Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

But every decision we’ve made has been decisive, and we’ve been meticulous in building our roster. This was the advanced philosophy that was supposed to let us quickly become a World Tour Team and rank among the best.

But so far, what we’ve done isn’t enough, and you understand that, right?

Especially Vismar and UAE. Their results in the Tour de France these past few years have been too brilliant, too dominant.

If we want to challenge them, we have to be more aggressive!

Aldag listened, holding his wine glass, and for a moment he couldn’t tell if the boss was criticizing him or thanking him.

But without a doubt, he understood the boss’s unspoken message.

After seeing Huang Chong’s string of excellent performances, the boss wanted him to break from conventional training methods and accelerate his development.

But in his view, developing a rookie like Huang Chong in a more aggressive manner carried huge risks. If the balance wasn’t right, it would be counterproductive, like pulling up a seedling to try and make it grow faster.

...

It was now February 21st.

The third race day of the UAE Tour was about to begin.

Huang Chong, wearing the White Jersey, appeared on the starting grid in front of the main peloton.

The UAE Tour’s four leader’s jerseys are different from those in other races.

The current overall leader, McNulty, wore the red jersey, while the best young rider, Huang Chong, wore the White Jersey.

As for the green jersey for the King of the Mountains, it was temporarily worn by the winner of the first stage, Merlier.

But its true owner would only be decided after today’s race, as today was the first day climbing points would be awarded.

The most unique jersey in the UAE Tour, however, is for the sprint leader. It boasts a color unlike any other in professional road cycling: the black jersey.

It was currently worn by Mark Stewart of the Corratec Professional Team, who had broken away back in the first stage.

For today’s high-mountain stage, the team leaders and the main climbers aiming for the general classification were clearly eager to get started.

Needless to say, the UAE team’s roster was already powerful.

They had their Core Commander, Adam Yates, a previous overall winner of the UAE Tour. They also had McNulty, who had just won the ITT and, just a week before, had secured the overall title at the Valencia Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, teams like Decathlon, Quick Step, and Lotto had riders like O’Connor, Van Wilder, and Van Eetvelt lying in wait.

Of course, after the race officially started, all the teams were keeping a close eye on the pre-race favorites. But Vismar’s team leader, for one, was paying special attention to Huang Chong in the White Jersey.

In a sense, their team was the first to have a victory snatched away by Huang Chong.

It was because at last year’s Tour of Guangxi, on the Nongla Stage, Huang Chong had delivered a stunning defeat to their lead climber, Vader Milan. He’d snatched the final season title from them in the closing race, a victory that also helped him join a World Tour Team.

And in the Tour of Australia, although their two climbers, Vader Milan and Bart Lemmen, weren’t considered strong contenders for the general classification in hindsight, they were still completely suppressed by the rookie Huang Chong in the last two climbing stages.

So, Vismar’s team leader didn’t just take Huang Chong seriously; he also held a bit of a grudge.

You see, after last year’s Tour of Guangxi, he had also proactively extended an offer to Huang Chong.

Although the team’s compensation package wasn’t great, they were the most successful team last year, sweeping the general classification titles of all three Grand Tours.

He never thought that a rookie would turn down an offer from a team with such a stellar record.

"What do you think of the White Jersey rider today?

Have you noticed? Since joining the Bora Team, his abilities in all aspects have improved dramatically compared to last year.

Back then, I proposed to the team’s upper management that we could sign him with a better offer. Looking at it now, it really would have been a great deal."

"You can say that again, boss!"

The Data Analyst shrugged and replied with a sigh:

"Maybe management felt that since the team already has Jonas, there was no need to spend extra money on a similar type of rider like Huang Chong!"

"Similar type? How are he and Jonas the same type of rider?"

The team leader scoffed, looking exasperated.

"Jonas is obviously dominant in the Tour de France, but can he compete in one-day races?

Can he break away and win on a hilly stage like this Chinese rider?"

"Er, doesn’t our team also have Van Aert? Boss, don’t forget about that top-tier classics rider.

Jonas handles the Grand Tours, Van Aert handles the classics. That’s how our team’s roster was designed, isn’t it?"

"That may be true, but I still feel that in this era of professional road cycling, the top riders have all become more well-rounded.

Look at Tadej and Remco. They are both all-around GC Cyclists who can adapt to any terrain and race.

But Jonas is just a pure Climber. Isn’t that a disadvantage?"

Hearing this, the Data Analyst immediately understood and replied:

"So you believe this Chinese rider is also developing into a GC Cyclist, and that he represents the correct development path for modern road cycling?"

When the Vismar team leader heard this, he glanced at the Data Analyst but didn’t answer.

...

Although Huang Chong couldn’t have known that the Vismar coaching staff was discussing him during the race, he was certainly aware that after displaying such a high level of ITT ability yesterday, more and more teams would start taking him seriously.

For a rookie like him, whose rate of improvement was so abnormal, it would be strange if the top World Tour Teams didn’t react.

But from the time he first made a name for himself until today, the real test had finally arrived.

Because in Stage 3, from Almarian Island to Jebel Jais Peak, the final high-mountain climb would be incredibly difficult.

The length of the stage itself was also quite daunting, at 176 kilometers.

The stage had two intermediate sprint points: one at the 24.5-kilometer mark and the other at the 141-kilometer mark, right where the final climb began.

In the official statistics, although Jais Peak was only the last 19 kilometers,

in reality, if you calculated the total climbing distance for this stage, the entire 35 kilometers from the second intermediate sprint point at 141km all the way to the summit finish at 176km was a climb.

Moreover, this 35-kilometer climb started with a gentle gradient and became steeper, with the slope increasing the closer it got to the finish line.

For example, at the arch marking the final kilometer, the maximum gradient could reach 9%.

After the race began, just like in the S1 Stage, the main peloton made no moves.

The breakaway rider was once again Stewart, in the black jersey, who left the peloton along with the Alpecin Team’s classics rider, Silvan Dillier.

But by the middle of the race, the two were caught by the main group on the flat roads.

Because when racing in the United Arab Emirates, any flat stage is battered by crosswinds. A two-man breakaway simply couldn’t hold up against such harsh conditions.

So, it wasn’t until there were only 66 kilometers left to the finish, after they had safely passed through the crosswind section, that Stewart in the black jersey once again chose to break away, this time with another Alpecin Cyclist: Jonas Rickaert.

Huang Chong and the other general classification riders, of course, ignored Stewart’s two breakaways.

He wasn’t a Climber. He could break away all he wanted; there was no way he could win the stage.

However, with just 46 kilometers left to the finish, a small crash suddenly occurred in the middle-to-rear of the main peloton, which had been riding steadily the whole time.

This time, it was actually the UAE team’s Core Commander, Adam Yates, who was involved in the crash.

Huang Chong, who was at the front of the peloton, heard the news immediately from his team director, but Adam Yates quickly rejoined the main group with the help of his teammates, so Huang Chong didn’t give it much thought.

As the finish line drew closer and the main peloton reached the second intermediate sprint point, they officially arrived at the start of the mountain climb.

The next 35 kilometers would be all climbing.

But who would be the first to crest Jais Peak—this incredibly majestic and desolate mountain, seemingly built entirely of yellow rock, without a single green plant on its slopes?