Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

At sprint speeds on a road bike, ten meters passes in the blink of an eye.

Sprinting at full power, Huang Chong didn’t even have time to react before he’d already shot past Zhang Yi—who had deliberately braked to slow down—and crossed the finish line first under the arch.

It was a good thing they were on the same team. Otherwise, if the race officials at the finish line had seen it, they might have thought it was some kind of cheating.

But in professional road cycling, it’s common for a team leader to gift a victory to their domestique. As long as the team’s overall win is secure when they cross the line together, the leader will often yield.

For example, in 2023, Vingegaard directly gifted the overall title at the Vuelta a España—one of the three Grand Tours—to his teammate Kuss. Similarly, Pogačar gave the win at the 2025 Montreal Grand Prix to his domestique, McNulty.

The reason is simple: for a team leader, nearly every race is a chance to win. Domestiques, on the other hand, spend most of their time as the blue-collar workhorses of the team.

Many domestiques go their entire careers with only a handful of opportunities to race for their own victory.

Of course, Huang Chong’s situation was different from that of a professional team. After he and Zhang Yi registered their results with the officials, they relaxed under a sun umbrella, waiting for the other riders to finish. It was then that Huang Chong asked Zhang Yi:

"Captain, why did you let me take first? It would’ve been the same if you won. We’re on the same team, and we secured first and second place anyway!"

Zhang Yi, who was also relaxing with a drink of water, just smiled brightly when he heard Huang Chong’s question.

He thought for a moment before replying with a soft sigh:

"It doesn’t really matter whether I win or not. I’m already retired, after all.

There’s not much point in me even entering these races. I only came today to let you experience the atmosphere of a real competition.

But it’s different for you. I want you to remember what winning feels like today. Carry that feeling with you and use it to fight for more victories in the future.

The path to victory is always hard. The higher the level of competition, the stronger your opponents will be. You have to stay true to yourself—stay humble, stay patient, and keep a level head—

That’s the only way you’ll go far in the world of professional road cycling.

Honestly, with your natural talent, you have what it takes to make a name for yourself nationally. From there, you can break out of Asia and compete against riders from the traditional cycling powerhouses in Europe.

So, once you become a Professional Cyclist, I hope you’ll train hard and cherish your gift. Don’t let down the people who like you and believe in you."

Though his expression didn’t change, as Huang Chong listened, he couldn’t help but feel a profound respect for his captain welling up inside him.

They hadn’t actually known each other for very long, so you couldn’t say they were close. They’d had almost no contact outside of cycling.

And yet, despite their relationship being only a step above that of complete strangers, the man had, through his actions, taught him an invaluable lesson.

His captain’s magnanimity was something he knew he should learn from. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He thought for a moment, then nodded seriously and replied, his voice full of conviction:

"Captain, don’t worry. I’ll take your words to heart. No matter what I achieve in the future, I hope I can always keep a level head and just focus on training, day in and day out!"

"Well said, young man. But words are easy. Make sure you back them up with action, or they’re just empty promises!"

A hearty voice, slightly raspy but full and strong, suddenly cut into their conversation from the side.

Huang Chong turned and saw a middle-aged man, about his father’s age.

He looked to be in his fifties, with a buzz cut. He wore a Li-Ning polo shirt and matching Li-Ning track pants.

Huang Chong glanced down and saw he was even wearing Li-Ning sneakers.

’Wow, this random, plain-looking uncle who just appeared out of nowhere is a die-hard Li-Ning fan?’

Zhang Guowei, who had been following the race in a car the whole time, walked over to them. A rare, relieved smile graced his stern, square-jawed face as he spoke directly to Zhang Yi.

"Xiaozhang, you haven’t disappointed me once since the day I started coaching you. It’s truly gratifying to see that even in retirement, a part of you still belongs to road cycling.

And I have to thank you. You’ve found a promising young talent for the country.

What you just told him was spot on, too. Saves me the trouble of giving the kid a pep talk before he joins the team!"

Although Zhang Yi knew his master was coming to watch the race, he was still thrilled to see him in person. Hearing his words, he knew it meant Huang Chong’s abilities had been officially recognized. He quickly stood up from his chair and smiled sheepishly.

"Master, there’s no need to be so formal with me. Didn’t you always teach us to never forget our profession, even after leaving the system? I’m just doing what you taught me."

Huang Chong, standing nearby, was completely baffled. He couldn’t help but ask:

"Master? Captain, who is this—?"

Zhang Yi smiled and made the introduction.

"Huang Chong, this is Director Zhang Guowei. He’s the director and head coach for the provincial sports bureau’s road cycling program. He was my master, and now, he’ll be yours!"

"Huh? The provincial team’s coach? My future master?"

Huang Chong was dumbfounded by the answer and couldn’t stop himself from asking another question:

"Captain, does this mean... I’ve been scouted by the provincial coach? I can go straight to the provincial team?"

Seeing that Huang Chong didn’t quite grasp the situation, Zhang Guowei offered a brief explanation:

"Here’s what happened. A few days ago, Xiaozhang came to my office at the bureau with your cardiopulmonary test results. He said you had a real talent for road cycling.

I took a look and agreed you had potential. When I heard you two were competing today, I made a special trip from Hangcheng to see you in action.

Overall, your performance on the endurance portion was quite good.

Your power output was steady, and you paced yourself well. You weren’t reckless like most riders your age, who just want to show off and flex on their opponents from the get-go.

Of course, your weaknesses are also obvious. You’re too skinny.

You have practically no pecs, back muscles, or glutes.

This makes your form unstable when pedaling at high speeds. You also lack explosive power, which means you have no sprint.

There are no pure climbing stages in domestic races for you to shine.

So, after you come to the bureau and register as a rider, you’ll start as a reserve, not as a full member of the provincial team.

You’ll have to go through a scientific strength training program, supplement your diet with protein, and build up your muscle mass. Once you pass all the physical assessments, we’ll evaluate your performance on the bike and then schedule you for competitions.

We’ll decide whether to offer you a spot as a full team member based on your race results."

Huang Chong didn’t feel any pressure after hearing Zhang Guowei’s explanation.

’Join the team and focus on building muscle first?’

’That’s exactly what I needed. I had to complete the system’s muscle-training mission anyway.’

As long as it meant he could join the provincial team directly, skipping the climb up from the city-level team, he was willing to do whatever training they asked.

He wasn’t dissatisfied about starting as a reserve and needing to earn his spot with results, either.

That was the standard procedure, and it was much better than slowly working his way up from the city team.

Besides, if he couldn’t even dominate the competition at the provincial level, how could he ever dream of the three Grand Tours or the five Monuments of cycling?

So, he faced Zhang Guowei and replied without a hint of fear:

"Understood, Director Zhang. I’ll do as you ask and complete all the tests first!"