Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

As a government official, Zhang Guowei had already given Huang Chong’s personal file a cursory look before coming to Suzhou.

If he had to evaluate Huang Chong’s life up to this point, only two words would come to mind:

Perfectly ordinary.

In Zhang Guowei’s view, if Huang Chong hadn’t come to Hangcheng for university and had his special physical gifts discovered by Zhang Yi, his fate would have been no different from most ordinary people. After a few years, he would have been worn down by time, just another face in the crowd.

Fortunately, everything was about to change.

Although the authorities prioritized track cycling over road racing, he was the director of the cycling program, after all. With his connections, supporting a single Road Cyclist would be no problem.

So he gave Zhang Yi a few more instructions, telling him to personally take Huang Chong to the bureau for registration and then to the cycling administration center. After that, he left, satisfied.

After Zhang Guowei left, Huang Chong felt as if he were dreaming.

He’d thought becoming a Professional Cyclist would be a monumental effort, but now, it seemed like he was already halfway there.

All he had to do was return to Hangzhou, pass the physical and other tests at the relevant departments, and complete his registration. Then, he would officially be a Professional Cyclist!

"Captain, you must have spent so much time and energy on this for me. I don’t even know how to thank you. If you hadn’t recommended me, I’d have had to start at a city-level team and work my way up step by step!"

Huang Chong said to Zhang Yi, his voice full of gratitude.

Zhang Yi, however, waved his hand casually and replied with a smile:

"It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it."

"The whole reason I started this team after retiring was to discover talented riders."

"When the cycling environment in the country improves, I even plan on opening a road cycling club, like the youth development systems in Europe, specifically for the younger generation."

"You could call it my personal dream!"

"So if you really want to thank me, then train hard and fight your way onto the European circuit."

"Road cycling is already seeing a huge surge in popularity in China. If another one of our own could go up against the world-class riders in the top-tier leagues, it would definitely cause professional road cycling culture to take off here."

"Then, more people would get into the sport, and we could start closing the gap between our skill level and Europe’s."

Zhang Yi spoke with complete sincerity.

If he had initially invested his energy in Huang Chong with the hope of some personal return, his wife’s advice had since helped him see the bigger picture.

Because just as Chen Li had said, if Huang Chong could fight his way into the World Tour, the influence he’d bring back would be far more meaningful than a few insignificant amateur championship titles.

After all, many sports in China started in obscurity, only becoming household names after a Chinese athlete achieved great success.

Basketball had Yao Ming, snooker had Ding Junhui, and tennis had Li Na. Huang Chong even knew in advance that Zheng Qinwen would win the women’s singles gold at the Paris Olympic Games.

The nation needed geniuses to achieve greatness in their respective sports. Only then would the public learn the rules and the sport become part of everyday life.

Professional road cycling was, of course, no different.

Huang Chong’s admiration for Zhang Yi grew even stronger.

They were merely acquaintances, yet time and again, Zhang Yi showed him what it meant to have true greatness of spirit.

This, he had to admit, was an incredibly rare stroke of luck—a true blessing in his life.

’As the saying goes, when the time is right, heaven and earth lend their strength.’ He was feeling it more and more. Fate had not only given him a second chance and a cheat system, but it also seemed he couldn’t walk out the door without running into a helpful benefactor.

’Of course, the ancients always had a saying for everything. Even though I’m riding a wave of peak fortune, I still have to remind myself of the other side of the coin: ’A hero of fortune is not free.’’

So Huang Chong made a promise to Zhang Yi, partly to motivate his future self, and said frankly:

"Captain, I promise you, I will make it to the World Tour! And I will win their championships on their own turf in Europe!"

...

Time flew by. Not long after Huang Chong finished, the third rider to cross the finish line was none other than Zhou Ming’s strongest lieutenant.

But he finished a considerable amount of time behind the top two.

This was a clear illustration of the massive gap in strength between them—a rider with professional experience and Huang Chong, who was on the verge of turning pro—and purely amateur cyclists.

The pair’s average finishing speed was over 40 km/h, while Zhou Ming’s top rider only managed over 37 km/h—a full 3 km/h slower.

Afterwards, once all the riders in the elite group had crossed the finish line, it was time for the awards ceremony on the podium.

Huang Chong stood on the top step of the podium, a custom-made champion’s medal with a heavy industrial design hanging around his neck. He was genuinely happy.

This was an achievement he could never have dreamed of reaching in his past life.

"Huang Chong, you’re a goddamn beast! All that crazy pulling the three of us did for you was totally worth it. Being a domestique for a champion on the Windward Team... man, this is a story I’ll be telling for the rest of my life."

"Don’t tease me, Brother Liu. The captain let me have the win on purpose!"

"That may be true, but just keeping up with the captain all the way to the finish is impressive enough. Honestly, when he told us last night to be your domestiques, I had my doubts!"

"Haha, Brother Wang, I was hanging on for dear life! There were a few times I almost got dropped!"

"Either way, this is the first time a teammate has won a title since I joined the Windward Team. I never thought it’d be you, the new guy who’s only ridden with us twice—"

"The captain let me win, Brother Chen! He really did!"

...

After the race, the team gathered and returned to Hangzhou. Huang Chong immediately took out his prize money and treated everyone to dinner.

Although the prize money officially belonged to him, road cycling is a team sport. His domestiques had sacrificed themselves for his victory, so of course he couldn’t just pocket all the winnings himself.

"Come on, everyone, let’s raise our glasses to celebrate our triumphant return, and to toast our captain!"

Huang Chong had been cutting weight for nearly a month. Now he needed to bulk up again, so one indulgent meal wouldn’t hurt.

Besides, this victory dinner was also a farewell party. He would have to report to the provincial team soon for intensive training and wouldn’t be able to come back to the Windward Team.

So toasting Zhang Yi and the others was a must.

Their meeting was a matter of fate.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Huang Chong was still hesitating over how to break the news to his teammates. Seeing his indecision, Zhang Yi stepped in and announced to the team that Huang Chong would be joining the provincial team.

Liu Junjie, flushed from the alcohol, heard the news and, as expected, erupted in shouts, his words a torrent of "That’s awesome!" and "Congratulations!"

Of course, it wasn’t just Liu Junjie. The other teammates, even those who didn’t know Huang Chong well—including the three female riders who hadn’t placed in the top ten—all raised their glasses to congratulate him. They wished him the best for the future and promised to come watch him race if they ever got the chance.

Huang Chong was touched, reminded of his university graduation party and saying goodbye to his roommates.

But parting with the team wasn’t an ending; it was a new beginning.

So he felt no sadness, only an even greater confidence in the professional path that lay ahead.