Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

On November 21st, the Provincial Games road cycling competition officially entered its third day.

The weather today remained overcast, with a fine, needle-like rain falling.

A light mist drifted through the county, keeping visibility low.

Although the host county boasted excellent road infrastructure, the incessant rain had created deep pockets of standing water, making the roads look treacherously slick and difficult to ride.

However, the organizers had evidently taken the harsh, early-winter rainy weather into consideration, as they had pushed back the start times for the races beginning yesterday.

Just like yesterday, two mass start road races were scheduled for today.

From 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM, the Women’s Category B 40km mass start race would be held first.

Then, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM, it would be the Men’s Category A 80km mass start race.

As the only reserve rider from the provincial team, Huang Chong had no teammates. So, after the women’s race began, he was left to warm up on a stationary trainer in the hotel gym.

Meanwhile, the other six participating teams were warming up as their coaches and mentors laid out their pre-race strategies.

Among them, the most competitive was undoubtedly the Hangcheng Team.

In particular, Wang Bao and Zhou Zitong were Professional Cyclists of the same age as Huang Chong, and their skill level was incredibly close to that of a national Level 1 road cyclist.

"The race is about to start. A mass start is completely different from an ITT."

Liu Jialiang held a notebook as he instructed his three team members:

"Based on the ITT results from the day before yesterday, our biggest competitor is still Huang Chong from the provincial team.

But in a mass start, you have three riders. You can coordinate and take turns leading the pace, while he is all alone. That’s your advantage.

So, last night, I drew up two race plans:

One: If the three of you can drop Huang Chong within the first 60 kilometers by rotating the lead, then in the final 20 kilometers—that is, the last 20 kilometers on the return leg—you can compete freely among yourselves for the final general classification rankings.

Two: If you still haven’t managed to drop Huang Chong after taking turns at the front for 60 kilometers, then you must adjust your tactics on the fly.

At that point, you will have to assess each other’s condition and do your best to protect the rider who feels the strongest. He will be responsible for fighting for the win.

The other two will automatically become domestiques and help lead him through the final stretch.

Remember, while most of a mass start road race is spent in an aerobic Zone 2 effort, the worst thing on a flat course is to have no change in pace. This allows your opponents to stick to your wheel and draft, effectively turning you into their domestiques.

So, on the long, gradual climb in the last 5 kilometers of each lap, one of you three must launch an anaerobic attack—or even a series of attacks.

You all watched this year’s Tour de France, right? Do it like Vingegaard and Roglič from the Jumbo Team: take turns attacking to wear Huang Chong down.

Whatever you do, don’t let him comfortably settle into your pace and follow you all the way to the final sprint on the last lap.

I watched his ITT. That kid’s Sprinting Burst is terrifying. In those first ten-odd seconds when he kicks, he can generate at least a thousand watts.

If he manages to drag the race to a hundred-meter sprint, you’ll have a very hard time beating him. Do you all understand?"

After hearing their coach’s tactical briefing, the expressions on Wang Bao and the other two riders grew grave.

They exchanged a look before replying in unison:

"Understood, Coach!"

"Good. Now get on your bikes and get ready to go!"

...

By 11:20 AM, all 20 riders in the Men’s Category A race had gathered beneath the arch at the starting line.

While the other six teams wore their respective city team kits, Huang Chong wore a Lightning cycling kit he’d bought himself.

Riding the Lightning S-Works SL7 that Zhou Ming had given him, he looked somewhat out of place.

He was the only one decked out in full Lightning gear from head to toe, a complete contrast to the brands everyone else was using.

Of course, his bike wasn’t the best one in the field.

Many riders from the other teams had TT bikes and road bikes that were also top-tier, World Tour Team-level machines.

Bikes from brands like Pinarello, Colnago, and Trek.

Generally speaking, for the generation born after 2000, anyone sent to a sports academy or cycling school usually came from a family that wasn’t doing too badly financially.

But the phrase "one-man team" perfectly described Huang Chong.

His unique gear setup was incredibly conspicuous among the 20-man peloton.

As the ITT champion, he was even given a special honor by the organizers: a solo spot at the very front of the starting grid, right under the arch, ahead of all the other riders.

This made him attract even more attention.

Huang Chong knew very well that the gazes fixed on him—from the riders behind him, from the parents and coaches watching on the roadside—were anything but friendly.

But he didn’t care.

Because as soon as the referee’s gun fired and the race began, he made no attempt to lead. Instead, he immediately dropped to the back of the pack and started cruising in the main group, keeping his heart rate in Zone 2.

An 80-kilometer race, judged by distance alone, was not very difficult. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Especially on a course like Daping Road, with a maximum gradient of just 2.5%.

If a World Tour Team were riding this course, they could probably finish with an average speed easily exceeding 50 km/h, and they wouldn’t drop below that pace for the entire race.

In a World Tour flat stage, the peloton’s average speed is naturally pulled up to over 50 km/h.

However, race distance isn’t the only measure of difficulty.

Even in a short race, if the competitors push a high pace from the start, the difficulty can skyrocket.

After all, who can sustain an anaerobic effort for a long time?

After the first lap, riders from several teams attempted to break away, but Huang Chong remained in the main group, showing no intention of joining them.

He positioned himself firmly behind the Hangcheng Team.

In the ITT, the three riders from Hangcheng had placed just behind him. Since they were choosing to sit tight in the main group, there was no need for him to attack just yet.

They saw him as their biggest rival, and he felt the same way about them.

But as they neared the end of the second lap, Zhou Zitong of the Hangcheng Team suddenly rose from his saddle and launched an out-of-the-saddle attack.

Huang Chong was taken aback for a moment.

But then he saw Wang Bao and the other Hangcheng rider in front of him turn to look at him, their expressions clearly saying, ’You’d better go and respond to Zhou Zitong’s attack’—

Without a second thought, he decisively ignored them and continued to sit on their wheels.

’So you want to launch a solo breakaway, huh?’

’Fine. I’ll let you go!’

’Let’s just see how long you can keep that breakaway going!’

He thought to himself.

His refusal to respond to the attack completely flummoxed Wang Bao, who was determined to win by relying on the coach’s plan to exhaust Huang Chong:

’What the hell?’

’Why isn’t he responding to Zitong’s attack?’

’What are we supposed to do now?’

Meanwhile, Zhou Zitong, who had launched the solo attack, glanced back after putting in a furious out-of-the-saddle effort for several dozen meters. He saw that he had indeed broken away and even opened a gap on the main group—

But Huang Chong, the very person he expected to give chase, was completely ignoring him.

The man was still sitting on Wang Bao’s wheel, which put Zhou Zitong in a bind.

’What do I do now?’

’Why isn’t he following the script?’

’Do I keep attacking solo, or do I slow down and rejoin the group?’

And as Zhou Zitong hesitated, Huang Chong couldn’t be bothered to respond. However, riders from other teams noticed he had sat back on his saddle and slowed down. They decisively increased their pace and quickly reeled him back in.

His attack was rendered completely ineffective, and he had wasted a burst of energy for nothing.