Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

November 19, 2022. The road cycling competition at the Provincial Games.

The weather conditions were deplorable—a hazy mist hung in the air, accompanied by a fine, wind-swept rain.

On a rainy day after the start of winter, the low temperatures and high humidity made the race significantly more difficult.

Furthermore, the race was scheduled for the morning, running from 7:00 AM until 12:30 PM.

On the first day of competition, all events were ITT, or Individual Time Trials. The order was Women’s Group B, Men’s Group B, Women’s Group A, and Men’s Group A.

Huang Chong was in the last group, Men’s Group A, racing a 30-kilometer course. As the very last to start, he was set to be the finale, beginning his race around noon.

The Group B competitors, who raced first, were all high school students, so he saw no need to head to the site and brave the cold just to watch them.

And while there were pretty girls to watch in Women’s Group A, he wasn’t in the mood for that.

So he waited until the Men’s Group A race began. At 11:00 AM, he finally left his local hotel for the venue. There, he got on a stationary trainer and began to warm up while watching the real-time results of the other racers in his group.

Chen Junyi, of course, was with him the entire time. At one point, she went to find the head of the entire road cycling event, Zhang Guowei. After a brief discussion, she secured his permission to follow Huang Chong in a car for the entire race, relaying information to him via radio.

Since there were no other racers after Huang Chong—he was the last competitor of the day—there was no risk of interfering with anyone else.

"Director Zhang gave me special permission to follow you in the car. I’ll be reporting the split times and average speeds of the top three racers in your group. You just focus on your own pace and, most importantly, don’t get nervous."

Huang Chong was on the stationary trainer, warming up his body in Zone 1. He already knew there were only 20 competitors in the Men’s Group A race this time.

The race was now past its halfway point. Among the first ten cyclists to finish, the fastest average speed was a mere 37 km/h, with a finishing time as long as 48 minutes.

He felt absolutely no pressure from this "best" time.

He could beat that speed even on a standard road bike.

Of course, the other cyclists’ mediocre results were a direct consequence of the terrible weather and slick roads.

Road bike tires are inherently thin. To maximize speed and minimize friction, manufacturers design them with very smooth treads.

The roads were now covered in standing water, with large puddles forming in the low-lying areas. If a rider didn’t slow down for the turns, it would be incredibly easy to skid and crash.

Throughout the morning’s races, quite a few cyclists had already failed to slow down in time for the corners, resulting in crashes.

While none of the falls were serious—just some torn kits and scraped skin—they served as a stark warning to the riders who had yet to start.

"Don’t worry, Assistant Chen. I’m not nervous. I’ll just ride my race and perform at my usual level. That’s all I need to do."

Huang Chong was still in a relaxed state of mind. ’These opponents are all young,’ he thought. ’Not a big deal.’

"Okay, but the weather is awful today and the road conditions are poor. You have to ride conservatively through the corners. It’s okay to be a little slower. Safety first.

A lot of riders have already crashed. You can go all out on the straights; I’ll be monitoring your overall average speed for each segment.

But you must slow down for the corners. Especially after the 20-kilometer mark, there’s a 180-degree hairpin turn. Don’t try to take that big corner at the limit.

The organizers have set up a time check every 10 kilometers anyway. I can isolate and exclude the few seconds you spend in the corner when I do my calculations."

Huang Chong looked at Chen Junyi. She was so meticulous in her work, attending to every little detail, and was even more patient with him than his own mother. He couldn’t help but feel touched.

’For two strangers who just met to reach this level of rapport in such a short time,’ he thought, ’she must have an incredibly strong work ethic.’

In this regard, Huang Chong truly admired Chen Junyi.

’Then again, it’s probably just part of her job. Her responsibility is to precisely capture every one of my data points, take them back for analysis, and help me improve my cycling performance.’ 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Because of this, Huang Chong couldn’t say much more, nor could he say anything personal or unnecessary. He simply nodded and said earnestly,

"Okay, I understand!"

...

Soon, as the fifth-to-last racer in Men’s Group A began, the first day of competition entered its final stretch.

The time was now around 11:45 AM.

According to the schedule, Huang Chong was set to start at 12:00 PM sharp. Once he crossed the finish line, the first day of competition would officially be over.

As the last few racers took to the course, the finishing times progressively improved.

The fastest average speed had now reached 40 km/h, with a time of around 45 minutes.

Huang Chong glanced at the last three cyclists about to start. They were all wearing matching kits, clearly from the same cycling club or sports academy.

He could even overhear a nearby coach giving the three of them a pep talk:

"You three just ride the way you do in training. The cyclists before you have all started. It’s just the three of you left, plus one reserve rider from the provincial team.

Based on your usual times, as long as you have a normal race, your results will be better than those who went before you, regardless of how that last reserve rider does.

So, your biggest opponent is yourselves.

If you finish the race safely, at least two of you will win a medal.

If that reserve rider from the provincial team turns out to be mediocre, you might even sweep the podium.

You have to relax and just do your best.

Remember, a top-three finish gives you a shot at the provincial team, to try out for a spot as an official member.

You’ve trained with me for years. The opportunity is right in front of you, but whether you can seize it is up to you. This is as far as I can take you. Do you all understand?"

"Understood, Coach!"

"Good. Now get ready to go!"

...

He got an earful of their coach’s pep talk.

Normally, Huang Chong would have found those words completely meaningless.

But now, standing at the venue and about to start his own race, he realized that having someone show concern, offer encouragement, and help you get in the right headspace was actually quite helpful.

Chen Junyi had obviously overheard the neighboring coach and his athletes as well. She patted Huang Chong’s shoulder, revealing her two signature dimples as she smiled and offered her own encouragement:

"You got this! Just race against yourself!"

Seeing this, Huang Chong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’Chen Junyi is still a young person around my age, after all,’ he thought. ’Her professional skills are undeniable, but when it comes to worldly wisdom and giving pep talks, she’s still a novice.’

’I mean, come on, copying someone else’s speech right after hearing it?’

Huang Chong couldn’t resist teasing her.

"Assistant Chen, thanks for the motivation," he said, "but compared to that rich old hen’s soup from next door, isn’t your chicken soup a little... bland? I don’t think you added any salt!"

Chen Junyi could, of course, tell Huang Chong was teasing her, especially since he had deliberately lowered his voice.

She had indeed been worried that the coach next door would overhear her plagiarizing his encouragement, so she shot Huang Chong a glare, her face flushing slightly, and retorted:

"It seems you’re really not nervous if you still have the energy to joke with me.

Alright, that’s enough. Focus. Get your head in the race.

You’re about to start!"

Hearing this, Huang Chong immediately stopped joking. Three minutes after the last of the three neighboring cyclists had started, he mounted the Lightning TT Bike that Dewey had given him. At precisely 12:00 PM, he shot out from under the square arch at the starting line.

The moment he rode onto the course, system text materialized before him:

[Host detected competing in first career ITT race. Please strive for a top-ten finish. The Basic Optimization Value reward will be distributed based on final overall ranking. You have received: Anti-Cold Heart and Lung Adaptation Pills x1.]

...