Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

Chapter 101: Chapter 91: Opening Race, Becoming a Top-Tier Domestique

That made sense. His teammate, Brother Xiaoma, had already won a bronze medal in the mass start race at the previous National Games, but he had only truly risen to prominence this current season.

According to the original timeline, he was destined to win this year’s National Road Cycling Championship. Then, while representing the National Team at the Tour of Guangxi, he would even manage a historic 8th-place finish in a single stage, right in front of World Tour sprinters.

In other words, the riders from other teams currently knew he was strong, but they were not yet aware that his sprinting ability was already truly top-tier.

The peloton quickly finished the initial urban circuit. Because the pace was so high today, the riders who had attempted to break away right from the start were soon reeled in by the main group.

What followed was an uneventful period as they all entered the Peacock Lake circuit together.

The roads around Peacock Lake were undulating. In addition, the right side of the Lake Loop road was full of winding hairpin turns and constant ups and downs, with some sections being extremely narrow.

As a result, when the stronger all-around riders began to push the pace, splits started to form in the group amidst the undulations.

By the seventh lap around the lake, the leading breakaway group had opened a gap of more than three full minutes on the peloton.

For the Hengxiang Team, apart from Huang Chong who was still with Brother Xiaoma and keeping up with the breakaway’s pace, the other four support riders were completely spent and had long since been dropped.

By the time they started the final lap around Peacock Lake, the race had entered its last 20 kilometers.

At this point, the lead group they were in was down to just twelve riders.

Just as Coach Li had predicted, Wang Ruidong of the Tianjin Team, Liu Chenglu of the Jiangsu Team, Yue Hao of the Henan Team, and a few riders from the Longjiang Team were all in this breakaway group.

The front group had established complete dominance, shattering the peloton.

After quickly completing the final lap of the Peacock Lake Loop, they headed back the way they came, preparing for the final sprint at Mang City Square.

During this time, Li Zhen of the Yunnan Team suffered a sudden mechanical failure and was dropped from the group.

Only eleven riders remained, pushing forward together. free𝑤ebnovel.com

Ever since their other four teammates had been dropped, Huang Chong had served as Brother Xiaoma’s sole lead-out rider, a fact that left Brother Xiaoma both moved and filled with admiration.

’I have to admit, his individual strength is just incredible. If he hadn’t been pulling for me, I probably would have been dropped during all those attacks.’

Xiaoma’s sprinting ability was top-tier, but his endurance over long distances and his ability to handle the constant attacks on the undulating roads were still somewhat lacking.

Without a top-tier domestique to break the wind for him, even if he managed to stay with the lead group, he wouldn’t have any energy left for the final sprint.

Fortunately, thanks to Huang Chong’s incredible lead-out for nearly forty kilometers, he successfully arrived at the 200-meter mark with the lead group, still in good condition.

The finish line arch was just ahead.

At this moment, even after more than 92 kilometers of high-intensity riding, the lead group was still able to push their speed to around 50 km/h.

And in the final 200 meters, they would need to accelerate even more, launching an all-out anaerobic sprint to decide the winner.

Waves of cheers erupted from both sides of the road.

The fans all knew that the most exciting part of the race was about to begin.

Then, as they entered the 200-meter zone, the eleven riders, already at high speed, accelerated again, surging toward the finish line like a wave.

Who would be the first to cross the finish line?

This was the question on the minds of not only the fans waiting at the finish, but also the head coach of the National Team’s road cycling program, who was squeezed into the crowd along with them.