The Vietnam team arrived in Thailand for the February 7-16 event and organisers provided a bus for the team, while a truck carried all other equipment including the bikes, spare tires, shoes and helmets, from Bangkok to the competition venue in Phitsanulok.
Unfortunately, a sudden fire happened and destroyed about 30 bikes and much of the equipment, costing the team billions of Vietnam dong.
Notably, some special bicycles used for individual time trials are worth up to VND250 million (US$10,000) each, while none of the racing bikes were worth less than VND150 million.
The Singapore team, whose equipment was on the same truck, suffered similar losses.
"Representatives of the organising committee and hosts Thailand have contacted us for damage details. They collected information, number and sizes of bikes, helmets and shoes", said Nguyen Ngoc Vu, general secretary of the Vietnam Cycling and Motor Sports Federation.
"They promised to lend bikes to our team, while the Asian Cycling Federation leaders and other teams were also ready to give support to Vietnamese athletes."
According to Hoang Quoc Vinh of the Sports Authority of Vietnam, the compensation for Vietnam would be discussed on February 6.
Coach Mai Cong Hieu appreciated the organisers' attitude, but was concerned about Vietnam's performance, which would mean them competing using unfamiliar bikes.
The national cycling legend said their wheels were incredibly important, with each bike carefully calibrated to match the riders' height, weight and other technical issues. Competing with a new and strange bike would be a big challenge to any athlete.
He said it would definitely affect the performance of the Vietnamese, who were expected to win big in the women's and junior categories.
"We practised hard throughout the Tet holiday and couldn't wait to compete so this has been a big shock for us", said Mai Cong Hieu.
"I could only encourage my cyclists to try their best with the loaned bikes. But it really will be difficult to earn high results in this situation".
The cause of the fire has not yet been announced.
Seven bikes and attached gears have been given to the Vietnam cyclists so they could take part in the time trial events from February 7-12.
The Vietnamese federation will transport other bikes from Vietnam to Thailand on February 10 for those who compete in the road races.
Vietnam have 16 representatives competing across ten categories at the continental championships. Among them is Olympian Nguyen Thi That, who was expected to win a gold medal in the elite women's road race. She won gold in 2023 and silver in 2024.
Nguyen Thi Be Hong, who took gold in the youth women's class in 2023, is also expecting to repeat her achievement.
