Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

Earthen peaks towered like great walls on either side of the road.

After leaving the vast Gobi plains behind, a profound sense of desolation washed over the riders.

Though he was in a peloton of over a hundred riders, surrounded by a convoy of team and official vehicles, the arid landscape of the United Arab Emirates—a world away from the sea—was a profound shock to Huang Chong, who had grown up amidst the misty rains of the Jiangnan region.

They say the power of nature teaches humanity humility.

At that moment, the words deeply resonated with Huang Chong.

Being a Professional Cyclist was grueling, a daily battle against the elements, but it came with a considerable perk: competing in top-tier races meant getting to see the different landscapes and wonders of the world.

Setting aside winning and losing, how many people get the chance to take in the world’s most magnificent sights in their lifetime?

’Right, back to business.’ Huang Chong quickly stopped admiring the view and focused his full attention on his immediate surroundings and the tarmac beneath his wheels.

The memory of Adam Yates’s crash, as well as his own before the finish line of Stage One, was still fresh in his mind.

He had no desire to cause another crash in the peloton by letting his focus wander.

Soon, as the gradient steepened, Stewart—who had already won two stages and taken first at a full four intermediate sprint points—was caught by the peloton with only 20km to go.

With the black-jersey-wearer back in the fold, the entire peloton began its assault on the final climb up Jais Peak.

Facing the winding road of seemingly endless switchbacks, the moment the peloton hit the 5% gradient of the climb, the teams’ lead sprinters—riders like Merlier, Welsford, Groves, and Kooij—all began to drop off the back as if on cue, having barely pedaled a few meters up the incline.

Huang Chong, wearing the white leader’s jersey, glanced back toward the team car, and a voice crackled in his earpiece.

"Huang, the Jais Peak climb has started. This is your first time on a long mountain ascent like this.

Remember to pace yourself and manage your energy.

UAE Team has been aggressive from the very start today. They’re definitely going to set a blistering pace for their lead climbers, McNulty or Yates.

Your job is to stick with Zwiehoff and Buchman and stay securely in the main group.

On a mountain climb that’s over ten kilometers long, patience and keeping your excitement in check are crucial.

I believe you have good legs, but biding your time is the smart play.

Don’t show your cards too early, and don’t overestimate your own strength.

The ascent on this mountain is very consistent, with an average gradient between 5% and 7%.

Based on the results from previous years, the climbers from the various teams can never manage to create a significant gap until about 1km from the finish.

So it’ll all come down to a sprint on the 9% gradient in the final kilometer.

Your mission is to pace your team leaders up the mountain. No matter who tries to break away, ignore them. Do not chase.

Knowing UAE Team, they’ll be the ones to send someone to chase it down!"

After hearing his team leader’s long-winded speech over the radio, Huang Chong replied with two simple words:

"Got it!"

And just as the team leader predicted, with McNulty currently first in the general classification, the rider setting the pace at the front of the peloton was indeed his teammate, Bjerg.

In his past life, the team Huang Chong followed most closely had been UAE, so he was no stranger to Bjerg’s capabilities.

He knew that riding on a gradient like the one on Jais Peak was this guy’s specialty; he could probably pull at the front for more than ten kilometers all by himself.

Even on a 5.6% gradient, he could maintain an average speed of 26 km/h.

For an amateur cyclist, a feat like that was simply unimaginable.

Even for World Tour Cyclists, by the time the lead group reached the halfway point of the climb, their ranks had been thinned from over forty riders to just over twenty.

These remaining riders were undoubtedly the strongest contenders for the overall victory.

After all, the individual time trial of the UAE Tour was already over.

If any rider lost significant time on the Jais Peak climb, trying to turn things around on the final stage would be a pipe dream.

It was safe to say that even though the race was only on its third stage—not even halfway through the tour—any rider who lost time on Jais Peak could essentially kiss their chances of winning the overall classification goodbye.

With just 11km to go, Einer Rubio of the Movistar Team was the first to launch an attack.

After he picked up the pace, an injection of speed that lasted only about a kilometer, Adam Yates—who had crashed hard at the foot of the climb—was immediately dropped, falling to the back of the group before pulling over and stopping completely.

The team leaders of every squad were quick to react to this development.

The Bora Team Leader immediately got on the radio to Huang Chong:

"UAE’s Core Commander, Adam Yates, is likely abandoning the race. Huang, stay focused. Keep pacing Zwiehoff and stick with the lead group.

Remember what I said. We’re still about halfway up this climb. You have to stay patient. Do not respond to any rider who tries to break away.

That’s not your job.

You just sit in the group and let UAE’s Bjerg chase down the breakaway from the Movistar Team rider, Rubio."