Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

Chapter 166: Chapter 121: Three-Protect-One Tactic, The Team’s Only Hope

After the ITT race was over, Huang Chong returned to the team’s support area, where his teammates welcomed him with applause and hugs.

"Damn, man! You actually beat the Asian King of Cycling! That insane overtake in the last kilometer got my blood pumping. You’re on another level!"

Brother Xiaoma was the first to come over, praising him and giving him a hug.

"Now I see. You weren’t going all out when you raced against us before, were you? You were really holding back!"

"I think so too. Huang Chong and I are basically the same type of rider. I remember back at the National Road Cycling Championships at the end of last year, the first time we competed for the gold medal... I couldn’t accept the loss back then—"

Brother Niu from the Longjiang Team came up and gave Huang Chong a hug as he spoke, continuing,

"But who could have guessed that championship last year would turn out to be my best shot at the gold medal."

"Now, this year, whenever I’m in the same race as this guy, I get completely dominated from start to finish."

"Seriously, it’s pretty damn frustrating—"

"But I guess today we got to see Huang Chong’s true limits, huh?"

Brother Lü smiled. After hugging Huang Chong, he clapped him on the shoulder and remarked,

"You’re on a whole other level than us now. Are you planning to aim for the World Tour and the Tour de France next?"

Huang Chong’s current skill level had indeed reached the entry level for the World Tour.

But he knew full well that he was still a long way from the very top tier of world-class cyclists.

He knew that if he wanted to keep improving, the best way was to get good results in the World Tour and earn more UCI points, but the pressure to do so would be immense.

In any case, for him right now, winning one of the five Monuments of cycling or a stage in the Tour de France was probably completely out of the question.

He scratched his head and said,

"Come on, you three pros, stop teasing me. Beating Lutsenko in the ITT was just a lucky break."

"You all saw it. On the open road, even when I went all out, he still managed to put time into me."

"If it weren’t for that last narrow stretch of road, which I’d specifically trained for ahead of the National Championships back in June, I would’ve had zero chance of a comeback."

"If we ran the race again, I bet he’d beat me soundly."

Hearing this, the three of them couldn’t help but exchange glances.

In the end, Brother Xiaoma gave his right shoulder a light punch and said with an exasperated laugh,

"Always so serious. You just won the championship, and you’re already reflecting on your weaknesses? Lighten up, will you!"

"Heh, maybe that’s what sets him apart from the rest of us."

"I always thought I was completely obsessed with cycling, but now I see I’m not dedicated enough."

"At least, I know I couldn’t win a championship and immediately start looking for my own flaws!"

Brother Lü chimed in.

"True that. The guy’s a complete maniac. He can even handle a TT bike to the point where he’s one with the machine."

Brother Xiaoma shook his head in resignation and couldn’t help but ask Huang Chong,

"Those three months you spent training at high altitude—besides riding your road bike, did you also get special training from a mountain bike coach?"

"How did your bike handling and cornering get so silky smooth?"

"Seriously, the speed you carried through those consecutive corners in the last kilometer, constantly shifting your weight to lean into the turns... If that were me, I’d have either crashed into a wall or slid out. I’d have been a mess of road rash for sure!"

Huang Chong couldn’t lie about this.

During his high-altitude training, the National Team staff had been with him the entire time to monitor his health.

Furthermore, his daily training regimen was all on record, and it didn’t include any mountain bike skills training.

He replied simply,

"I didn’t train for it at high altitude. Before I became a professional Road Cyclist, I started out on mountain bikes, so I picked up some of those skills then, just like Brother Lü!"

Lü Xianjing, being skilled in both mountain and road biking, wasn’t surprised by this answer. He just smiled and said,

"Your bike handling is even better than mine. It seems your success today isn’t just from raw talent; you’ve clearly put in a ton of work behind the scenes that none of us have seen!"

In reality, when it came to bike handling, Huang Chong—who relied purely on his "cheat" and Li Zifan’s lessons—hadn’t actually spent much time practicing on a mountain bike at all.

But he couldn’t very well say that, so he just smiled and brushed the comment aside.

...

「October 4th.」

There was only one road cycling event today: the Women’s Individual Road Race.

A total of 33 athletes were competing, a field half the size of the men’s.

Each country only sent two riders. The China Team’s cyclists were Sun Jiajun, who had won a silver medal at the Asian Championships just as Huang Chong had, and Zeng Luyao.

Huang Chong and the others were in the team’s training area, riding their trainers while watching the live broadcast of the race.

The gaps in the women’s race were not as pronounced as in the men’s. So, after more than three hours of grueling racing, most of the riders were still clustered in a single group, setting up for a bunch sprint at the finish.

In the end, Yang Qianyu of Hong Kong took the gold medal, Na Ahreum of South Korea won silver, and Jutatip Maneephan of Thailand claimed the bronze.

As for Sun Jiajun and Zeng Luyao, they both managed to hang on in the main group to the very end, crossing the line in the same time as the winner. However, based on the finishing order, Sun Jiajun placed 7th, while Zeng Luyao crossed in 16th.

These were not good results, of course.

Coach Han’s brow was deeply furrowed as he watched, and he remained silent for a long time.

He had been hoping Sun Jiajun could replicate her performance from the Asian Championships and win a medal.