Cyclists to race to Phnom Penh

Cyclists from Laos, Cambodia and Thailand will take part in a four-day Viet Nam cycling race to Cambodia to mark the latter's New Year Festival in April.

The 600km race will start in HCM City and finish in Phnom Penh on New Year's day, which usually falls on April 13-14 at the end of the harvesting season.

The race, which is being co-organised by Viet Nam's People's Army Newspaper and the Viet Nam Cycling Federation, offers prizes totalling VND2 billion (US$100,000).

"It will be a good opportunity for Vietnamese athletes to hone their skills," said race organiser Do Nam Thang.

The organising committee will offer prizes to the overall yellow jersey (the best time rider); green jersey for the best stage finish athlete and white jersey, for the best young cyclist.

In 2004, the newspaper organised a 1,212km race from Ha Noi to Dien Bien Province to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Viet Nam's victory over French forces.

In 2006, a HCM City Television cycling race was held between HCM City and Laos.

Calisto to review Cup failure

Viet Nam Football Federation and Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto will meet to review the failure of the men's football team at the ASEAN Football Championship, AFF-Suzuki Cup last year.

The team, who won the regional event in 2008, were defeated 2-0 on aggregate by old rivals Malaysia in a two-leg semi-final.

Malaysia eventually went on to clinch the title after a 4-2 win over Indonesia in the final.

VFF's National Team Coaching Department will discuss with Calisto, who recently returned to Viet Nam after a holiday in Portugal, the team's performance at the AFF Cup, which was co-hosted by Viet Nam and Indonesia, and plan for the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

The 58-year-old took over the U-23 team and the national team at the same time as part of a three-year contract signed in 2008.

The national team also failed to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup, in Qatar.

Course targets golfing talents

A rules and umpire training course will be held at the Twin Doves Golf Club in the southern province of Binh Duong on March 15, announced the Viet Nam Golf Association (VGA) yesterday.

The course, the first of it's kind, will be co-organised by the VGA in conjunction with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) for Vietnamese golfers and umpires.

Lecturers from R&A will hold three short-course classes for Vietnamese trainees.

The VGA is developing a programme to identify talented young golfers in schools across the country from next year.

Adventure races at Cat Tien

The fourth edition of the Madagui Trophy will be held on March 5-6 at Cat Tien National Park.

Madagui Trophy is an adventure sport event with three different entrant levels: Adventure is for sport fans who are beginners to adventure racing; Extreme is for high level sportsmen and Ultra is for experienced racers only.

Athletes will learn to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and find their through adversity to reach the finish line, organisers said.

Entrants from China, the US, the UK, Switzerland, France, New Zealand, Singapore and Viet Nam will compete in the event.

For more information see www.vietadventure.vn. — VNS

Related Articles

• Mothers share sorrow of war
• Vietnam seeks urgent correction on Map World
• Viet Nam calls on Map World to rectify East Sea line error

MotoGP safety in spotlight after Tomizawa death

Suter rider Shoya Tomizawa of Japan holds up his trophy on the podium after winning the Moto2 race during the Qatar Grand Prix at the Losail international circuit in Doha in this April 11, 2010 file photo

Photo: Reuters

MotoGP is looking to develop improved body protection for riders to help them survive the kind of accident that has killed two teenagers on successive race weekends.

Nineteen-year-old Japanese Shoya Tomizawa, a rising talent who won this year's first Moto2 race, died in Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix after he fell and was hit at around 240kph by other riders close behind.

Only a week before, 13-year-old American Peter Lenz had died in similar circumstances in a support race at the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

"We can say that what happened was nothing to do with safety," MotoGP safety delegate Franco Uncini told a news conference after the accident at Misano left the sport in mourning.

"These kinds of injuries unfortunately could happen at any time.

"With the technology we have at this moment it's very difficult to solve this problem but we are trying to work on this and trying to have something that in the future will help us have less damage in this kind of incident."

"We are waiting on somebody who is working to solve this kind of problem with the impact," added the former world champion.

"We know that somebody is starting research in this kind of area, at the moment, we are not ready yet.

“We think that with our experience and their experience, we'll work together to try and improve in this area in the future -- in the very near future."

Invincible feeling

Falls and crashes are part of motorcycling, with leather-clad riders frequently escaping unscathed from the most spectacular spills.

The back protectors, knee-blocks and helmets offer a degree of protection while circuits have been made safer, with more tarmac run-off areas and artificial grass alongside the circuits.

However, Australian former champion Casey Stoner suggested the increased safety measures were also creating a worrying mindset.

"The extra tarmac gives everybody an invincible feeling that they can run-off and come straight back on," he told Australian media.

"It is ridiculous, riders become too confident and without fear they ride with too much confidence and things like this can happen."

Fatalities, at least at purpose-designed circuits with modern medical facilities, are still rare compared to events like the Isle of Man TT races which are run on public roads.

Two British amateur riders died at last week's Manx Grand Prix, taking the overall tally of deaths on the island circuit to some 229 since the first race in 1907, with little media attention.

Circuits can be made safer but accidents will happen and when they do, riders cannot count on the roll cages and carbon fiber survival cells that protect rally drivers and Formula One racers.

"Today was a sad reminder that racing remains dangerous despite all improvements in track safety," said Suter chief executive Eskil Suter, whose machine was being raced by Tomizawa.

"This is the worst thing that can happen in our sport -- you crash, you remain on the line, and other bikes are right behind," said Italy's MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi.

"At 230 kph, when another bike crashes in front, there's nothing you can do," added the Yamaha rider.

The last rider killed in a MotoGP race was also a Japanese, Daijiro Kato, at his home grand prix at Suzuka in 2003. On that occasion, the circuit was blamed and MotoGP has not been back since.

By a strange coincidence, Misano was Kato's home town in Europe with a street named after him there. It was also where triple 500cc world champion Wayne Rainey broke his spine in a crash that left him paralyzed from the chest down in 1993.

Related Articles

• Regulations require toys to display safety stamps
• Most ice is unhygienic
• Party reports come in from provinces
• Green cars begin world race

Epic race across VN set for Ha Noi's anniversary

HA NOI — Cyclists will contest a 17-day trans-Viet Nam race for the 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi, the Viet Nam Cycling Federation said yesterday.

The 14-stage 1,500km race from HCM City to Ha Noi would begin on September 23 and end on October 9. The last time-trial stage will be held at Hoan Kiem Lake to celebrate the millennium of city and the 56th anniversary of Ha Noi's liberation day on October 10th.

"It's the biggest race of the year as country eye on the great celebration of Ha Noi. We have invited foreign riders to compete in the event, which is a good opportunity for Vietnamese athletes horning their skills," said the Federation's general secretary Doan Kim Phach.

"Malaysia team have agreed to take part in the event and we expect more powerhouses are also eager to join a tough race," he said.

The general secretary also added the race will see around 100 athletes from 13 teams of Viet Nam and foreign squads of South Korea, Mongolia and the Philippines.

"We hope to make the race successfully in the occasion of big festivals to be held in the city," Phach said.

The race organising committee will offer special awards to the overall yellow jersey (the best time rider); green jersey for the best stage finish athlete; the red jersey for the ‘King of Mountain' and white jersey, for the best young cyclist. — VNS

Related Articles

• Chau Doc’s curried fish vermicelli: Bun nuoc ken
• Future doctors look for clues in crazy race
• Poor rural children blaze education trail
• Cashew traders yet to embrace trading center system
• Assoc insists on power price hike despite protests