Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

February 25th.

The UAE Tour, a stop on the cycling World Tour, reached its final day of competition: the Al Ain-Jebel Hafeet Mountain stage.

As the final showdown of this year’s event, today’s race was undoubtedly the main event.

By the end of the day, the suspense over who would be this year’s overall champion would be completely resolved.

This year’s UAE Tour was also the one where the GC Cyclists were most closely matched in skill. It wasn’t like previous years, where the participation of riders like Vingegaard and Pogačar had essentially killed the suspense several stages in advance.

In terms of terrain, the setup for Stage 7 was almost a carbon copy of Stage 3.

The first hundred-plus kilometers were all long, flat roads, with only the finish featuring an incredibly difficult summit climb.

This stage was 161 km long and still featured two intermediate sprint points, at the 63.5 km and 147 km marks, respectively.

The first 150 km of that was flat road, with a few gentle, almost negligible downhill sections in between.

However, the difference between the two stages lay in the length and gradient of the mountain climb at the end, which varied significantly.

Overall, compared to Jais Peak, the Jebel Hafeet Mountain climb in Stage 7 was a full 8 km shorter, but its average gradient reached 6.7%, making it a definitively harder climb.

It’s also worth noting that the final kilometer of Jebel Hafeet Mountain is actually a flat stretch at the summit followed by a gentle descent, which significantly brought down the average gradient of the preceding 10 kilometers.

In reality, between the 2-kilometer and 10-kilometer marks, the gradient of this mountain generally stayed above 8%.

The steepest section was between the 5- and 6-kilometer marks, reaching a terrifying 10.7%.

Before setting off, Huang Chong, as was his habit, glanced at the list of the top ten riders in the general classification that Chen Junyi had provided him. He noticed that the time gaps between them were incredibly small:

1. Vine - United Arab Emirates - 18:52:23

2. Huang Chong - Bora - 0:06

3. O’Connor - AG2R - 0:09

4. McNulty - United Arab Emirates - 0:11

5. Van Wilder - Soudal Quick-Step - 0:21

6. Bilbao - Bahrain - 0:22

7. Van Eetvelt - Lotto - 0:27

8. Poole - Team DSM - 0:31

9. Foss - INEOS - 0:33

10. Simon Carr - EF Education - 0:36

It was safe to say that with such small time gaps, even Carr in tenth place could clinch the overall championship. All he had to do was suddenly find a burst of power on the long, steep climb in the final stage, pull away, and create a gap of about 100 meters on the other riders. That would be enough to make up the half-minute difference.

"Everyone, today’s race is different from the previous six stages. I’m sure you all know why just by looking at the sky.

Unfortunately, the crosswinds today are extremely strong, with speeds reaching 29 km/h.

So, for the first 150 km, you must all protect our general classification rider, Huang Chong, at all costs.

He’s the only hope our team has left. We’ve worked together for six stages already. I want us all to pull together, put in one last day of effort, and aim to return to headquarters in the most perfect way possible!"

The Bora Team Leader imparted this advice to his riders after getting into the team car.

After hearing the message on his radio, Huang Chong looked up at the Al Ain skyline. The air was thick with yellow sand, and visibility was extremely low.

It was the first time in his life he had seen such dusty weather. He felt like he was getting a mouthful of dust and sand with every breath.

If the race officials hadn’t insisted on starting as scheduled, and if he had been here to ride on his own, he definitely wouldn’t have dared to go outside.

He was genuinely afraid of getting caught in a sandstorm in this barren, arid land!

And yet, on the day with the worst weather of the entire race, his treatment within the team was the best it had been since he joined.

This was his first time racing as the Core Commander, a fact that fully illustrated the unpredictable nature of things.

And after becoming a Core Commander for a World Tour Team for the first time, he quickly experienced what a comfortable ride truly felt like.

Even though he was riding into a crosswind the entire time, he was safely shielded in the middle of the paceline by a few of the team’s big sprinters. They formed a diagonal echelon, allowing him to easily keep up with the main group without much effort.

After the race began, the team leader’s tactical arrangements for the day were also more elaborate. He sent Buchman, who was wearing the German national champion’s jersey, to join the breakaway group along with three other riders: the black jersey holder, Stewart, and two Alpecin Cyclists, Silvan Dillier and Jonas Rickaert.

Breaking away in such harsh weather truly required both strength and courage.

Before the race started, Buchman had been the team’s primary leader, with Zwiehoff as the backup.

But Buchman’s form was quite poor this year. He lost over a minute in the ITT, so he naturally had to step down from the leader position.

And while Zwiehoff performed up to his usual standard, his own abilities were simply too limited. So, after the Jais Peak climb, he too had to relinquish the leadership role.

But they were both veterans, born in ’92 and ’93 respectively, making them seven or eight years older than Huang Chong. Now that a newcomer could take their place and fight for a top result for the team, they naturally had no complaints and could only serve him wholeheartedly.

When the race started, China Sports began its broadcast right on time. After the familiar opening remarks, the commentator quickly got to the main point, excitedly explaining Huang Chong’s role within the team for the day:

"Fellow cycling fans, before I start commentating on today’s race, I have some great news to share with you all!!

Bora Team’s rider lineup and tactical formation today will be noticeably different from the previous six stages.