Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

For an athlete, a position is never a guaranteed job if you can’t deliver results.

This is especially true for those on the front lines, who constantly face challenges and competition from up-and-comers.

Strictly speaking, road cycling is a group sport that has to be done outdoors. Due to the pandemic, major events had been canceled for the past two years, which meant the guys on the provincial team had it pretty easy.

But all good things must come to an end.

For instance, starting next year, they had all received notice from the China Cycling Association about reforms: a domestic road cycling league was being established in China.

The main participants would be the various provincial teams, including the country’s Intercontinental Teams.

So for these six riders—who had grown complacent for a long time—the team selection in ten days meant facing immense pressure on their careers. Although they had kept up with team training, their overall skill level had long since stagnated, or even regressed.

If they lost their official spots on the team during the selection, they would either be demoted to a regional team or forced to retire from the provincial team entirely. After that, their only hope would be to join an amateur team sponsored by a bike manufacturer.

In any case, at their average age of twenty-five or twenty-six, it would be virtually impossible to fight their way back onto a top-tier team to compete in high-level events.

This was why their mood had turned so grim after learning that Huang Chong had won two gold medals and seeing his results.

A reserve rider with such terrifying strength was clearly coming for their spots.

In fact, judging by his results, it was already a foregone conclusion.

"This Huang Chong, where on earth did the higher-ups dig him up from? I’ve never even heard of him before. We were caught completely off guard..."

After a long silence in the dorm, someone finally broke it with a complaint.

"I wouldn’t say that. He’s been at the base for a whole season. We’re the ones who never took him seriously. We just thought he was some well-connected kid who got forced into the team."

Hearing this, another rider replied with a self-deprecating laugh.

"If we’d really wanted to gauge his strength, he’s been training alongside us for ages. Did we not have the chance?"

After such a blunt, self-mocking comment, the atmosphere in the dorm grew even more oppressive.

In truth, everyone there knew the real reason, didn’t they?

They just weren’t willing to face it.

"Looks like it’s inevitable that one of our six spots will be taken. At my current level, there’s no way I can hit an average speed of 46 km/h in a 30 km ITT. I’m not even close!"

"If you ask me, instead of worrying about which one of us Huang Chong will replace, we should be more concerned about the riders coming up from the Provincial Games."

"That’s right. In ten days, we won’t just be facing the challenge from Huang Chong. If we don’t get serious about training, we might get knocked out by the riders moving up from the municipal teams, too. Then it won’t be about losing just one spot!"

With that said, a sense of urgency finally dawned on the group that had been slacking for so long. They all started making a last-ditch effort, rushing off to the training hall to practice.

「 」

After Huang Chong returned to the base, Chen Junyi only gave him a single day off.

Even though it was nearly the end of the year, he still had two very important competitions waiting for him before 2022 was over.

First, there was the team selection trial in ten days, which was mandatory.

It would determine whether he could officially become a main team member.

Second was the National Road Cycling Championship held in Changzhou at the end of December.

As a two-time gold medalist, he had to participate in that as well.

Zhang Guowei himself had specifically requested this, calling Chen Junyi the night they got back to base. He told her to strictly oversee Huang Chong’s training for the next month, permitting no relaxation or slacking.

That was why the workhorse Huang Chong only got a single day off before he had to throw himself right back into training.

With only one day off, he couldn’t be bothered to leave the base to catch up with Dewey.

So after resting at the base for one night, he went straight to the equipment management center the next day. He borrowed the provincial team’s workshop and began disassembling his two race bikes for a full overhaul.

After a high-intensity race in the rain, the equipment definitely needed maintenance.

Besides, he’d been training for over three months since joining the team and had been using his own gear the entire time without a proper, systematic service.

This was the perfect opportunity to borrow the team’s workshop and give them a major overhaul.

Of course, he had his own set of auxiliary repair tools, including a torque wrench, which he kept in his system’s storage space.

But since the provincial team had everything ready to go, he had no problem mooching off their resources.

He needed to be frugal with his own consumables, since they cost money, after all.

Especially when he considered that a provincial team this large still didn’t have a bike brand sponsor—forcing riders to use their own bikes for competitions—he felt fully justified in taking advantage of the team’s extra perks, like lubricants, grease, and disposable tires.

Soon, using the top-tier mechanic skills optimized by his system, Huang Chong had completely disassembled both bikes. He then cleaned and wiped down every component before re-greasing them.

The entire process was seamless, on par with a master mechanic with decades of experience.

"You can even fix your own bike?"

Chen Junyi had been watching Huang Chong work on his bike for a while. Seeing how focused he was, completely absorbed and oblivious to her presence, she hadn’t wanted to interrupt.

But then she noticed that Huang Chong’s assembly skills were even smoother and more fluid than the team’s professional mechanics, which surprised her.

While a bicycle’s structure isn’t overly complex, frames made primarily of carbon fiber are notoriously fragile.

Add in tasks like bleeding hydraulic lines, adjusting the shifting, and routing all the cables internally through an integrated handlebar, and it’s certainly a difficult job for the average person.

Hearing Chen Junyi’s surprise, Huang Chong just smiled and answered honestly.

"I wouldn’t call it fixing, just doing a full service.

"I’ve been riding these two bikes for a while now, and with the races in the rain the past couple of days, I was worried water might have gotten into the bearings or the bottom bracket. They could rust over time and start making noise.

"Since I have the day off, I figured I’d just strip them down for a full overhaul."

"You sound like a pro. I watched you putting the bike together, and you made it look effortless—incredibly smooth, like you were building with LEGOs. Did you study bike repair and maintenance somewhere?"

"That’s a pretty good analogy. Once you get the hang of it, building a bike really is a lot like putting LEGOs together. There isn’t much technical difficulty. I worked as a mechanic at a friend’s bike shop before joining the team, so I’m decent enough with my hands."

Huang Chong didn’t boast. Noticing the files in Chen Junyi’s hands, he figured she was here on business and asked.

"By the way, Assistant Chen, was there something you needed?"

Chen Junyi finally smiled and nodded, handing him two forms. "Yes," she explained.

"There are two forms here that you need to sign personally.

"I’ve already filled out most of the details and information for you, but you should probably look them over just to make sure everything is correct.

"If it all looks good, just sign your name in the bottom-left corner."

Huang Chong took the forms and glanced at them. There were two, each for a completely different purpose.

One was a bonus application for athletes who win gold medals at the Provincial Games.

The other was an application for certification as a National Level 1 Road Cyclist.

Huang Chong wasn’t surprised that he could apply for a provincial bonus after winning gold, but he was taken aback when he saw the second form.

’A National Level 1 Road Cyclist?’

’I’ve only been in one official competition, and I already meet the standard?’

He couldn’t help but ask Chen Junyi for confirmation.

"Do I really meet the application standard for a National Level 1 Road Cyclist?"

Hearing this, Chen Junyi smiled and nodded, her tone matter-of-fact as she replied.

"Of course! You’re a two-time gold medalist at the Provincial Games, and your time for the 30 km individual time trial was under forty minutes. You definitely meet the standards for a Level 1 Road Cyclist!"