Referee steps in after 'breathtaking' sprint at Ho Chi Minh City Television Cycling Cup

In this stage, racer Nguyen Hoang Ngoc Linh ( An Giang Rice and Pearl Troi Club) made a bold decision. After winning at the 3rd stop along the road, Nguyen Hoang Ngoc Linh attacked alone towards the finish line in Hue City with the hope of finding his first victory at the Ho Chi Minh City Television Cycling Cup. However, after about 50 km, this racer was caught up by the large group behind.

Trọng tài vào cuộc sau màn nước rút 'nghẹt thở' ở Cúp xe đạp truyền hình TP.HCM- Ảnh 1. — Racer Nguyen Hoang Ngoc Linh escaped alone for nearly 50 km but was unsuccessful in stage 8 of the 2025 Ho Chi Minh City Television Cycling Cup.

Near the finish line, the racers of team 620 Nong Nghiep Vinh Long and 620 Chau Thoi Vinh Long proactively "assembled the machine", pulling the team's number 1 sprinter, New Zealand foreign player Nick Kergozou, to compete for the stage victory. A surprising development happened before the finish line when Russian racer Savva Novikov (Binh Minh Binh Duong Plastic Club) proactively rushed up to compete with Nick Kergozou and his opponents. Savva Novikov's strong attack forced Nick Kergozou and Nguyen Van Binh to pursue fiercely.

Trọng tài vào cuộc sau màn nước rút 'nghẹt thở' ở Cúp xe đạp truyền hình TP.HCM- Ảnh 2. — The riders compete in a dramatic sprint at stage 8 of the Ho Chi Minh City Television Cycling Cup.

Savva Novikov and Nick Kergozou raced to the finish line almost at the same time. The two riders looked at each other, neither celebrating because they did not know who was the winner. Chief referee Bui Ngoc Trung said that after carefully examining the camera angles at the finish line, he determined that Nick Kergozou's wheel had crossed the finish line before Savva Novikov. After knowing the result, Nick Kergozou said: "I felt the pressure that Savva Novikov created when he was chasing behind in the last 100m. It was only with the effort in the last push that I overtook him."

Trọng tài vào cuộc sau màn nước rút 'nghẹt thở' ở Cúp xe đạp truyền hình TP.HCM- Ảnh 3. — Nick Kergozou (right) and Savva Novikov (left) look at each other after crossing the finish line without knowing who won

With his fourth stage victory at the 2025 Ho Chi Minh City Television Cycling Cup, cyclist Nick Kergozou maintained his title of green jersey - sprint king. Because the group finished in the same group, the other titles remained unchanged: the yellow jersey belonged to Loic Desriac (Domesco Pharmaceutical Dong Thap ), the orange jersey was still in the hands of Nguyen Tan Hoai (Loc Troi An Giang Group), and the white jersey belonged to Dang Van Phap (620 Chau Thoi Vinh Long).