Tight race: Phan Thi Lieu of Vinh Binh Rice (left) pedals to the finish line of the An Giang Television Cup's second stage. She took the stage win and narrowed the gap with race leader Kim Youri. — VNS Photo Hai Van

HA NOI (VNS)— Phan Thi Lieu of Vinh Binh Rice-An Giang won the second stage of the International Women's Cycling Tournament yesterday.

The national team member finished the 76km race from La Gi Town in Binh Thuan Province to Ba Ria City in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province with a time of 2hr 11.57min.

Lieu narrowed the gap between her and the yellow jersey holder, South Korean Kim Youri, who finished second yesterday.

The third place went to Namkung Soyoung, also from South Korea.

Vietnamese club racers united together to resist the South Korean riders, who are still considered as the favourites to win the tourney.

The three teams of Binh Duong Water Supply, Drainage and Environment, An Giang and Dong Thap Domesco Pharmacy alternatively opened attacks to break away from the main pack. But they failed to escape the South Koreans' reach.

The peloton crossed the finish line nearly at the same time.

Lieu opened the final attack 100m before the finish, only able to take the lead in the last seconds, leaving Kim and Namkung just a hair's distance behind.

With 3:00.43 after two stages, Kim holds onto the yellow jersey in the third stage today. However Lieu is very close behind with a gap of 6 seconds in the overall ranking. Namkung is in third position, 12sec behind the leader.

With two contenders in the top three, South Korea strengthened their top place, clocking a time of 9:02.57. Second and third are Binh Duong and the team from Japan.

Today the third stage will lead cyclists from Ba Ria City to Bien Hoa City of Dong Nai Province on 66km. — VNS