Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

Chen Junyi’s encouragement was, without a doubt, incredibly useful to Huang Chong.

After training with the team day in and day out, it was inevitable for one to fall into a state of numbness born from prolonged, mind-numbing boredom and monotony.

Coupled with the fact that Aldag wouldn’t let him compete in the European races, leaving him on the fringes of the core lineup, he needed her moral support all the more.

In a way, Chen Junyi was only his translator on the surface. Ever since receiving the system-rewarded rapid language learning pack, his reliance on her was no longer about overcoming language barriers. Instead, it was about navigating life in a foreign country: getting three meals a day suited to his palate, handling the trivial details of daily life abroad, and organizing race materials before every competition. Just as she had back in China, she took care of everything for him.

At this point, it was more accurate to call her his indispensable partner than his translator.

Her daily tasks were now significantly more extensive and meticulous than back in China.

But only with her handling everything could Huang Chong be completely free of distractions, focusing all his attention on the team’s training and the incredibly difficult top-tier races.

"Yeah, don’t you worry. Even if I have to face Pogačar head-on in a race, I won’t lose my confidence.

The gap in our abilities is an objective reality. Only by calmly accepting that fact can I start to close it.

I know I’m not a match for those top-tier riders right now, but I’ll give every race my all and improve my competitive level as quickly as I can."

Huang Chong smiled at Chen Junyi.

He knew that he needed to give her confidence as well.

After all, the two of them had been inseparable since meeting on the provincial team, and now they were in Europe together, relying on each other.

And while their relationship hadn’t taken that final step, they had long since reached a point of tacit understanding when it came to their habits and ways of thinking.

Anyone unfamiliar with them would, upon seeing them together, immediately notice a certain similarity in their auras—one forged through years of companionship and mutual adjustment.

In common Chinese parlance, this was what you’d call a "couple’s resemblance."

It was just that they were both very rational and restrained, especially when it came to their professional lives.

Especially since Huang Chong had just arrived on the European circuit and was going through a low point in his career, they both knew it wasn’t the right time to cross that final line.

Perhaps someday, when Huang Chong made it into the Bora Team’s core lineup, they would naturally become each other’s significant other.

In any case, regardless of her intentions, Huang Chong found it hard to imagine finding someone else as suitable and supportive as Chen Junyi, let alone someone with whom he was already so in sync.

And as he was thinking this, Chen Junyi—who had never gone to such lengths for any man in her life, not even her own father, Chen Mingyuan—was naturally thinking the same.

She couldn’t imagine finding another partner as motivated and focused as Huang Chong, one who could also understand and respect her on such a fundamental level.

Of course, there was no shortage of rich, handsome, and intelligent men in the world.

But having come this far with Huang Chong, those things had long ceased to be her criteria for choosing a partner.

Although deep down, she knew with certainty that Huang Chong had a bright future ahead of him.

...

「February 17th.」

The eighth day of the Lunar New Year in China.

As people in China were finishing their Spring Festival holidays and gradually returning to work, Huang Chong, Chen Junyi, and their teammates and coaching staff from the Tour of Australia also began boarding flights to the richest country in the Middle East: the United Arab Emirates.

The flight from Germany took about six hours.

It was less than half the time it took to fly to Australia, but for Road Cyclists whose races were mostly based in Europe, it was still considered a long journey.

Upon their arrival in the United Arab Emirates, the team’s mechanicians were, as always, the first to get to work.

For intercontinental races, the team couldn’t drive their bus over; they had to fly.

Normally, for intercontinental and transoceanic races, things like the team bus, logistics support vehicles, and temporary team bases were all provided by the event organizers.

Only the riders’ equipment—their road bikes—had to be flown over by the team and then assembled on-site.

After Huang Chong and his teammates arrived in the United Arab Emirates, while the mechanicians were busy assembling and tuning their equipment, he used the time to attend the pre-race press conference held by the organizers.

As he was the only cyclist from China and his performance in the Tour of Australia had been so outstanding, the official media in the United Arab Emirates took special notice of him after the Bora Team announced its roster for the UAE Tour. They specifically requested his presence at the pre-race press conference.

Generally speaking, domestiques don’t attend press conferences.

It’s usually the team manager and sports director who attend, along with the team’s lead climber and lead sprinter.

The press conference in the United Arab Emirates was held in a modern building. Parked next to the stage was a limited-edition, gold-plated Colnago C68 road bike.

This was the Emirati way of showing hospitality.

So much for not flaunting one’s wealth.

That concept simply didn’t exist here.

The oil magnates here used wealth to display their power and prestige.

As Huang Chong sat at the table on the press conference stage, he noticed that apart from the normally dressed media personnel, the guest seats were filled with Emirati dignitaries and nobles.