Free Web NovelChapter 111: Chapter 96: Dual Leaders and Aerial Refueling Tactic
The only way to do that was to prove himself in actual competition.
This meant getting good results in the three-part professional league series that the association had deliberately scheduled before the Asian Championships, located in Henan on the Central Plains.
To be safe, he even had to do as Chen Junyi said and directly don the Red Jersey, which symbolized the number one spot in the general classification.
Huang Chong knew very well that Coach Han, who had come to Mang City specifically to watch him race and had personally requested his participation in the professional league, was doing this to see how he would perform when competing against foreign riders.
Only by facing any situation and any opponent without fear or surrender before the fight even began could he possibly make it onto that five-man roster.
"I understand. I’ll pack my things right away. I’ll be ready to leave with the team on time tomorrow morning."
After carefully folding the draft notice from the General Administration, Huang Chong said directly to Chen Junyi.
...
「April 20th.」
A commercial airliner carrying the core riders of the Hengxiang Team took off from an airport in Yunnan.
After passing through thick layers of clouds, it flew northeast toward Henan.
After getting off the plane, Huang Chong and the others boarded a team car that had been arranged in advance and headed for Jiyuan City.
They then checked into a local hotel. After quickly taking care of their personal affairs, they all got on their road bikes and headed to the venue for the first stage of the professional league: Jiyuan Cultural City.
They had to test ride and recon the course beforehand.
This year’s league was titled the "BDR-Blueprint Cup." As the name suggested, this was the home turf of the local Henan team, the BDR-Blueprint Continental Team.
However, all the Intercontinental Teams from across the country would participate in the professional league.
Defending their home turf wouldn’t be that easy.
Huang Chong had already learned about all the domestic participating teams and their rider rosters from information provided by Chen Junyi. His biggest rival wasn’t Huaxing, but Li Ning Star.
This was because the rider with the strongest overall ability from the Longjiang Team was on the Li Ning Star Continental Team.
At the same time, Li Ning had also signed a bunch of foreign riders this year who were formidable on flat stages.
It was safe to say that Hengxiang’s greatest rival for the entire season would be Li Ning Star.
But the Jiyuan Station was not a flat stage. The course was 151.2 km long, starting from Jiyuan Cultural City. After a flat section, it would enter Nanshan Forest Park for three laps.
The loop road in Nanshan Forest Park was full of rolling hills with difficult climbs. Coupled with the recent cold, rainy weather, this stage was completely unsuitable for sprinters who excelled on flat terrain.
After a test lap on the Nanshan Forest Park road, Huang Chong didn’t feel much pressure.
The months of intensive training in Mang City had paid off.
First, the climbs here were no more difficult than the ones in Mang City.
Second, the low temperatures and rain no longer had much of an effect on him.
All in all, this stage would once again be a showdown between the strongest all-around riders from each team.
It was worth mentioning that their team’s rider from Taiwan, Peng Yuantang, had also regained his race form after warming up at the Mang City Station.
Therefore, a hilly stage like this was also a great opportunity for him; he wasn’t purely a sprinter.
If he could coordinate well tactically with Huang Chong, they had a chance to reach the podium together.
"Tomorrow’s race is still not suitable for flat-road riders like Xiaoma and the rest of you, but it’s perfect for Huang Chong and Peng Yuantang. So, I’m planning for you two to coordinate with each other and execute a dual-commander strategy."
"Of course, with Huang Chong’s ability, he could be the sole Core Commander. But the season is long, and you’ll have to report to the National Team later, which means you’ll inevitably miss many of our team’s races."
"Therefore, I must sacrifice a bit of your commander status. I even need you to personally help Peng Yuantang find his peak race form during the competition. This way, our team will have enough commanders and personnel available for the multi-front battles ahead!"
Huang Chong had no objections to Coach Li’s dual-commander arrangement.
A team needs to have multiple lineup combinations.
This was true even for World Tour Teams.
He said bluntly,
"I have no problem with that, Coach. I’ll follow the team’s arrangements!"
Hearing this, Coach Li felt very gratified.
What he admired most about Huang Chong right now wasn’t actually his high level of competitive skill, but the fact that he was so easygoing and generous as a person.
This was actually a very rare quality.
After all, a team’s commander is usually the strongest rider, and they generally like having the entire team serve them.
Not only did Huang Chong lack this autocratic flaw, but he was even willing to make sacrifices for his teammates, which was truly exceptional.
Coach Li nodded and continued,
"Now, I’ll announce the specific tactical plan."
"I’ve already scouted the terrain and course for the Jiyuan Station. The flat road from Jiyuan Cultural City to Nanshan Forest Park is very long. There will definitely be a number of riders who attack right from the start."
"So, Peng Yuantang, you need to join the breakaway at the earliest opportunity and get to the front as much as possible."
"The riders from other teams currently see Huang Chong as their biggest rival on the path to victory."
"Breaking away early and getting into the laps in the forest park is your best option."
"Huang Chong, don’t attack too early. Let Xiaoma and the others lead you, and conserve your energy in the main group."
"When the Core Commanders from other teams enter the park laps, they will definitely try to thin out the main group on the climbs."
"So, on the second lap, you can look for an opportunity on the most difficult climb to launch a solo breakaway and push hard to catch up to Peng Yuantang, who attacked earlier."
"Once you link up with your teammate, the two of you can cooperate and execute an ’aerial refueling’ tactic."
"It will be nearly impossible for other riders to form a group and keep up with you after you launch your attack."
"Your anaerobic capacity is unmatched in the country."
"After that, by taking turns pulling, you can enter the third lap together. As long as you ride at your training pace, you’ll definitely be able to shake off all your rivals and charge toward the finish line together!"
Tactics and strategy, of course, are just a rehearsal for an ideal race scenario.
But Coach Li was indeed incredibly experienced with racing.
Just by looking at the course terrain and considering his own riders’ strengths, he could simulate a tactical plan that sounded perfectly reasonable.
A lesser coach definitely wouldn’t have been able to do that.
At least in Huang Chong’s opinion, the head coach of the Zhejiang Team, Xie Kun, would never have been able to devise such a tailored dual-commander strategy based on the specific terrain and rider characteristics.
Peng Yuantang naturally understood the good intentions behind Coach Li’s plan.
’Actually, given Huang Chong’s current level, the optimal choice for the team would be for me to serve as his domestique.’
But Coach Li was using this opportunity to help him rediscover the racing feel he had lost after so long on the sidelines in Taiwan, which moved him deeply.
’It’s a terrible feeling for a rider to be idle at home for a long time with no races to compete in.’
’Even if I’ve always maintained high-intensity training, for athletes like us who have a short career span, no one can guarantee they’ll still be at a top-tier level after a long break from competition.’
But Coach Li had not only actively signed him after the pandemic restrictions were lifted, he had also designed a commander-role strategy for him. This was undoubtedly a huge vote of confidence.
So, after hearing the tactical briefing, Peng Yuantang nodded firmly. ’I have to give it my all tomorrow and perform at my best,’ he thought.
And as it turned out, after the warm-up at the Mang City Station and the high-intensity climbing training he usually did with Huang Chong, he had now almost completely regained his race form.
After the race officially started and the first few kilometers of ceremonial riding were over, he joined the first group of riders initiating a breakaway and shot out from the main group.
He then successfully dropped all the other riders in the breakaway group and entered the first lap of Nanshan Forest Park solo.
As this was a professional league, the team’s support cars were allowed to follow the riders onto the course.
The coaching staff could also communicate with the riders via radio.
When Peng Yuantang had finished his first lap and was a good distance into his second, Coach Li informed him that he had opened a gap of nearly a minute and a half on the main group containing Huang Chong.
For Huang Chong, who was about to start his second lap, this time gap was the perfect window to make a move.
It was not only enough time for Huang Chong to completely drop his rivals on the difficult climb, but once he caught up to Peng Yuantang, they could execute the "aerial refueling" tactic the coach had planned, shake everyone off, and enter a two-man breakaway mode.
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