Stage 5 will take the riders from Hué to Da Nang, a famous coastal city. It’ll be the first mountainous stage of the 32rd HTV Cup.
| Pos. | Rider name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Nguyet Minh (Vie) TP Ho Chi Minh | 0:58:25 |
| 2 | Loic Desriac (Fra) BDN | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| 3 | Trinh Duc Tam (Vie) TLT | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| 4 | Huynh Thanh Tung (Vie) QK7 | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| 5 | Tran Nguyen Minh Tri (Vie) DDT | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| 6 | Nguyen Minh Luan (Vie) Ho Chi Minh City-MM Mega Market | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| 7 | Javier Sarda Perez (Spa) Ho Chi Minh City-MM Mega Market | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
| 8 | Nguyen Van Binh (Vie) TP Ho Chi Minh | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| 9 | Nguyen Tan Hoai (Vie) DDT | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| 10 | Nguyen Quoc Bao (Vie) DDT | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
| Pos. | Rider name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nguyen Tan Hoai (Vie) D. Domesco Dong Thap | 11:38:24 |
| 2 | Vo Thanh An (Vie) Vinh Long | 0:00:09 |
| 3 | Nguyen Van Binh (Vie) TP Ho Chi Minh | 0:00:14 |
| 4 | Le Nguyet Minh (Vie) TP Ho Chi Minh | 0:00:16 |
| 5 | Nguyen Truong Tai (Vie) Ho Chi Minh City-MM Mega Market | 0:00:20 |
| 6 | Loic Desriac (Fra) BDN | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| 7 | Pham Quoc Cuong (Vie) D. Domesco Dong Thap | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
| 8 | Trinh Duc Tam (Vie) TLT | 0:00:21 |
| 9 | Javier Sarda Perez (Spa) Ho Chi Minh City-MM Mega Market | 0:00:22 |
| 10 | Nguyen Minh Thien (Vie) CVL | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
-
Daxton Mock and Cécile Lejeune snare Belgian Waffle Ride California wins
Courtney Sherwell hold off chase to take second place in elite women's race while Lance Haidet and Matthew Wilson clinch second and third in men's race -
Who could be the Isaac del Toro of this year's Giro d'Italia? There's one GC frontrunner, but there's plenty of chances for surprises too – Analysis
Behind Jonas Vingegaard, the wide open GC could see some unexpected riders in the battle for pink this May -
'You never know if you don't try' - Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney unfazed after headwind scuppers attacks into A Coruña at the Vuelta Femenina
General classification not the only goal for Polish star in Spanish stage race -
La Vuelta Femenina GC standings – Who is leading the race after stage 3?
General classification standings in the first Grand Tour of 2026
