Free Web NovelChapter 109: Chapter 95: Selected for the National Team, Leadership Demands a Switch to the Professional League
Although Huang Chong had only joined his team a few short months ago and was already at a national champion level before he even arrived, Coach Li didn’t hesitate for a second now that the country was calling. He readily replied:
"Don’t worry, Coach Han. It’s an honor for Huang Chong that you recognize his abilities.
As it happens, our team’s Xiaoma is also a member of the National Team.
Whenever you need them to compete for the country, they will always be at your disposal and follow your arrangements!"
"Mm, that couldn’t be better!"
Coach Han nodded in satisfaction upon hearing the reply, then added:
"By the way, before the Asian Championships begin, besides the Tongren Station of the domestic league, the first three stages of the new professional league the association established this year will also be starting one after another.
They’re all located in Henan, scheduled from late April to early May.
Remember to add Huang Chong to the team’s roster for these races.
This is both to keep him in competitive form and to let him go head-to-head with the foreign riders hired by the major Intercontinental Teams.
This year’s Asian Championships will be packed with elite riders. If he can compete against riders from Europe early on, it will help him prepare mentally!"
Hearing Coach Han’s arrangements, Coach Li still had no objections and simply smiled, saying:
"Okay, Coach Han. I’ll inform Huang Chong right away!"
...
After they finished their official discussion, Coach Han chatted with Coach Li for a few more minutes before hurriedly taking his leave.
He had come this time to convey his intentions personally; the official documents would be sent down from the association to the Zhejiang Team and their own team later.
Coach Li returned to the dinner table but didn’t rush to talk to Huang Chong. Instead, after the meal was finished, he called him into his office alone and relayed Coach Han’s words in detail:
"So, that’s the situation.
Since the higher-ups came in person and specifically requested that you participate in the professional league, I couldn’t refuse.
So, take a look at the professional league’s schedule. If there are any conflicts with your original personal race plan, do your best to make adjustments.
The leadership’s decision is final on this!"
Of course, Huang Chong had long known that the association had added a new professional road cycling league this year, positioned above the domestic league.
The difference between this so-called professional league and the domestic league was that only domestic riders registered with the UCI were allowed to participate.
Ordinary provincial and municipal teams, amateur teams, clubs, and the like were not eligible to enter.
Additionally, the professional league had four wildcard slots, specifically reserved for the top four provincial or municipal teams from the previous year’s domestic league based on total points.
In other words, the main participants in the professional league were actually all of the country’s Intercontinental Teams—fifteen in total.
It was worth noting that the professional league allowed the Intercontinental Teams’ foreign riders to compete as well.
The country’s top riders were, of course, all registered with the UCI and had mostly joined the major Intercontinental Teams, so the professional league was definitely a higher level of competition than the domestic league.
However, when Huang Chong had first seen the schedule at the Shanghai Headquarters, he hadn’t planned on participating in the professional league.
It wasn’t because he was intimidated by the foreign riders or feared his chances of winning would decrease, but because the competition rules for the professional league were completely different from the domestic league.
The professional league consisted of seven races over the year. Except for the Wenzhou Leqing Station, which had two race days, all the others were one-day races, and they were all road race mass starts.
But it was organized in the style of a World Tour multi-day stage race.
The association not only established four colored leader’s jerseys, but also stipulated that once a rider entered the league, they could not withdraw early unless there were objective reasons like an accident or illness. They were required to compete in all the races.
This was because the overall results of the seven races were not independent of each other; they were cumulative.
A rider’s total time would be carried over and accumulated after each race, all the way to the final, to determine the overall annual champion.
This was basically equivalent to the association taking a week-long World Tour race, splitting it into eight race days, and spreading them out over the entire year.
For Huang Chong, this was undoubtedly a bit too rigid.
After all, the domestic league’s individual races had no rule requiring riders to participate in every single one.
For example, after competing in the Mang City Station in a few days, he could choose to skip all the subsequent races if he wanted.
It depended entirely on his personal racing needs.
And his main focus for this year’s competitions was entirely on the several upcoming UCI-organized Pro Level events to be held in the country.
’Being forced to frantically participate in domestic races and constantly battle it out with local riders was definitely not what I wanted.’
Of course, while the professional league had many rules and high requirements, the rewards were certainly better than in the domestic league.
For a total of eight race days, the association had set a total prize pool of one million yuan.
If a rider could win every single race, they could earn three to four hundred thousand yuan over the year.
And for domestic teams, most of the prize money went to the rider personally.
Only a small portion would be collected by the team for its general fund, used for extra bonuses to reward and thank the support riders and the entire logistics staff.
Hearing what Coach Li said, Huang Chong knew he had no power to refuse participation in the professional league.
’Looks like I’m destined to be a workhorse,’ he thought.
After all, to participate in the UCI-sanctioned tours, he needed to do it as a member of the National Team, so he had no choice but to accept.
Fortunately, after reviewing the schedule, he found that the association’s planning for the professional league was truly meticulous—none of the races conflicted with any other major events.
This was unlike the domestic league’s races, which always seemed to conflict with either UCI events or other major international or national competitions.
The professional league schedule was as follows:
First Stage: Henan Jiyuan, held on April 21st.
Second Stage: Henan Luoning, held on April 28th.
Third Stage: Henan Puyang, held on May 7th.
Fourth Stage: Wenzhou Leqing, held on July 1st-2nd.
Fifth Stage: Tianjin Tuanbo Lake, held on August 13th.
Sixth Stage: Anhui Shitai, held on October 21st.
Finals: Yunnan Xichou, held on October 29th.
’Looks like I can start packing my bags,’ he thought. ’I’m about to go flying against the wind across the Central Plains.’
"Coach Li, I have no objections. I’ll follow the leadership’s arrangements!"
Huang Chong nodded, showing no signs of dissatisfaction.
Besides, his teammates Brother Xiaoma, Peng Yuantang, and Hou Dongyi were all going to participate in the professional league anyway.
The Mang City Station was just a warm-up for the team; they likely wouldn’t be participating in the subsequent domestic league races.
"Alright. Since you have no objections, then prepare well. We still have some time, so we’ll continue training here in Mang City. When the race dates get closer, we’ll all go over there together to familiarize ourselves with the course ahead of time."
Coach Li patted Huang Chong’s shoulder, thought for a moment, and then added with deep admiration:
"Keep up the great work, Huang Chong. Your potential is the most outstanding I’ve seen in all my years.
The higher-ups, too—they watched your entire race this morning and think you’re a great talent worth cultivating.
That’s why he was in such a hurry to come talk to me, wanting to recruit you for the National Team at the first opportunity.
He holds you in high regard.
In fact, pretty much every leader involved with road cycling in the country now knows about your achievements.
With everyone having such high hopes for you, this is both pressure and motivation.
So you have to make us proud, break new ground for our country in this sport, and strive to fill the void we have in our international competition results!"
Huang Chong truly felt the selflessness and weight behind Coach Li’s words.
In truth, Coach Li was the real pioneer of road cycling in the country, while he himself was more of a successor carrying on the legacy.
Given the poor conditions back then, Coach Li never even had the chance to fully showcase his own talent, and his achievements in international competitions were therefore quite limited. But without the efforts of predecessors like him, there would be no path for the younger generation to follow.
Huang Chong nodded and said:
"I understand, Coach Li. I’ll take every day of training seriously, and I’ll give my all in every single race!"
