Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

After Zhou Ming left, Dewey immediately called Huang Chong to inform him that Zhou was also going to the Suzhou competition, preparing to face off against him:

"Bro, that kid’s got you in his sights. He’s dead set on getting a win back from you.

It looks like my decision back at Qiandao Lake—telling you to go easy on him and only win by a hair’s breadth to save his pride—was a mistake.

With a stubborn rich kid like him, you have to crush him completely. Make him understand the real gap in your abilities, and only then will he learn to tuck his tail between his legs and back off.

Go get him, Old Huang! This time, make sure you beat Zhou Ming so badly he has no choice but to accept it!"

Huang Chong hadn’t expected that after he had politely turned down the young master, the guy would still be so persistent, chasing him all the way to Suzhou like a stubborn ghost.

Still, since it was a public cycling race, as long as the other guy registered properly, there was no reason for Huang Chong to object.

It actually saved him the trouble of having a rematch after returning to Hangcheng, so it was killing two birds with one stone.

"Got it, Old Du. With Young Master Zhou’s skill level, it’s just like you said before—if he couldn’t beat me the first time, he’ll never get a chance to make a comeback!"

Huang Chong scoffed. He really didn’t need to take Zhou Ming seriously.

He had now completed the third phase of his fat-loss mission, bringing his weight all the way down to 60 kg. Not only had he received the system reward, but with the natural power increase from his daily training this week, his FTP Power had already reached 270W.

His Power-to-Weight Ratio, meanwhile, was a staggering 4.5.

With his current lanky frame, if he went all-out at his Zone 4 threshold for an hour, his average speed could approach 45 km/h.

This speed might not be impressive to a World Tour Cyclist—after all, those top guys could easily pull an average speed over 60 km/h on flat stages. But among amateur riders, maintaining an average of 45 km/h was already the level of a top-tier "Big Pro."

Of course, after cutting his weight to 60 kg, Huang Chong realized he had actually gotten a bit too thin. He was practically a walking bag of bones.

’If my mom saw me like this, she’d be more than just worried—she’d chew me out and ask if I’d lost my mind.’

So, this 4.5 Power-to-Weight Ratio could only be considered an unsustainable figure. He was already planning to start bulking up and get his weight back to around 65 kg.

After hanging up on Dewey, Huang Chong wasted no time. He stored all his necessities, including his road bike, into the system’s storage space. Carrying only his ID and phone, he headed to the high-speed rail station for Suzhou.

However, when he met up with Zhang Yi, Wang Qiang, and the three female riders from the team who were also competing, at a local youth hostel in Suzhou, everyone was dumbfounded by his 60 kg frame.

"Bro, you look... off. How are you even skinnier than you were on Monday?"

Liu Junjie stared at Huang Chong in shock. He walked over and squeezed Huang Chong’s arm and thigh, only to discover that while his body looked frail enough to be blown over by the wind, the key muscle groups were not only present but also hard as iron.

"Holy crap! Is your muscle distribution, like, custom-built to your own specs?

How is your upper body just skin and bones, while your abs and thighs are still packed with muscle?

And how did you get them so solid?"

Feeling his body’s secrets being exposed by Liu Junjie right through his clothes, Huang Chong was speechless. He could only laugh awkwardly.

"We’re Road Cyclists, aren’t we? We’re training on our bikes every day, so of course we’re going to have leg muscles.

And as for the abs, didn’t you guys say core strength was important? 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

So I went home and did a crazy amount of planks, sit-ups, and stuff like that. And here they are!"

"That doesn’t make sense. A person’s muscle distribution is usually proportional. When you cut that much weight, you should have lost a proportional amount of muscle from your legs and abs, too.

But it’s like you’ve somehow intentionally prevented muscle loss in those two areas, while only cutting excess muscle and fat from everywhere else!"

That was, in fact, exactly what Huang Chong had done, although he had only managed it with the system’s help.

But he couldn’t admit that, so he just shrugged evasively.

"Well, I don’t know about all that. Anyway, I’m planning to start a bulking plan tonight and get my weight back up to around 65 kg."

"That’s a good idea. For your height, you definitely need to add about 5 kg. You look terrifyingly thin right now. Pogačar is an amazing climber, and even he isn’t as skinny as you."

Zhang Yi finally spoke up, his expression serious as he offered his advice:

"He might even be a bit shorter than you, but he weighs at least 65 kg, and his physique looks very balanced.

You need to hurry and gain some weight back, Huang Chong. Focus on adding muscle to your chest, back, and glutes.

Muscle is the foundation for a cyclist’s Sprinting Burst, and it’s also a crucial component for maintaining balance on the bike.

Relying only on your abs and thighs is fine for long-distance endurance riding, but without enough explosive power, you won’t be able to drop other riders at critical moments.

If other racers can stick with you all the way to the finish line, you’ll just get outsprinted, and you’ll end up the biggest loser."

Huang Chong completely agreed with Zhang Yi. Among World Tour Cyclists, there were plenty of lanky climbers who were great at breaking away, but they were often swallowed up by the peloton in the final stages, completely powerless to fight back.

"Alright, Captain. I’ll start stuffing my face tonight and pack on the pounds right away!"

Huang Chong’s playful tone immediately made the team members break out in laughter.

And just then, the system interface, which hadn’t shown a new mission in a long time, lit up again. And it wasn’t just one mission that appeared:

[Detected suggestion for Host to strengthen chest muscles. Please complete Barbell Bench Press 4x10, Incline Dumbbell Press 4x10, and Machine Chest Fly 4x10. Reward: 2 Basic Optimization Value points, 1x Chest Muscle Enhancer.]

[Chest Muscle Enhancer: Strengthens pectoral muscles, enhances the rib cage, and increases thoracic volume. Aids lung expansion to improve oxygen uptake. Mitigates damage to critical internal organs like the heart and lungs from external impacts. Enhances muscular balance, strengthens instantaneous explosive power, and stabilizes riding posture.]

...

[Detected suggestion for Host to strengthen back muscles. Please complete Lat Pulldowns 4x12, Incline Dumbbell Rows 4x12, and Seated Cable Rows 4x12. Reward: 2 Basic Optimization Value points, 1x Back Muscle Enhancer.]

[Back Muscle Enhancer: Strengthens back muscle groups and corrects spinal alignment. Stabilizes riding posture on bumpy roads, reducing the risk of crashing. Enhances long-distance endurance while in an aerodynamic position.]

...

[Detected suggestion for Host to strengthen glute muscles. Please complete Hip Abduction 4x15, Hack Squat 4x15, and Hack Squat Good Morning 4x15. Reward: 2 Basic Optimization Value points, 1x Glute Muscle Enhancer.]

[Glute Muscle Enhancer: Strengthens gluteal muscle groups to store elastic potential energy and improve pedaling efficiency. Maintains horizontal pelvic stability, controls stable knee joint movement, and preserves dynamic balance while riding.]

...

Huang Chong’s first reaction to this huge dump of information from the system was to feel overwhelmed.

’It never rains, but it pours,’ he thought. Or in this case, a triple-mission combo.

After carefully reading through everything, however, he suddenly realized that the physique he thought the system had already optimized to its peak was still far from perfect.

’Well, what do you know,’ he mused. ’To achieve optimal cycling efficiency, it turns out that perfecting every single muscle group is important.’

Completing all these missions right away was obviously impossible for him.

For one thing, a single glance at the exercises told him he’d need to go to a gym and use proper equipment.

For another, he’d never even heard of many of these exercises.

He would have to look up tutorials online or find a professional fitness coach back in Hangcheng to help him complete them correctly.