Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

The three of them had nothing to say about Huang Chong’s modesty.

They had seen his performance before—he was a complete rookie, a total greenhorn.

High-threshold riding without a proper plan. He looked like he was trying hard, but it was unsustainable. That was their basic impression of Huang Chong.

And just as they’d expected, the data from his cyclocomputer showed he had only ridden about 10km that day before stopping by the roadside, gasping for air, completely spent.

Today, although Huang Chong had taken their advice on basic gear and upgraded everything he needed to, the core of road cycling was ultimately leg strength—not something you could instantly improve just by swapping out some equipment.

For a rookie with untrained legs, the only way to break through the "newbie wall" was through massive amounts of practice, by piling on the hours and mileage.

So, they all thought they had a good grasp of Huang Chong’s abilities and casually replied:

"No problem. The three of us will take turns breaking the wind for you today, and we’ll keep the pace a bit more stable. All you have to do is stick right behind us."

"Of course, if you can’t keep up, that’s fine too. Just fall back. Don’t force it. Pushing yourself too hard is just a thankless struggle. Anyway, just do your best according to your own level!"

"Alright, guys, let’s get started. We’ll take it a little easier today, say 50km one way for a 100km round trip. We’ve got stuff to do tomorrow!"

"Sounds good. Let’s roll!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the three of them formed a single file line and immediately pushed their average speed above 30 km/h.

Huang Chong reacted instantly. He stomped on the pedals and began to push, staying right at the back to match their speed and rhythm. His eyes carefully observed their cadences, which he noticed were remarkably synchronized.

That, combined with their matching team-style cycling kits—even without any sponsor or advertisement logos—told him from experience that these three were definitely not pure amateurs like himself.

’Are these guys members of some Hangcheng cycling club or amateur team?’

he mused silently.

After all, compared to casual amateurs, the trio’s riding posture and cadence were clearly far more professional.

And a speed of 30+ km/h seemed to be just a casual ride for them.

Except for the person leading, whose heart rate might be a bit higher, their stability and incredibly relaxed posture suggested their heart rates were definitely only around Zone 2.

’Compared to them, there’s still a significant gap. Looks like I’ll only be on their level when I can push my average power over 200W and maintain an average speed of around 35 km/h!’

Huang Chong continued to think to himself.

In reality, the speed he was thinking of was the absolute limit he had been able to reach in his past life.

Without the boost from his "System-Dad," it would have taken him at least two years of training to reach that level.

In the cycling world, an average speed of 30 km/h is one benchmark, and 35 km/h is another.

An average speed of 40 km/h was a lifelong dream for most amateurs, but it was merely the basic entry-level speed for a Professional Cyclist.

FTP Power is just a reference value; it refers to the maximum average power a cyclist can sustain for one hour.

The average speed benchmarks mentioned earlier, however, are a reflection of the average power one can maintain throughout an entire race, not just for that one-hour FTP test.

For example, these guys said they were riding 100km tonight. At their current speed of 30+ km/h, it would take them at least three hours.

At Huang Chong’s current level, if he were to lead the pack, he definitely couldn’t sustain his system-assessed FTP Power of 185W for that long.

The system had only determined that he could sustain a power output of 185W for one hour.

Once he exceeded that time, his power output would inevitably drop off and be severely diminished given his current stamina and endurance.

Of course, he had performance-enhancing drugs stored in his inventory. If he used them to recover and replenish his body’s energy, he could extend his riding time.

But this was just a daily training ride, not a race. Using the system’s reward drugs so casually felt like a total waste. There was simply no need.

Time flew by. They were riding on a greenway right alongside the road, and the entire path was illuminated by lights at night, making it as bright as day.

Hangcheng was a very friendly city for road cycling. Not only was its road infrastructure excellent, but it also had a complete network of non-motorized vehicle lanes.

For instance, the greenways on both banks of the Qiantang River, along with many others, directly connected scenic spots like West Lake and the Xixi Wetland, forming long-distance cycling routes uninterrupted by traffic lights. All this provided excellent training conditions for cyclists.

"Bro, you’re doing great today! We’ve already been riding for almost 20km at an average of 33 km/h, and you’re still keeping up? You weren’t just playing dumb the other day, pretending to be a rookie to mess with us, were you?"

One of the three, a young man who had just rotated back from leading the pack and was now in front of Huang Chong, was shocked to see him still stuck firmly to their group.

’Is this really the same rookie from two days ago who was gassed after just 10km?’

Doubt began to fill his mind.

"Yeah, really. Your cadence control is great today, too; you’re keeping it perfectly in sync with us. The other day, I saw you were mashing a big gear—big chainring and small cog—and your cadence was definitely not this fast. With such a huge change, it’s hard not to think you’re sandbagging!"

Clearly, all three of them had noticed that the abilities Huang Chong displayed today were a complete mismatch with their initial impression of him.

Huang Chong felt rather embarrassed by their teasing.

He certainly hadn’t intended to play some kind of show-off-by-playing-dumb game.

After all, before he got the system two days ago, he really had been terrible.

But with the boost from his "cheat," he had rapidly optimized his most critical weaknesses—leg power and cardiopulmonary function—in a very short time. He had essentially caught up to a year of Dewey’s training results in a single day. It was truly insane.

So, it was only natural that others would be suspicious of his sudden change in ability.

As for the change in his cadence, he had achieved it by shifting to a larger cog, forcing himself to match the trio’s rhythm. His revolutions per minute were now holding steady at around 90.

"Come on, you pros, don’t make fun of me. At this speed, even drafting behind you, my heart rate is almost maxed out in Zone 3. I can see your riding posture is way more stable than mine. You guys must be just cruising in Zone 2, right?"

Huang Chong asked tentatively.

"Pretty much. When we’re drafting, we’re right on the cusp between Zone 2 and Zone 3. But we rotate the lead every 5km, so we can rest and recover."

"When you’re leading and trying to maintain a 33 km/h average, even we can’t stay in the Zone 2 aerobic range. Our heart rates are basically the same as yours right now, at least at the top of Zone 3."

"As for stability in your riding posture, you should work on your abdominal core strength at home. You know, do some planks, sit-ups, that sort of thing."

"Yeah, for professional-level road cycling training, it’s not just about leg power output. Upper body core strength is just as important. Only with a strong core can a cyclist maintain a stable posture for a long time."

"Have you ever watched a professional road race, bro? There’s a discipline called the Individual Time Trial, or ITT. If you haven’t, you should look up some videos online when you get home. In an ITT, Professional Cyclists have to hold an aerodynamic position for a long time, keeping their entire upper body tucked down. To hold that position while also putting out maximum power, core strength is absolutely key."

"And you guys missed the most important part! A stable core is crucial for short, explosive sprints. If your abdominal strength isn’t there, you just can’t generate that burst of power!"

Of course, Huang Chong knew about the ITT. It was the special stage in the Tour de France that could often decide the final winner of the Yellow Jersey.

For example, Pogačar’s first Tour de France victory in 2020 was won in the Stage 20 Individual Time Trial. He started with a huge 57-second deficit but, thanks to a monster performance on that stage, he overturned it, beating Jumbo Team’s Roglič by 59 seconds to snatch the overall victory.

Of course, as they say, what goes around comes around. In the 2023 Tour de France, he would himself be crushed in the Stage 16 Individual Time Trial, with Jumbo Team’s Vingegaard pulling a massive 1 minute and 38 seconds ahead of him, completely extinguishing his hopes of winning the overall title.

Therefore, if Huang Chong wanted to win the Tour de France, specialized ITT training was something he absolutely could not avoid.

The ITT was a 1v1 head-to-head showdown between all the riders. It was a true test of a man’s strength that didn’t involve team strategies or the quality of one’s support riders.

And just as Huang Chong was receiving this detailed coaching on core strength from his fellow cyclists, the system text, which he hadn’t expected to see today, appeared once again:

[Detected someone introducing the importance of core strength to the host. Please complete a one-minute plank. Reward: 2 Basic Optimization Value points, Abdominal Muscle Enhancer x1]

...