Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

They even chased the peloton he was in, running alongside it and roaring wildly.

The peloton soon charged up the only First Category Climb of this stage.

In this 3.4 km-long climb, the first 1500 meters were the steepest, with a gradient as high as 8.5%.

So, right at the start of the climb, his four sprinter teammates—Welsford, Van Boppel, Gamber, and Allen—were immediately dropped.

When Huang Chong saw this, while he understood it logically, he couldn’t resist the urge to complain to himself.

’Damn it, those two water carriers combined aren’t as useful as I am alone.’

So, he had no choice but to quickly take the lead. He squeezed through the peloton to get in front of Zwiehoff and Adrià and began pacing them toward the summit.

Fortunately, this climb wasn’t the final summit finish, so the peloton’s pace wasn’t fast.

After Huang Chong took the lead, his two teammates followed closely behind him without getting dropped.

As he reached the summit with the peloton, Huang Chong saw the white line marking the First Category Climb.

At the white line, locals had also painted a massive golden-yellow crown in the middle of the road. Written below it was the name of the mountain: Willunga Hill!

According to local race tradition, whoever wins this stage will be called the King of Willunga.

About a hundred meters past the First Category Climb, around a wide bend, was the finish arch.

At this moment, the number of fans lining both sides of the road was every bit as large as at the foot of the mountain, if not more so.

The ceaseless roar of the crowd, like the crashing waves back at the starting point of Christies Beach, echoed through the mountains.

And, a common sight at international cycling races, there was no shortage of shirtless male fans.

They ran alongside the peloton, screaming with passion, while other fans in mascot costumes waved huge flags wildly from the roadside.

In short, as the peloton passed the finish line for the first time, the fans watching on-site were already completely fired up.

However, Huang Chong, riding in the middle of the peloton, remained perfectly calm.

As he drew closer to the arch, he decisively moved into position, riding to the far right side of the pack before smoothly pulling away from the peloton.

His gaze was locked on the support staff member in a Bora Team uniform up ahead.

Riding his army-green SL8, he shot past the crowd like a gust of wind.

Then, timing it perfectly, he reached out his right hand and expertly snatched a bottle full of supplies from the staffer’s grasp.

He had long since finished the several hundred bottles of electrolyte sports drinks he’d been rewarded with by the system, having consumed them all over the past year of racing and training.

Therefore, the bottle of water mixed with carbohydrate powder he’d just grabbed would be his only fuel for the final 24 kilometers.

If he had missed it, then no matter how powerful his cardio or how quick his recovery, the final climb up Willunga Hill would become incredibly difficult.

Those two "water carriers" of his had been dropped ages ago; God knows where they were now.

They were probably still halfway up Willunga Hill.

And on the final summit climb, it was a given that all the GC contenders from every team would launch all-out attacks.

Who wouldn’t want to become this year’s King of Willunga?

And who would become this year’s King of Willunga?