Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

News of Huang Chong winning the overall title at the Tour of Guangxi sparked a heated discussion among China’s professional road cycling fans as soon as it was posted by the event’s official media outlet.

"Guys! Great news, absolutely huge news!!

Our very own National Team cyclist, Huang Chong, just beat Vader Milan of the Jumbo Team by an overall margin of nine seconds to win the 2023 Tour of Guangxi championship!!!

What do you all think?!"

The admin of a fan group for watching races, which was started by a road cycling streamer, had spotted a short video of Huang Chong’s victory on the Tour of Guangxi’s official media page and immediately, excitedly forwarded it to the chat.

Soon, other members began to reply, though their comments were somewhat off-topic:

"Huang Chong? Who’s that? Never heard of him—"

"Holy crap, man, you don’t even know who Huang Chong is? Did you just get internet?"

"Seriously. The guy’s a total beast, okay? He’s pretty much swept every domestic race this year. Aside from a silver at the Asian Championships, he’s taken gold in everything else."

"That’s right. He didn’t just sweep the domestic circuit, he also won the Tour of Qinghai Lake and the Asian Games. And he had to beat a ton of foreign riders to win those titles!"

"Uh... from the sound of it, aren’t those all domestic races? I usually only watch the World Tour, so I don’t really know anything about these lower-level events!"

As soon as he said that, the entire chat group fell silent.

After a moment, it was the admin who broke the silence.

"Okay, we get that you’ve got high standards, man. Too good for our domestic circuit. Let’s get back to what we were talking about—what’s everyone’s take on Huang Chong winning the Tour of Guangxi? Don’t go off-topic.

What do you big-shot pros think? Does he have a chance to join a World Tour Team?

If he can get into a World Tour Team, then next year we’ll be able to see a homegrown rider competing in the World Tour against guys like the Fishmonger, Fanta-cha, Beloved Consort, Biao-zi, and the rest!!!

Just thinking about that scene gives me chills!!!"

Seeing the admin pull the conversation back on track, everyone started chiming in with their opinions.

Someone was the first to reply:

"Is there even any doubt, you damn admin? He’s already won a World Tour championship. Joining a World Tour Team is a sure thing!"

"Exactly! Sure, the top-tier teams mostly send rookies to the Tour of Guangxi for experience; their strong core riders don’t bother coming. But Huang Chong still beat over a hundred World Tour Cyclists to take the overall title. That at least proves his skills are at a world-class level. Just joining a World Tour Team shouldn’t be that hard, right?"

"That may be true, but you never know until there’s an official announcement—"

The admin typed another question:

"So if he really does get to join a World Tour Team, which team do you guys think would be the best fit?"

"If he gets to choose, he should definitely join Jumbo. He could be a domestique for the Fishmonger, and they’d be racking up Grand Tour titles left and right, no? Even if he’s just a water carrier, a team victory is still a victory!"

"I disagree with the last guy. Jumbo is a powerhouse in the Grand Tours, for sure, but their roster is too stacked—it’s just a sea of top riders. If Huang Chong joins Jumbo, forget being a water carrier at the Tour de France; he probably wouldn’t even make the eight-man roster for the race.

In my opinion, it’d be much better for him to join a slightly weaker team first and hone his skills. That way, he’d at least have more chances to showcase his talent. Who knows, after a year or two of experience, he might actually make the final roster for one of the three Grand Tours."

"What the hell, a real man should test himself in a strong team. Why go to a weak one?

Fortune favors the prepared. My suggestion is to join UAE and be a lieutenant for Pogačar.

UAE has lost the Tour de France title two years in a row because their support roster is just awful compared to Jumbo’s. Pogačar was practically isolated and helpless.

If Huang Chong could help him reclaim his throne, wouldn’t that be awesome?"

"The guy above needs a reality check. UAE’s support roster might not be Jumbo’s, but it’s not something a rookie like Huang Chong can just waltz into. Help Pogačar win the Tour de France? Get real—

He might not even get to ride in the five Monuments or the three Grand Tours if he’s on UAE.

A rookie needs to know his place and not get ahead of himself.

I agree with that other guy’s opinion. He should just join a small team, put in a year or two of hard work, and start from the bottom. That’s the right way to do it!"

...

Meanwhile, Huang Chong, who had already finished with the closing banquet and returned to the team hotel, had no idea that countless enthusiastic fans back in China were deep in discussion, chatting away about him joining a World Tour Team.

As a reincarnator with a god’s-eye view of the future, he would have actually agreed with many of their suggestions if he’d known what they were discussing.

For instance, the advice for a rookie rider not to get arrogant or aim too high, but to be down-to-earth and start from the bottom of a team, was excellent.

But he would never have taken the specific advice about joining a particular team just to be a lieutenant or an underling for some top superstar.

It was true that Vingegaard and Pogačar were two towering mountains in the world of road cycling, nearly impossible to surpass. But he was, after all, a man with a cheat.

If he joined their teams directly, who knew when he would ever get his chance to shine? (The European old guard would never trust a newcomer like him 100% from the get-go, let alone groom him as a future Core Commander.) Furthermore, the very targets he aimed to surpass would become unclear.

His greatest ambition, after all, was to win the Tour de France—the ultimate dream of every professional Road Cyclist.