VietNamNet Bridge – The coach of the Vietnamese national cycling team, Nicolai Kurkov (Kyrgyzstan), told the local media that he would never summon cyclist Bui Minh Thuy back to the team.
The cycling team aimed to win two gold medals at the SEA Games 2011, but it failed to achieve the goal owing to the failure of the men’s team.

In this category, Vietnam ranked fourth because the team’s pillar, Bui Minh Thuy, completed only 20km out of the total 70km of the race.

Coach Kurkov said that Bui Minh Thuy’s default was the direct reason for the team’s failure. “Thuy only pedaled for 20km and quit, so his three teammates lost the engine. If Thuy tried to ride for around 50-60km, Phuc (Ho Van Phuc) would have not been shortness of breath and fainted and Vietnam would have had a medal,” he said.

The coach added that he had not agreed with Thuy to compete in men’s single event to preserve his power for the men’s group event, but Thuy insisted to participate in the men’s singer category and was injured.
Kurkov also said that Thuy did not tell the coach about his wound so he could quickly replace Thuy by another pedalist. “I will not call Thuy back to the team unless he achieves a high record at the upcoming national championships,” the coach added.

However, the coaching board and coach Kurkov are criticized for not doing their job well, since they did not make a survey of the race track, which was very harsh and resulted in Phuc’s fainting at the finish line.

Cyclist Thuy explained: “I suffered from diarrhea so I was not healthy enough to complete the race. The coach did not inquire after my health when I was injured.”

Au Xuan Don, Vice Chair of the Vietnam Motorbike and Bicycle Federation, said the federation will review the operation of the Vietnamese cycling team and the coaching board at the annual congress in late December.

Thanh Tung