Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

As Sam Welsford was the first to cross the finish line, Huang Chong, who was at the very back of the pack, also crossed with the peloton, receiving the same time.

He hadn’t completely collapsed after three high-intensity water runs.

But when the race officials soon displayed the overall rankings for the first stage on the post-race broadcast, many Chinese fans saw that he had finished dead last, ranked over 100th, and couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

When it comes to competitive sports, everyone wants to see the rider they care about—especially Huang Chong, as the sole competitor from China—fighting for the championship, not just thinking about the team’s interests.

Thus, despite having heard explanations from the commentators, many fans couldn’t help but complain about the Bora Team’s coaching staff, accusing them of not valuing Huang Chong enough and even suggesting that racial discrimination was a factor.

Many other fans, however, felt that for a rookie like Huang Chong, just being able to start the race and finish it successfully was a victory in itself.

Then there were the trolls who, just to generate traffic, even attacked Huang Chong, claiming his skill level was only good enough to be at the back of the pack in the World Tour.

They claimed the championships he won last year were only because the domestic leagues were low-level, and so on and so forth—

In short, after the first day of racing at the Tour of Australia, opinions on Huang Chong within China’s road cycling community were already sharply divided, with everyone having their own perspective.

However, that soon changed. When a reporter from the race organizers interviewed the winner post-race and asked Sam Welsford what the foundation of his victory was, he didn’t hesitate for a second. Looking straight into the main camera, he replied with excitement:

"I believe the foundation of my victory today is the fact that our team signed a new rider during last winter’s transfer window: Huang Chong."

Hearing this answer, the race reporter seemed immediately intrigued and followed up on the topic:

"You just mentioned Huang Chong. From what I understand, he is a rider from China.

Could you share in detail what this Chinese rider did during the race?

And why do you feel he was the key factor in your victory today?"

Welsford stated frankly:

"First of all, you know, today’s race was incredibly difficult.

Especially in the last two hours, we were riding in temperatures over 40°C almost the entire time.

That’s why the peloton’s average cruising speed was kept at around 41 km/h today.

In an environment like this, not only do riders have to face the challenge of the heat, but more importantly, their energy demands and consumption are far greater than when riding in normal or cold temperatures.

For a rider, supplies are always the foundation that allows us to hold on until the very end and fight for the championship.

The role Huang Chong has taken on in this year’s Tour of South Australia is to provide us with plenty of those supplies.

To be honest, I was a little worried before the race. Even though he joined the Bora Team this season just like I did, I’ve been competing for many years, whereas he’s a rookie who has just joined the World Tour.

So he was bound to be lacking in race experience.

But I never expected him to perform his duties for the team so flawlessly today. It was truly incredible!

He followed the team’s pre-arranged tactics to a T, providing us with all the support we needed at the designated points on the final two circuits.

God, we’re talking about horrifying temperatures of over 40 degrees. He had to constantly change his pace to make trip after trip, bringing us water and Energy Gels. That requires extraordinary strength and perseverance.

If it were me doing that job, I honestly don’t think I could have done it any better than him!"

After listening to Welsford’s lengthy praise for Huang Chong, the reporter could certainly tell his happiness was genuine and concluded with a smile:

"Hearing you give such high praise to this young rider from China, it seems he truly is extraordinary. I’ll be looking forward to you all achieving more victories in the next five stages!"

...

As a domestique, Huang Chong naturally wasn’t going to be pulled aside for an official interview.

Besides, the Tour of Australia is a relatively niche, less popular race on the World Tour circuit. It was a big enough deal that it was being broadcast live in China; there was no way they would also send a reporter to interview him on-site.

However, when he returned to the team bus after finishing the race, all the riders and even the coaching staff immediately greeted him with a round of thunderous applause and friendly hugs.

His teammates, in particular, heaped praise on him:

"Huang, you were incredible today! If you hadn’t been hustling like mad to bring us water, I definitely would’ve gotten heatstroke in this goddamn South Australia heat!"

"For real. Especially when we started picking up the pace on the final lap. Thank God Huang Chong poured all his water bottles over my head to cool me down. Otherwise, I feel like I would’ve been breathing fire, not carbon dioxide!"

"The temperature for this season opener was insane. I felt like any water I drank would turn to sweat and pour right out of me before I’d even ridden a few kilometers. Thanks to Huang, we were able to stay energized and hydrated the entire race!"

Hearing his teammates all praising him, Huang Chong just smiled it off and exchanged a few pleasantries.

In truth, the high temperatures were torture for him, too.

Though he was from Zhejiang Province and experienced terrifying 40°C heat waves almost every summer, before he became a cyclist, he would never have been active outdoors around noon during the summer.