Vietnamese cyclist sheds tears after failing to 'fly' well on the zoo track; coach speaks out.

Bursting into tears after learning she finished only 5th overall in the downhill mountain bike event at the SEA Games 33 on the morning of December 10th, Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang was choked with emotion and unable to speak.

If you have good feelings, you'll "fly" better.

Huyen Trang entered the downhill event with some pressure, knowing that in previous SEA Games, her seniors, such as Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Phan Thi Thuy Trang, and Dinh Thi Nhu Quynh, had always won gold medals in mountain biking. Understanding this, before starting, Huyen Trang reassured herself that even though she lacked experience, stepping onto the "big stage" wouldn't be easy, so she should just play comfortably and to the best of her ability.

Huyen Trang couldn't "fly" quickly over the slopes.

PHOTO: KHA HOA

But the reason she burst into tears after the race was because she felt she hadn't performed to her best. Especially the sections where she "flew" over the mountain passes at a speed she hadn't desired. This term is commonly used by professionals to describe teams speeding downhill or making sharp turns. To do that well requires thorough training and familiarity with the route to be in the best possible condition for competition. However, the Vietnamese athletes only had a little over a day to train, so they couldn't possibly "fly" as well as the home team's athletes.

Huyen Trang sobbed, "I'm sad because I couldn't 'fly' really well since I didn't have enough time to get used to the new route arranged by the organizers at the zoo in Chonburi, and I haven't fully adapted. There were many steep sections and sharp turns that I didn't fully grasp. I would have done better if I had practiced for at least some time here. Anyway, I feel I'm still weak and need to practice more."

Huyen Trang cried after the race.

PHOTO: KHA HOA

Huyen Trang burst into tears.

PHOTO: KHA HOA

Coach Le Nguyen Thanh Nhan said that if Huyen Trang had been in better shape on the corners and slopes to have a stronger "fly," she could have overtaken the Filipino cyclist for fourth place. Although there is still a gap with her rivals, especially being nearly 20 seconds behind the cyclist ahead of her, Huyen Trang's result of 3 minutes 41 seconds 915 was still much better than expected. The organizers' decision to set up many artificial sections of the track in the zoo instead of natural terrain caused the Vietnamese cyclist to "freeze" during training, facing many difficulties, so despite her best efforts, she could not perform at her best.

Sadness upon hearing the results

PHOTO: KHA HOA

Tomorrow, December 11th, the two male cyclists will compete in the cross-country race. According to coach Le Nguyen Thanh Nhan, like Huyen Trang, adapting to the race course in the short training time at Chonburi Zoo will still be a challenge for the Vietnamese cyclists. But they will all try their best with the hope of winning a SEA Games medal.

Huyen Trang has tried her best and will train even better.

PHOTO: KHA HOA

 

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cua-ro-viet-nam-roi-le-vi-khong-the-bay-tot-o-duong-dua-trong-so-thu-hlv-len-tieng-185251210104529328.htm