Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

BANG!

The referee’s starting pistol fired.

As a wisp of smoke drifted through the air, the third day of the National Road Cycling Championships officially began, right on time at 9:00 AM.

The pack of riders shot forward.

The weather had been holding steady for the past few days, with a warm sun hanging in a vast, cloudless sky.

Since it was deep winter, daylight hours were limited. With both the Men’s Elite and Men’s Youth road races scheduled for today, the event organizers decided not to run them separately.

Both groups started at the same time under the archway at the starting line, making the field look particularly large with over forty riders in total.

However, the Youth group race was only 100km, finishing early after five laps around the scenic area, while the Elite group had to complete 180km, which required nine laps.

After the start, Huang Chong stuck close behind Wang Bao. They settled into the main group, and he began his Zone 2 aerobic ride.

The main group’s initial average speed was around 40 km/h. For him now, drafting at this speed was basically just a warm-up.

Of course, this pace was just a warm-up for the other riders as well.

However, you could see that many of the riders who, like him, had been competing for three consecutive days were showing clear signs of fatigue on their faces, in their physical reactions, and in their riding posture.

A 180km road race was considered a fairly long course in the country. Combined with the back-to-back race days, the riders were bound to be tired.

Fortunately, after finishing the 100km TTT yesterday, Huang Chong hadn’t just let his body recover on its own. He had secretly eaten a recovery Energy Bar to help himself recuperate.

As a result, on this third day of competition, he was still full of energy, as if it were his first day racing. His condition was back to one hundred percent.

Soon, after two warm-up laps, the pace of the main group, which had been relatively constant, began to change. A rider was the first to attempt a breakaway.

In a way, this kind of mixed-group race actually increased the difficulty.

Since no one was familiar with everyone else’s faces, it was easy to mistake a rider’s age and group just by looking at their back, especially when they were wearing similar kits.

For instance, Huang Chong misjudged. Thinking a rider from the Longjiang Team had made an early breakaway, he quickly put in a burst of power to follow.

But when he caught up, he realized it was just one of the Longjiang Team’s youth riders—

And so, his complete blunder triggered a chain reaction, throwing the entire main group into a panic.

First, Liu Yunyou of the Hong Kong Team, led by his domestique, immediately gave chase to prevent him from breaking away for good.

At the same time, the three riders from the Longjiang Team’s Elite group reacted just as quickly, and were soon right behind him.

Seeing that riders from the Hong Kong and Longjiang Teams had all given chase, how could the two riders from the Shanghai Team be content to just cruise in the main group?

They quickly put the hammer down and chased as well!

Only Wang Bao remained, clueless and unresponsive, still cruising in the main group.

Because at that moment, he was thinking:

’This isn’t right.’

’According to the coach’s strategy, weren’t we supposed to cruise in the main group for a while?’

’Why did Huang Chong attack so early?’

’Did the coach give us a new strategy for today?’

’But he didn’t tell me anything before the race—’

Finally, after a moment’s hesitation, Wang Bao realized that all the main contenders had joined the breakaway group. After some thought, he could only grit his teeth, put in a few hard pedal strokes, and chase down the breakaway group ahead.

After catching up to Huang Chong, he quickly asked:

"Huang Chong, why did you break away so early? Weren’t we supposed to have me lead you out in the group first?"

Hearing Wang Bao’s question, Huang Chong glanced at the breakaway group, which now contained nearly all the top contenders because of his mistake, and rubbed his nose in embarrassment.

He really hadn’t expected to have this much influence.

It was like a single stone setting off a thousand ripples.

He’d only made a small, mistaken breakaway attempt, and the race was only on its third lap. Yet it had caused all three of the top contending teams to react so sensitively and mark him so tightly.

’These guys really are taking me seriously.’

’After all, no matter how strong I am, there’s no way I could sustain a breakaway for 140km—’

However, this unintentional probe had given Huang Chong a better sense of the situation.

It seemed his victory in the ITT on the first day had already put the other teams on high alert.

Things seemed calm on the surface, but a fierce undercurrent was flowing.

There was no need to lie to Wang Bao, so he answered truthfully:

"Uh, would you believe me if I said I just made a mistake?

I thought a rider from the Longjiang Team had broken away early, so I chased to check it out.

Turns out he was a young rider from the Longjiang Team’s Youth group—"

Hearing this, Wang Bao was speechless.

’Good grief, so the strategy didn’t change. It was a total blunder!’

But seeing that all the top riders were now in the breakaway group, he thought for a moment, then couldn’t help but lower his voice and say to Huang Chong:

"Even though you messed up, judging by the reactions of the other teams’ riders, today’s race is going to be tough.

They’re extremely wary of you. It’s probably impossible for you to get away in a breakaway now.

It’s obvious they’re all marking you!"

Huang Chong had, of course, noticed this as well. He could only sigh quietly and reply:

"Sigh, tell me about it. The Longjiang Team is the undisputed powerhouse of this competition, so why are they all marking me!

I only won one ITT championship, but the Longjiang Team has already swept up five gold medals—

If they’re going to be defensive, they should be watching the Longjiang Team’s riders!"

However, what he didn’t know was that while he was complaining to Wang Bao, the three Longjiang Team riders were currently analyzing the intention behind his recent breakaway.

According to their normal strategy, the three riders from their Elite group would not have broken away this early.

At least, not on the third lap.

Because last night, the coach had told them to have a youth rider break away first on the third lap.

Their Elite group would then start to increase the pace on the fourth lap, stretching out the main group in the process.

Then, on the fifth lap, one rider from the Elite group would launch a solo attack, catch up to the breakaway group ahead, and provide a lead-out and pull for the youth rider.

They needed to ensure their youth rider could secure a gold medal first.

Since the race organizers had the different groups start together, it was within the rules for an Elite rider to assist a youth rider.

There was no way they would pass up an opportunity to exploit this loophole.

The Longjiang Team was strong to begin with; today, they were definitely aiming to bring home two gold medals.

Without a doubt, it was a stunning and brilliant tactical arrangement.

The reason the Longjiang Team was so strong wasn’t just because of their skilled riders; their coach was also farsighted and meticulous in his tactical planning.

Xie Kun, at least, would never have thought that with two groups starting at the same time, you could have an Elite rider help a youth rider by giving them a lead-out and a pull.

Of course, with the race only on its third lap, Huang Chong’s mistaken breakaway had completely disrupted the Longjiang Team’s plan.

Huang Chong was the one they had to mark closely. The coach had given them strict orders on this: they absolutely could not let him get away in a solo break, lest the gap grow too large.

So, the young rider from the Longjiang Team was completely baffled.

According to the coach’s analysis, if he broke away first, it wouldn’t provoke a reaction from the Elite group. At most, a few youth riders from other teams might give chase.

But as long as he could hold on for the next two laps, one of the big bros from the Elite group would come up and give him a pull and a lead-out on the final lap.

But he never expected that right after he broke away, the ITT champion from the Zhejiang Team’s Elite group would chase after him like he was shot out of a cannon.

’What the hell is this?’

’We’re not even in the same group. The race requirements are different.’

’Why is a guy who has to ride nine laps chasing me, a guy who only has to ride five?’

’Does he have nothing better to do?’

And now, because of Huang Chong’s pursuit, nearly every strong rider in the race had ended up in the breakaway group.

So what was the point of his breakaway?!

Of course, although the young Longjiang Team rider was very dissatisfied, he certainly wouldn’t dare to say these things to Huang Chong’s face. That would be far too impolite.

He could only turn to his three "big bro" teammates with a wry smile and ask:

"Hey guys, what’s going on? Why are all of you up here?

Doesn’t that mean I broke away for nothing?

So is this leading group the main group now, or is it the second group behind us?"

Hearing this question, the front-line riders of the Longjiang Team felt helpless as well.

They had come up to respond to Huang Chong’s attack, not to mess with their own "little bro."

One of them thought for a moment and could only say:

"We had no choice. That Huang Chong from the Zhejiang Team was chasing you, so we had to follow him to keep him from getting away."

"So what do I do now? Just ride behind you guys, or should I rest up and try to break away again?"

The young rider’s face was full of frustration. He turned his head and glanced at Huang Chong, who was in the same group but drafting and cruising on the other side, and added:

"I really don’t get it, man. Why is he chasing me?

Is he sick in the head or something? We’re not even in the same category!

If he beats me on the fifth lap, does he get sprint points or what?

This is ridiculous!"

It was no wonder the young rider was complaining. In their current lead group, the Zhejiang Team’s youth riders hadn’t caught up at all.

They didn’t have the ability to catch up, either.

In fact, they were already struggling just to stay with the second group behind them.

If Huang Chong’s strategy was the same as the Longjiang Team’s—chasing him for the sake of his own youth riders—then it would be understandable.

But the problem was, the Zhejiang Team’s youth riders were too weak; they weren’t on the same level as him at all.

So it was impossible that Huang Chong was targeting him for the sake of his own youth teammates. Instead, it felt more like he was intentionally trying to mess with him.

The three riders from the Longjiang Team’s Elite group also couldn’t figure out Huang Chong’s intentions. But they were very experienced racers. After a brief discussion, they gave their little bro a new strategy, saying:

"Forget what that kid is chasing you for. Your job is to drop the other riders in your group from the other teams.

Rest up for a bit, then break away again.

The three of us will ride at the front of the pack and control the pace, keeping it as low as possible. Once you’ve built up a big enough lead, we’ll pick up the speed again.

When the fifth lap comes, one of us will still break out to give you a pull, ensuring you can take the gold medal for the Youth group!"

Hearing his big bro say this, the young rider immediately felt much more at ease and quickly said:

"Alright, guys! I’ll take a quick rest and then start my second breakaway!"