Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

For Huang Chong and Su Haoyu to both achieve great results in the same stage was cause for a celebration akin to the New Year for China’s road cycling community.

Coach Han, who led the team, and all the staff of the National Team were also incredibly excited.

They had originally thought that Brother Xiaoma’s fifth-place finish on the second race day would be the biggest takeaway from this year’s Tour of Guangxi.

But who could have predicted that when the race reached its most difficult fourth stage, Huang Chong would unleash an unprecedented burst of energy, defeating all the World Tour Teams to claim first place in the general classification.

After the race, they boarded the team bus again and began the transfer without delay.

The starting point for the fifth race day was Liuzhou.

The drive from Nongla was approximately 200 kilometers.

The atmosphere on the bus remained cheerful and harmonious.

This was the first time a Chinese cyclist had won a stage in the World Tour. It would have been strange if they weren’t ecstatic.

Over the past year, Huang Chong had truly set one new record after another, achievements that no one would have dared to imagine in the past.

At this moment, he was likely the only one who felt today’s result still wasn’t enough.

He knew full well that to catch the eye of a World Tour Team, the better his overall result, the greater the impact.

Chen Junyi, sitting beside Huang Chong, noticed he had been silent during the transfer, not joining in the cheerful laughter of the other cyclists and staff. Of course, she understood what was on his mind.

She knew that after taking first place overall in the Nongla Stage, he was determined to maintain his lead until the very end and not allow it to be overturned in the last two days of racing.

"Are you thinking about the strategy for tomorrow’s race?"

Seeing Huang Chong frowning, lost in thought, Chen Junyi handed him a bottle of water she had already opened.

Huang Chong heard her and instinctively reached out to take it, then had a sip.

He was no longer like he’d been last year when he first joined the provincial team, when such a familiar gesture from Chen Junyi would have made him feel shy.

Instead, he had grown accustomed to having Chen Junyi handle these minor details of his life for him, like a long-married couple.

He nodded and said,

"Yeah. Tomorrow’s stage is from Liuzhou to Guilin. There are a ton of climbs, and what’s more, it’s 209.6 kilometers long."

"Even a World Tour Cyclist will need at least four and a half hours to finish it."

"Given the physical state of my teammates, it’s basically impossible for them to stick with the peloton all the way to the hardest part of the stage—the combined Second and First Category climbs about 40 kilometers from the finish."

"Let alone be in any position to help me during that climbing section."

"I’m a little worried that on that high-intensity climb, the Jumbo Team, UAE Team, Cofidis, and Movistar Team will all join forces to target me."

"If they really coordinate their efforts, there’s no way I’ll be able to respond to every single attack!"

Huang Chong’s worries were entirely justified. After all, given his situation, he was essentially playing with his cards on the table.

With his teammates’ stamina in sharp decline, there was no way Brother Xiaoma and the others could keep up in tomorrow’s race, even if the World Tour Teams rode at a normal pace.

So, when faced with a lone GC cyclist, if they didn’t seize the opportunity to turn the tables on him, they wouldn’t be worthy of being called World Tour Teams.

Although Chen Junyi understood the basic rules of road cycling, including the points system, she didn’t understand the intricacies of race-time tactics. The unpredictable, ever-changing situations on the course and the need to adapt strategy on the fly were beyond her.

And with no riders left to support him, Coach Han couldn’t possibly arrange any more tactics for Huang Chong.

Thus, she could sense Huang Chong’s deep-seated worry and anxiety.

She thought for a moment, then asked with concern,

"So, what are you planning to do? Do you have a counter-strategy?"

In fact, when he heard her question, a very radical idea had already come to mind. But not wanting to say it out loud yet, he just shook his head and said,

"Nothing for now. I’ll wait until the race starts tomorrow, see how things look on the course, and make a decision on the fly."

...

「October 16th.」

The fifth race day of the Tour of Guangxi, the Liuzhou–Guilin stage, began.

As the longest stage of the event, and with numerous climbs, its overall difficulty far surpassed that of yesterday’s Stage 4.

The only difference was that the Nongla Stage had been given a mountain-top finish, specifically designed for the GC Cyclists.

Otherwise, if all six stages were decided by flat sprints to the finish, there would be no reason for GC Cyclists and Climbers to participate.

Besides, the Tour of Guangxi’s overall leader’s Red Jersey wasn’t as valuable as the Dash King Green Jersey or the Polka Dot Jersey for the best climber.

The Red Jersey carried no separate prize money, only the prize money for winning a stage.

This was unlike the final owners of the Green Jersey and Polka Dot Jersey, or the White Jersey for the best young rider, who could win separate individual prizes of twenty thousand and ten thousand euros.

In a way, the Tour of Guangxi was structured rather strangely.

While it offered a summit finish to give GC Cyclists a chance to win the overall classification, the race was, in essence, a showcase for the sprinters.

As soon as the race began, riders immediately launched a fierce breakaway.

Huang Chong glanced at the four breakaway riders, and without a moment’s hesitation, he got out of the saddle, pedaled hard to catch up, and joined the breakaway group.

Neither Coach Han nor Chen Junyi had known he would make this choice, and they couldn’t help but look at each other in stunned silence.

Coach Han quickly got on the radio and asked, his voice laced with concern,

"Huang Chong, are you joining the breakaway? Today’s stage is long, and there are a lot of climbs. For you to take the initiative and join the break... honestly, that’s a very risky move!"