Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

In terms of the general classification, the two team leaders Aldag had initially designated had long since dropped out of the race for the overall championship.

Although Huang Chong had burst onto the scene and managed to secure second place in the general classification after the first three stages, he faced a brutal situation with enemies on all sides before the final showdown.

It’s safe to say that in the final stage, Aldag took a massive risk by daring to shift the team’s tactical focus to Huang Chong, making a rookie their Core Commander.

With Huang Chong now having competed as the team leader and successfully won the championship, the result was, of course, a happy one for everyone involved.

He himself would certainly benefit from it as well.

But if Huang Chong had failed to withstand the pressure on the final Jeb Hafeet Mountain climb and had an early collapse like McNulty and Vine of the UAE Team, then the outcome Aldag would have faced likely wouldn’t have been good.

’Daring to make such a green rookie the team’s Core Commander? What kind of radical move is that?’

’Are you really qualified to be a director for a World Tour Team?’

It went without saying that if the strategy had failed, a flood of doubts, curses, and denials would have inevitably surged from the internet, overwhelming and utterly crushing him.

Fortunately, his seemingly "radical" tactic—which was, in reality, an expression of his complete trust and confidence in Huang Chong’s personal ability—ultimately saved the team, saved himself, and saved their season’s performance.

Moreover, it gave Huang Chong the perfect opportunity to showcase himself, allowing him to complete this year’s journey through the UAE Tour with the most perfect result imaginable!

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"Congratulations to Huang Chong! Congratulations to the Bora Team! They have successfully won the general classification of the sixth Tour of the United Arab Emirates!!"

On the China Sports live broadcast channel, the commentator’s excited voice, coming right after Huang Chong was the first to cross the line, brought the race to a perfect conclusion.

He passionately summarized:

"This is the first time a Chinese rider has won the general classification in a top-tier road cycling tour!!!

Although Huang Chong winning two stage victories in the previous Tour of Australia was also an unprecedented feat, the difference between a tour champion and a stage champion is that the former means he is the most outstanding rider after the entire race is over.

The latter, however, is merely the best rider of one or more individual stages.

I think everyone must be extremely satisfied with Huang Chong’s performance today. He was able to defeat the formidable UAE Team head-on, and he also beat Ben O’Connor, who was considered the biggest favorite to win after Adam Yates withdrew due to injury. In the future, he can certainly challenge for more championship titles.

And he will definitely continue to toil away on the European circuit as a Chinese rider, winning more tour championships and achieving excellent general classification rankings.

Also, before the live broadcast officially ends, I’d like to add a bit of trivia about the Tour of the United Arab Emirates.

Although it’s a very young race, having only been held six times from its inception in 2019 until this year, its past general classification winners, in chronological order, are: Roglič in 2019, Pogačar in 2020, Pogačar in 2021, Pogačar in 2022, and Evenepoel in 2023.

From this, you can see that although this race is only worth 300 points for the overall winner, it is an extremely prestigious week-long tour.

For Huang Chong, a rider who has just joined the World Tour, to have his name engraved on the UAE Tour’s list of champions alongside those three legends is undoubtedly a tremendous honor.

I believe that in the future, his competitive level will surely reach the same plane as these top-tier superstar riders!

So, whether you’re a fan here in China or a fan anywhere else in the world, you should really look forward to and follow Huang Chong’s future performances to see what other surprises and achievements he’ll bring us!!"

After the live broadcast in China ended, the staff responsible for the Bora Team’s multimedia operations naturally received the podium photos taken by the team photographer after Huang Chong’s victory.

There were photos of Huang Chong holding the overall winner’s trophy and posing with officials from the United Arab Emirates tour, as well as solo championship shots of him wearing the various leader’s jerseys.

In short, after some quick editing, they immediately posted photos of Huang Chong’s victory and him with all three jerseys on all of their official accounts registered in China.

This made the domestic road cycling community, which had just finished celebrating the New Year, feel like they were celebrating all over again.

Overnight, every forum and social media platform related to road cycling was flooded with news of Huang Chong’s victory.

At the same time, road cycling enthusiasts across all platforms, including casual riders who hadn’t even watched the race, were all captivated by the great news.

’A Chinese rider actually won the general classification of a World Tour stage race?’

’What dynasty are we in now?’

’Am I still in China?’

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「Hangcheng」

At that moment, Dewey, who had just entered into a partnership with Zhou Ming and Li Zifan, felt a wave of relief wash over him as he saw the news of his good friend’s victory.

In truth, when he had messaged Huang Chong last year, it was right before he partnered with the two "Brother Fus." He had wanted to ask his friend first how he was adapting to the World Tour Team and whether he had a real shot at becoming a top-tier rider in the future.

However, out of respect for their friendship, he couldn’t bring himself to ask such a direct question.

Fortunately, the clever Huang Chong immediately understood his unspoken concerns and gave him a definitive reply that same day, telling him not to worry about his abilities and to just make sure to have a professional lawyer review any partnership agreements.