Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

Bora Team, the only World Tour Team registered in Germany.

Full name: Bora-Hansgrohe, named after its two sponsors.

The former is a German kitchen appliance manufacturer, while the latter is a German bathroom fittings manufacturer.

As a reincarnator, all the information Huang Chong had about World Tour Teams in his previous life came from the internet. However, he had his own reasons and a unique understanding for favoring a move to the Bora Team.

First, he knew that starting from the 2024 season, Bora Team’s Core Commander would be Primož Roglič, transferring from the Jumbo Team.

Fans in China generally called Roglič "Brother Luo" because he was gentle and refined—a true big-brother figure in the world of road cycling.

The Slovenian cyclist’s skill was undeniable; he was one of the top superstars among World Tour Cyclists.

He was originally a ski jumper before transitioning to road cycling—a top-tier Road Cyclist who, despite being a late bloomer, had still achieved extraordinary success.

To date, he had multiple Vuelta a España overall victories and had just won this year’s Giro d’Italia.

He also won a gold medal in the road cycling ITT event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

You could say that the only title missing from Roglič’s road cycling career was the Tour de France overall victory.

Huang Chong, of course, respected Roglič, but he knew perfectly well that the latter’s best chance to win the Tour de France had actually been in the 2020 race.

That year, Pogačar had just made his debut and was also participating in the Tour de France for the first time.

After the first 19 stages, Roglič was ranked first in the general classification, leading the second-place Pogačar by 57 seconds.

But unexpectedly, in the final Stage 20, an ITT, his lead was overturned by his fellow Slovenian, Pogačar, erasing his only real opportunity to win the Tour de France.

As for the 2021 Tour de France, Roglič suffered two crashes in Stage 3. After toughing it out for several stages, he reluctantly withdrew during Stage 8.

As a result, his withdrawal allowed Vingegaard, originally a domestique, to step up as the Jumbo Team’s leader, and he went on to secure second place in that Tour de France.

He finished just 5 minutes and 20 seconds behind Pogačar in the general classification.

By the 2022 Tour de France, Roglič’s bad luck continued; he crashed again and withdrew mid-race. That same year, Vingegaard went on to defeat Pogačar, completely solidifying his position as the Core Commander of the Jumbo Team.

As for this year, Roglič was sent by the team to compete in the Giro d’Italia. Although he ultimately won the overall champion’s pink jersey, he was not selected for the eight-man roster for the Tour de France.

Huang Chong certainly understood that the reason Roglič was transferring to Bora was that he knew he could no longer challenge or replace Vingegaard’s status as the Core Commander on the Jumbo Team.

Therefore, he could only find another team that would continue to build around him as the Core Commander and assemble a roster capable of competing for the Tour de France title.

But the harsh reality was that time waits for no man.

With Vingegaard, Pogačar, and Evenepoel all rising to prominence on the Grand Tour stage, it was likely that as Roglič got older, he would never be able to win the Tour de France, no matter how hard he tried.

And it was precisely because Huang Chong knew this that he wanted to join the Bora Team, not Jumbo or United Arab Emirates.

Although he knew perfectly well that he wouldn’t be a priority when he first joined the Bora Team, and would even need a long time to prove himself, at least at Bora, he would have a chance to become one of two leaders.

And the team itself was genuinely building a top-tier roster for the Grand Tours.

Most importantly, Huang Chong also knew that in 2024, on the eve of the Tour de France, Red Bull would acquire a majority stake in the Bora Team, which would then become the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Team.

Austrian Red Bull’s background needed little introduction. It was the top name in global extreme sports, with its sponsorship and presence being a part of nearly every one of them.

Alpine skiing, downhill mountain biking, F1, rally racing, wingsuit flying, mountaineering, rock climbing, and so on—basically, if it was a life-risking sport, Red Bull sponsored it.

Netizens in China had a saying that jokingly summarized the Red Bull brand:

The Red Bull stage, come if you’ve got the guts!

Of course, this was a digression.

In short, the true significance of Red Bull entering road cycling and acquiring a stake in the Bora Team was twofold. Not only would it provide more professional training equipment and staff, but it would also instantly elevate the Bora Team to one of the powerhouses of the sport.

For example, they would have no concerns about the budget for signing riders.

Backed by a giant like Red Bull, they wouldn’t have to be like many smaller World Tour teams that, just after developing a top rider with limitless potential, are ultimately forced to sell him because their budget is insufficient to pay a high salary—

"Coach Han, I’m personally leaning toward joining the Bora Team.

Although the annual salary they’re offering is a bit lower than other teams, their contract clearly states that for the 2024 season, I can participate in at least 10 World Tour races to gain experience.

I think this guaranteed opportunity to compete is truly much more important than an extra ten or twenty thousand euros in salary."

After the domestic professional league season ended, Huang Chong, following a dinner banquet, brought Chen Junyi along for a private meeting with Coach Han. The main topic was the matter of him joining a World Tour Team.