Vietnam cycling team's billion-dollar fleet burned down in Thailand

Early this morning (February 6th), Coach Mai Cong Hieu of the Vietnamese road cycling team confirmed that approximately 30 of the team's specialized bicycles were completely destroyed by fire. "On February 5th, after the Vietnamese road cycling team arrived in Bangkok, we were picked up by the organizers and transported to Phitsanulok, about 350 km away, where the competition was taking place. All of the team's equipment, including racing bikes and spare parts, was loaded onto a truck provided by the organizers and transported to Phitsanulok. After about 7 hours of travel to Phitsanulok, we received information that the truck carrying the team's equipment had been involved in an accident on the way, caught fire, and was completely destroyed," Coach Mai Cong Hieu shared.

The Vietnamese road cycling team suffered an unfortunate incident at the Asian Road Cycling Championships in Thailand.

The coaching staff of the Vietnamese road cycling team also provided images of the burning truck and the burnt-out bicycles, with only the frames remaining, believed to belong to the Vietnamese road cycling team. According to initial statistics from the coaching staff, the truck contained a total of 30 specialized racing bicycles along with parts such as wheels, helmets, and shoes. It is known that some of these were very expensive time trial bicycles, such as the one belonging to cyclists Nguyen Tuan Vu and Nguyen Thi Thu Mai, each costing over 250 million VND. The remaining bicycles of the team, including the one belonging to cyclist Nguyen Thi That, were also worth over 150 million VND.

Nguyen Tuan Vu's specialized time trial bike, worth over 250 million VND, along with several other racing bikes of the Vietnamese road cycling team, caught fire in Thailand.

"The incident not only caused significant material damage but also greatly affected the Vietnamese road cycling team because it's almost certain we won't be able to compete since the race starts tomorrow. The athletes have put in a lot of effort training for a long time, even training through the Lunar New Year, and missing the opportunity to compete is extremely regrettable," a member of the coaching staff of the Vietnamese road cycling team shared.

Nguyen Thi That and the Vietnamese cycling team were worried when all their racing bikes caught fire while en route to the Asian Championships in Thailand.

Today in Thailand, a pre-tournament technical meeting was held to address the unfortunate incident involving the Vietnamese road cycling team. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu, head of the Vietnamese delegation to the Asian Championships, stated that the organizing committee had contacted the Vietnamese team to inform them of the incident and indicated that it would be resolved today.

The image shows a burning truck and a row of bicycles that have been completely destroyed, leaving only their frames.

PHOTO: Provided by the coaching staff of the Vietnamese national cycling team.

Among the 17 core members of the Vietnamese road cycling team who traveled to Thailand this time are Nguyen Thi That, Nguyen Thi Thi, Nguyen Thi Thu Mai, Lam Thi Kim Ngan, Lam Thi Thuy Duong (women), Nguyen Van Duong, Nguyen Tuan Vu (men), along with young athletes Ngoc Thao, Be Hong, and Xuan Loc.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dan-xe-tien-ti-cua-doi-tuyen-xe-dap-viet-nam-bi-chay-rui-tai-thai-lan-185250206065633935.htm