Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

Just three kilometers later, with 17km to the finish, De Bondt and the Cofidis rider, who had been in a breakaway for nearly 130km, were the first to be reeled in.

At the same time, the remaining Israel-Premier Tech and Wanty Cyclist saw their lead shrink to just 20 seconds.

It was clear just how fast the Jumbo Team was when they took full control of the chase.

The race proceeded relatively smoothly after that. With just 7km to go, the last two breakaway riders, who had been out front for nearly 140km, were also swallowed up by the peloton. The group once again stretched into the long, single-file line seen at the start.

Huang Chong and Brother Xiaoma were still at the back of the peloton. But at the 3km mark, seeing the sprint trains of Alpecin and Bahrain forming and pushing to the front, he quickly said to Brother Xiaoma:

"Brother Ma, stay on my wheel. I’ll lead you out for the rest of the way. When we get to the 1km mark, I’ll go full speed and find a line. Just stick to me like glue and stay in my draft!"

Brother Xiaoma had nothing to add. He replied immediately:

"Right!!"

As the finish line drew closer, a surge of adrenaline coursed through him.

’It’s great to have a teammate as strong as Huang Chong,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, I’d have to fight all by myself, trying to latch onto a World Tour Team’s train and jostle for position in the middle of the pack.’

That would undoubtedly be much harder. The World Tour Team riders were incredibly experienced. After their lead-out men finished guiding their sprinters, they would hold their positions tightly to prevent sprinters from other teams from threatening their own.

Huang Chong’s lead-out pace was incredibly fast.

Pushing nearly 400 watts, he instantly accelerated to around 55 km/h.

But by the 2km mark, the Alpecin Team, with their dedicated sprint squad, had already pushed the pace up to about 60 km/h.

The Bahrain Team was going just as fast.

A speed of 60 km/h wasn’t something you could achieve just by riding at your Zone 4 threshold power.

But Huang Chong didn’t hesitate for a second. With a glance at Brother Xiaoma tucked in tight behind him, he decisively went anaerobic, piling on the power and pulling his teammate smoothly to the very front of the peloton.

This scene was a curious sight for the team directors and managers of the World Tour Teams.

Were riders from the China National Team actually trying to contend for the stage win?

In their eyes, this was certainly unexpected.

They all knew that UCI regulations allowed the national team of a World Tour race’s host country to be invited.

But whether it was the United Arab Emirates National Team—one of only two from Asia—or the China National Team, competing on the same stage as them was always seen as a learning experience.

’Actually get a result? That’s just impossible.’

The gap between them was just too wide.

But they didn’t really care. They just treated it as a bit of entertainment. After all, it was only the second stage of the race.

In their view, in a race of this intensity, once they reached the later stages with a few difficult climbs, the Chinese riders would drop off on their own. They wouldn’t even need to be targeted. They’d be lucky to finish the race, posing no threat whatsoever.

The finish line was getting closer and closer.

At a cruising speed of 60 km/h, a distance of 2km would take only two minutes to cover, even without the final 200m all-out sprint.

Huang Chong, pushing a massive several hundred watts, powered forward, sticking right on the wheel of the Bahrain Victorious train.

Meanwhile, Brother Xiaoma followed closely behind him, conserving his energy.

Soon, only the final kilometer remained.

Huang Chong, who had been following the Bahrain Victorious train, suddenly veered to the opposite side of the road from Milan.

He led Brother Xiaoma to the right side of the road, away from the crowded cluster of riders on the left.

Over here, however, were Kooij from the Jumbo Team and Bennett from the Bora Team.

But neither of them had a lead-out man at the moment. Without a word, Huang Chong unleashed a massive 1000-watt anaerobic effort at the 1km mark, pulling Brother Xiaoma ahead of them both.

In the end, the two of them were riding parallel to the clustered sprint trains of Bahrain Victorious, Alpecin, and the Tudor Team on the left, all hurtling toward the finish arch.

800m—

500m—

300m—

200m—

After holding a kilowatt output for a hard 30 seconds, Huang Chong, with his unconventional line and incredible lead-out, finally brought Brother Xiaoma into a position where he could go head-to-head with the other sprinters.

Immediately, Brother Xiaoma, occupying the far right of the road, unleashed his maximum power output. He sprinted for the finish arch alongside Milan, who was bobbing his head furiously.

Unfortunately, even giving it everything he had, he couldn’t catch the distant Milan. He also fell short of the other three—De Klerk from the Tudor Team, Morano from the UAE Team, and Kante from the Movistar Team—and crossed the line in fifth place.

Seeing Brother Xiaoma achieve this result, Huang Chong, who had sacrificed himself with that insane lead-out in the final stage, and all the fans across China watching the race, were more than satisfied.

Because, according to the history of his previous life, Brother Xiaoma had only managed to get eighth place in this Tour of Guangxi, fighting all on his own.

But now, with Huang Chong’s help, he had moved up three places in the final ranking. This was the absolute best they could have achieved.

As for winning the stage or getting on the podium, that was truly impossible.

They had to admit it: the level of these young World Tour sprinters was just too high.

***

"Jesus! What did I just see? Two Chinese riders actually launched an attack in the final kilometer and beat our rider in the sprint train to take fifth place in the stage?"

In the Jumbo Team’s support car, the team director watched Brother Xiaoma cross the line just ahead of their own lead sprinter, Kooij. His eyes widened like saucers.

"It’s truly unbelievable. This Chinese rider not only beat Kooij, but also Bennett from the Bora Team. Should we look into his personal information?"

"Not so fast. Let’s watch the replay first. I want to see the aerial view!"

The Jumbo Team director had the Data Analyst pull up the race replay. He skipped directly to the point of acceleration around the 1km mark and slowed down the playback speed.

A moment later, after the director and the Data Analyst had both finished watching the replay, the former asked with a smile:

"Did you see it clearly?"

The Data Analyst nodded and replied:

"Of course. It turns out the Chinese sprinter didn’t have the ability to get fifth on his own. It was his lead-out man who chose a completely different, clean line for him, holding off Kooij and Bennett the whole way to deliver him to the 200m mark. It seems that rider’s choice of line was exactly the same as Kooij’s and Bennett’s!"

"Exactly. Though I can’t tell if he was reacting to the situation on the spot or if it was a deliberate tactical choice.

But that line was clearly more advantageous than trying to draft behind the Bahrain Victorious, Tudor, and Alpecin trains.

Not only did it keep the rider safe, but the right side was wide open.

Of course, the most important point is that this Chinese lead-out man was able to sustain an 800m anaerobic lead-out. That’s not easy to do."

"Director, so by your reasoning, should we look into this lead-out man’s information?"

However, the Jumbo Team director thought for a moment before saying:

"Not for now. I want to see how he performs next. Tomorrow’s stage has some tough climbs. I need to see if he gets dropped quickly on the ascents."

Hearing the director’s decision, the Data Analyst had nothing more to say and simply replied:

"Understood, Director!"

While they were discussing Huang Chong, Coach Han, who had just finished the stage and was getting out of the team car, was grinning from ear to ear.

This was fifth place in a World Tour stage! For Brother Xiaoma to achieve such a result was completely unprecedented. It undoubtedly set a new record and made history.

And once the second stage of the Tour of Guangxi concluded, staff from major sports websites and forums who were at the race immediately posted the good news of Brother Xiaoma’s fifth-place finish in the Tour of Guangxi S2 stage online. It instantly sparked heated discussions among fans in the road cycling community.