Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

"What the fuck?!

I’ve heard people from China are good at kung fu. Did this guy study it on the side when he wasn’t training to be a Professional Cyclist?

How did he manage to pull off such a perfect self-rescue maneuver in a split second?"

The usually calm and collected Aldag couldn’t help but curse when he saw Huang Chong’s reaction.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Huang Chong.

When he’d first heard Huang Chong was caught in the crash, he’d felt like he was going to lose his mind.

This was his team’s rising star and future!!

And now, just a few races in, he’d been in such a serious crash!!

Look at the dozen or so cyclists still down on the ground—Van Aert, Stuyven, Girmay, and others. Some were even being put on stretchers. Their injuries were clearly severe.

But by the time he drove to the scene, he saw Huang Chong had already scrambled up from the ground and was frantically calling for a mechanician, demanding his spare road bike—

And now, covered in blood, with his right arm bleeding profusely, Huang Chong was already chasing madly after the lead group!

"Director, I have to admit, the professionalism Huang Chong is showing is truly admirable.

But we need to speed up and catch him. We should try to give him some basic first aid before the Kanarieberg climb begins.

If we don’t bandage his right arm immediately, the constant, violent vibrations from all the cobblestones on this course will keep the wound from closing.

Once he loses too much blood, it will lead to insufficient oxygen supply.

Either you pull him from the race now, or you risk him causing another accident!"

Hearing Charlie’s advice, Aldag decisively told the driver to floor it and catch up, while simultaneously radioing Van Boppel, who had avoided the crash:

"Daniel, Huang was just in a crash, but his injuries aren’t serious. He’s catching up now.

He’s about 15 seconds behind your position.

Slow your pace, drop back from the main group, and bring him back in!"

Although Van Boppel was a team leader, he couldn’t disobey a team order.

Besides, he was about to enter the toughest climb of the stage, the Kanarieberg, with the lead group that had been whittled down to just over twenty riders.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep up on this climb anyway, so he didn’t hesitate. He immediately slowed down and, a moment later, connected with the solo-chasing Huang Chong, whose entire right arm and cycling shorts were stained red.

Van Boppel was stunned by the gruesome sight and couldn’t help but ask:

"Huang, have you lost too much blood from your arm?

Can you really keep racing?

Rolf told me to come get you, but I think a cyclist needs to prioritize their own health.

You’re so young. There’s no need to go all out and risk everything for the outcome of a single race.

You should focus on healing up. You’ve already proven your strength, and the Bora Team won’t hold it against you for pulling out due to injury!"

Huang Chong knew the other man was saying this out of concern, but aside from the large abrasion on his right arm, he hadn’t broken any bones or sprained anything.

Besides, after he’d gotten back on his bike and started chasing, he had taken advantage of the fact that the referee’s car hadn’t caught up yet and the helicopter camera was still focused on the crash site. During his solo chase, he had secretly taken out some trauma-healing ointment and applied it to the wound on his right arm.

Although the bleeding hadn’t stopped at first, covering him in blood and making him look exceptionally wretched, the pain had actually vanished the moment he applied the ointment, and the bleeding had stopped.

However, he didn’t have the time or the means to treat the minor wounds on other parts of his body, like his back and buttocks. He would just have to endure the slight pain and finish the race first.

He replied directly:

"I’m fine, Daniel. The bleeding has mostly stopped. Now, I’ll need you to give me a lead-out. Let’s try to catch the main group before the climb!"

After this incident, Van Boppel saw Huang Chong in a completely new light.

’This guy from China has been so dominant ever since he joined the World Tour. At first, I thought it was just luck.’

’But now I’m completely sure it’s not luck at all. The tenacity and desire to win in his very bones are just so damn tough.’

’It’s like all that blood he’s losing is just sweat to him.’

’And the pain from his wounds... if it were me, I definitely would’ve abandoned the race.’

’But for Huang Chong, it doesn’t seem to affect his thirst and determination for victory in the slightest.’

So, he stopped hesitating. After a low "Okay," he immediately cranked up his power on the final stretch of flat road before the foot of the mountain and began to furiously chase the lead group.

With the big man Van Boppel leading the charge on the flats, Huang Chong, as expected, successfully reconnected with the lead group of just over twenty riders right before the Kanarieberg climb.

At the same time, the Bora Team Car caught up, and Charlie spoke to Huang Chong through the window:

"Huang, you need to come alongside the team car.

According to the rules, while your injuries are being treated, you can hold onto the car window and let the car pull you along. I’m going to wrap your right arm with gauze!"

Hearing this, Huang Chong nodded and quickly moved next to the team car. He controlled the handlebars with his left hand while his right hand gripped the window frame tightly, letting the car pull him forward as Charlie wrapped his blood-soaked right arm in gauze.