Great loss
Yesterday from Thailand, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu, General Secretary of the Vietnam Cycling and Motor Sports Federation, Head of the Vietnamese cycling delegation participating in the 2025 Asian Championship, said: "On the afternoon of February 5, the logistics truck of the organizing committee (BTC) carrying equipment of the Vietnamese and Singapore cycling teams caught fire on the way from the capital Bangkok to Phitsanulok, where the Asian Championship took place. The incident caused 29 racing bicycles with wheels, helmets, shoes... with a total value of more than 6 billion VND of the Vietnamese cycling team to burn down".
Among the 29 burned racing bicycles were some specialized bicycles used for individual time trial racing that were of great value. For example, the bicycle of racer Nguyen Tuan Vu was worth more than 400 million VND, including a pair of "genuine" wheels that the Ho Chi Minh City team had just equipped him with, worth up to 107 million VND. Tuan Vu competed in 2 events, so he also brought a road racing bicycle worth the same amount and it was also burned. The racing bicycles of Pham Le Xuan Loc, Nguyen Thi That, Nguyen Thi Thu Mai, Lam Thi Thuy Duong... were all worth 200 million VND or more. Coach Mai Cong Hieu said this was the biggest loss ever for Vietnamese cycling.
Nguyen Thi That will try to overcome the incident to aim for the 4th Asian gold medal in her career.
BTC actively supports
According to information from the coaching board of the Vietnamese cycling team, all the racing bicycles that the Vietnamese team burned in Thailand did not have domestic insurance. The Vietnamese cycling team participated in the Asian tournament according to the decision of the Department of Sports and Physical Training, and had compulsory insurance, but only personal insurance and occupational accident insurance according to the regulations in Decree 152/2018 of the Government on the regime for coaches and athletes during training and competition, but did not have insurance for competition equipment and tools.
"When arriving in Thailand, the team members took their own cars to the competition venue, while the racing bikes and equipment were transported back by a truck. The incident happened unexpectedly, but the responsibility for this incident belongs to the organizing committee. Therefore, immediately after the incident, the representative of the organizing committee of the host country Thailand actively supported the Vietnamese team by lending 7 personal timed racing bikes, shoes and helmets so that the Vietnamese team could compete in the first events. By yesterday afternoon, the host country Thailand had provided a total of 18 helmets, 18 pairs of racing shoes, 18 pairs of pedals and 27 bicycles for the Vietnamese team to choose from. Compensation for the Vietnamese team is being discussed by all parties, including the Asian Cycling Federation, in the coming days," said Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu.
Coach Mai Cong Hieu said that immediately after the incident, the coaching board reassured the athletes and closely coordinated with the organizing committee to ensure professional work for the Vietnamese team. "The fact that the athletes were not allowed to compete in a specialized, familiar vehicle that was suitable for their body shape and weight certainly had a significant impact on their performance. However, this was an unavoidable event. The coaching board encouraged the athletes to compete with the highest spirit and will to achieve high results," said coach Mai Cong Hieu.
Mr. Hoang Quoc Vinh, Head of High Performance Sports Department 1 (Department of Sports and Physical Training), said that in addition to closely coordinating with the Organizing Committee to fix the problem, Vietnam is also proactive in preparing racing cars for athletes. Accordingly, on February 10, the Vietnam Cycling and Motor Sports Federation will send specialized road racing cars to Thailand for Vietnamese athletes, including the main force Nguyen Thi That, to compete.
In this Asian championship , the Vietnamese team participated with 17 players competing in the national team, U.23 and youth teams. Nguyen Thi That is the biggest hope of the Vietnamese team as she has won the Asian championship 3 times. At the youth level, Vietnamese cycling also has a lot of potential with Nguyen Thi Be Hong and Thach Thi Ngoc Thao, who won the Asian gold medal in 2023. This Asian championship also has an additional veteran category and Vietnam also participates with 13 members.
6 young racers in the race
Today is the opening day of the 2025 Asian Road Cycling Championship. The Vietnamese team participated in the youth team individual time trial event with the lineup of Dang Van Phap, Phung Quoc Ha, Nguyen Dan Binh (men), Pham Thi My, Ho Thi Yen Linh, Lam Thi Ngoc Linh (women). It was not until yesterday afternoon that the Vietnamese athletes received the bikes lent by the Organizing Committee, along with shoes and helmets, so they did not have time to get used to them, but they still expressed their determination to overcome difficulties.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/xe-dap-viet-nam-ton-that-lon-khi-du-giai-chau-a-tai-thai-lan-18525020622512196.htm
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