Nguyễn Thị Thật of Việt Nam seen pedalling the last meters to the finish line of the Tour of Thailand's first stage on April 8. Photo courtesy of TCA

HÀ NỘI —Even though she was tired from not getting enough sleep, Nguyễn Thị Thật was strong enough to win the first stage of the annual Tour of Thailand on April 8.

Thật had wrapped up the Paris-Roubaix competition with her club, Israel-Premier Tech Roland, in France when she landed in Thailand to join her teammates at 1 am and rest for only six hours before the 112.7km from Phitsanulok to Sukhothai.

She had no time to prepare for the tournament, but Thật, with her teammate's support, was in the leading group the entire race.

In the last 20km, riders of Kazakhstan and Malaysia opened attacks but they failed to run away from the Vietnamese athletes.

Thailand challenged when there was 2km left but Asian champion Thật did not allow them to take over. She strongly sprinted to the finish at the 500m mark and set up a gap of 10m with host Jutatip Maneephan to win the stage.

Claudia Marcks of Australia was third.

"I was in Thailand only a few hours before the race. The hot weather here is the biggest challenge to me. However, thanks to our teamwork, I won this stage," said Thật.

The second stage will be 95.5km around Sukhothai Historica Park.

In addition to the national team, another Việt Nam representative is the Biwase Bình Dương club at this year's Tour of Thailand, which also attracts strong rivals from other countries.

The race is considered practice for Thật as she prepares to compete in the Paris Olympics this summer. VNS