Photo finish: Kim Youri (left) passes her teammate Namkung Soyoung to win the first stage of the An Giang Television Cycling Cup yesterday.— VNS Photo Hai Van

HA NOI — South Korean racers won the first stage of the International Women's Cycling Tournament – the An Giang Television Cup yesterday.

Kim Youri took the yellow jersey with a time of 49min 2.97sec for the 31.5km stage, reaching an average speed of 38.545km/h.

Youri also pocketed the green jersey for the best athlete after winning 23 points from the first stage, which covered 18 laps around Nguyen Tat Thanh St in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province.

Her teammate, Namkung Soyoung, was second and Toyooka Ayako from Japan came third.

Soyoung was also the first runner-up in the green jersey race. Soyoung took 17 points.

The Koreans' strong performance helped their squad top the team ranking, with a time of 2:27.06.

The tour today will run from La Gi town in Binh Thuan Province to Ba Ria City in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province across 76km.

The annual tournament this year lured 14 participating teams including three cyclists from Japan, South Korea and Malaysia.

This year the tournament will cover 11 stages across 436km.

Organisers have put up a total cash prize of VND200 million (US$9,500) for the racers with the winner walking away with VND25 million. — VNS