Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

After Huang Chong shot across the finish line in first place, the race was still going on.

But what happened after that no longer concerned him.

Overall, today’s race had been incredibly difficult.

This wasn’t due to the difficulty of the course itself, but rather the harsh weather that came with the onset of winter.

The rain was relentless, and erratic, wicked winds blew haphazardly. Even for someone like him, his average speed was only about 42 km/h, and his finish time was a long 1:54:28.

"Director Zhang, congratulations! Your people really are something else. This young Road Cyclist, Huang Chong, has a limitless future!"

After the race ended and the last cyclist crossed the line, Liu Jialiang finished consoling his team members before walking over to Zhang Guowei with a smile to offer his congratulations.

Among his team members, Wang Bao and Zhou Zitong hadn’t disappointed him, still finishing second and third. This was a result he had anticipated.

Zhang Guowei watched Huang Chong on the podium during the award ceremony and waved his hand with a smile.

Although their administrative ranks were vastly different, they were close in private and could be considered old acquaintances.

Zhang Guowei’s expression was calm, a picture of composure, but his tone held an irrepressible hint of pride as he replied:

"This kid really is exceptionally talented. He was born to be a great Road Cyclist!"

After a pause, he added:

"But Old Liu, the members you brought to compete this time also performed well, completely exceeding my expectations.

Especially Wang Bao and Zhou Zitong from the Men’s Group A. I glanced at their finish times, and they’ve basically reached the standard for Level 1 athletes.

After the competition, have them go through some intensive training. They absolutely cannot slack off in the coming period.

In ten days, the team will hold its annual assessment and selection for official members. With the results they’ve achieved this time, they already meet the criteria to participate in the provincial team selections. I hope they can all join the provincial team!"

Liu Jialiang had been waiting for those exact words.

Although his trainees were far behind Huang Chong in terms of strength, not even in the same league.

So much so that the tactics he had planned in advance had become useless decorations, a complete waste of effort.

But setting aside a monstrously talented rider like Huang Chong, Wang Bao and Zhou Zitong were still top-tier cyclists for their age group in the country, or rather, among the U23s.

Take Wang Bao, for example. His average speed in the mass start race also reached about 40 km/h.

Although his total time was a full six minutes behind Huang Chong’s, and he cried right after finishing, it was still the best result that any of the young riders from their province could achieve.

As long as he gets to train with the provincial team and improve his competitive level, it’s not impossible for him to join the National Team or an Intercontinental Team in the future and become a top-tier athlete.

"Director Zhang, I understand. I’ll continue to supervise and intensify their training when we get back. I won’t let them slack off in the slightest!"

Liu Jialiang replied with a smile, then also turned his gaze to the podium, where Huang Chong stood with another gold medal around his neck, holding flowers and a champion’s certificate. His heart was filled with nothing but envy.

Setting aside their rivalry, he naturally admired Huang Chong a great deal.

’If I could ever coach a talented rider like him, I’d probably wake up laughing from my dreams, wouldn’t I?’

Road cycling was certainly still a niche sport in the country. But no matter how obscure the sport, if a cyclist could break onto the international stage and achieve great results, it would be a groundbreaking achievement.

Colombia was a perfect example. Because they produced Nairo Jintana, the entire country’s level of cycling then took a quantum leap forward.

Unfortunately, the Huang Chong who had so easily swept both gold medals in the Men’s Group A with completely unstoppable momentum was not a disciple he had taught.

...

After receiving his award, Huang Chong returned to the hotel under Chen Junyi’s meticulous care to wash up, change his clothes, and eat.

Afterwards, he packed his things, ready to return to the base in Hangcheng.

The two individual events for Men’s Group A were now over.

He wouldn’t be participating in the team ITT on the final day tomorrow.

So there was no reason to stay at the hotel in the county and waste the organization’s travel allowance. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Before they left, Chen Junyi’s girlish side came out, and she insisted on dragging him to the arch at the starting line to take a photo with both gold medals as a memento.

Huang Chong, in truth, didn’t feel much about winning two golds in his first official competition. ’After all, this is just the beginning!’

It was just a provincial games, yet she was over the moon—

’When I win the Tour de France, won’t she cry tears of joy?’

’Hmm, but by the time I win the Tour de France, she’ll probably be busy with her own career. Who knows where she’ll be working in the future!’

Huang Chong watched Chen Junyi, who was so close, taking out the two gold medals to hang around his neck. He could even smell the faint scent of shampoo from her hair.

He didn’t really think she would remain his nutritionist and Data Analyst forever.

After all, a high-level professional like her was highly sought after within the system. If she were to become a Data Analyst for any mainstream sport in the future, her prospects would be just as limitless.

So, after coaching him until the end of the year, she probably wouldn’t stay at the cycling sports management center.

And he himself would definitely be joining an Intercontinental Team next year; it would be impossible for her to transfer with him.

The Intercontinental Teams in China were generally not well-funded and simply couldn’t afford her salary.

The thought of this made Huang Chong genuinely reluctant to part ways.

’After all, finding such a good, dedicated coach is a once-in-a-lifetime blessing. Where would I ever find another one?’

But this wasn’t something he could meddle in. The arrangement of positions on the provincial team was either up to her or the organization to decide—in any case, it wasn’t up to him.

"Don’t hang both medals on my neck, Assistant Chen. You deserve at least 80% of the credit for me winning these two golds. I was just responsible for getting on the bike and finishing the race as required.

Come on, you wear one. There are two gold medals anyway, one for each of us. It’s perfect!

Do you want the ITT gold medal or the mass start race gold medal? Pick one!"

Hearing Huang Chong say this, Chen Junyi beamed at him with a wide grin, truly giving off the feeling of a little human sun.

She usually joined the team for daily training, and her workout load was not light.

You could say she was half an athlete herself, brimming with energy and vitality.

She thought for a moment before saying with a smile:

"Then I’ll take the mass start gold. The ITT is too specialized, and I can’t ride that bike. If I were to cycle in the future, I’d definitely ride a road bike for mass starts."

Without a word, Huang Chong immediately nodded, took the mass start gold medal from his own neck, and hung it around Chen Junyi’s neck as if it were a necklace.

Then, they went to the arch, wearing matching tracksuits, and asked a staff member on site to help them take a photo together. Only then did Chen Junyi drive them back to the Hangcheng base in the logistics support vehicle.

However, Huang Chong uploaded this photo to his Moments on his own phone—a small way to show off his achievement!

What he didn’t know was that as soon as he uploaded the photo, his comment section exploded.

His university roommates and friends began to leave a flood of comments:

[Roommate Jiang Qi: HOLY CRAP! What is this? Bro Huang, you went and competed in a road cycling race? What race is this? You actually won a gold medal? So sick! 666]

[Roommate Zhang Zhihao replied to Jiang Qi: Old Jiang, doesn’t the arch have the race info on it? The 17th Provincial Games Road Cycling Competition—Holy shit, the Provincial Games? Bro Huang, what’s going on?]

[Dewey replied to Zhang Zhihao: You idiot, Old Zhang. To be honest, Huang Chong joined the provincial team a while ago. He’s a professional Road Cyclist now.]

After replying to Zhang Zhihao, Dewey left another separate comment:

[Bro, you crushed it! You actually got both golds!!! When you get a break, your big bro here will throw a party to celebrate. I’m sending the news to Zhou Ming first. I’m definitely going to roast that kid hard this time.]

[Roommate Ye Sheng: Hey guys, are your priorities a little skewed? Did none of you see the beauty standing next to Bro Huang? That can’t be his girlfriend, can it? She’s so pretty ●♡∀♡]

[Dewey replied to Ye Sheng: Not his girlfriend. That’s his coach. He mentioned her to me before, but this is the first time I’ve seen her in person. She is really pretty.]

[Ye Sheng replied to Dewey: Not his girlfriend? That’s great! Doesn’t that mean I still have a chance? ●♡∀♡]

[Jiang Qi replied to Ye Sheng: ◔̯◔]

[Zhang Zhihao replied to Ye Sheng: ◔̯◔]

...

And besides the comments from his university roommates, in Huang Chong’s own friends list, there was Li Zifan, the one who had taught him mountain bike Car Control Techniques. He was slacking off at work, scrolling through his Moments, when he came across the post.

He immediately shot up from his lounge chair and started typing a comment:

[Holy moly, bro, you actually won gold in a road cycling event at the Provincial Games? Congrats, congrats!]

[But then again, it looks like you’re just like everyone else, preferring road bikes. Tsk, tsk. And to think I spent so much energy teaching you mountain bike skills. How heartbreaking.]

Besides Li Zifan, far away in his hometown of Xianyun County, Huang Lingshan, who was still a high school senior, was secretly scrolling on her phone during class. She suddenly saw that her cousin had won a gold medal at the Provincial Games, and her big eyes nearly popped out of her head.

’What am I seeing?’

’Isn’t that my cousin? How did he get so thin?’

’A Provincial Games gold medal in road cycling? Holy cow, my cousin’s an athlete now?’

So after school, she hopped on her little electric scooter and rushed nonstop toward Huang Chong’s house. The moment she burst through the door, she yelled:

"Uncle, Auntie, bad news! My cousin’s got a girlfriend!!"