Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

Chapter 120: Chapter 101: The 5cm That Decides Direct Olympic Qualification

"My God, the Japanese Team’s ace rider, a three-time Olympian, Arashiro Yukiya has been dropped!"

"After the two world-class riders from Kazakhstan launched a joint attack, he survived the short, steep 11.5% climb. But time is unforgiving to any athlete, and as they hit the subsequent series of climbs, the energy in his body finally hit its limit!"

"Can he catch back on?"

...

"Oh, dammit, can someone tell me where this Chinese rider came from? He actually managed to stick with the attack from the two world-class riders from Kazakhstan?!"

"Steve, I just pulled up the official UCI site and specifically looked up this Chinese rider’s profile. The results are... interesting."

"Oh, Jimmy, don’t play guessing games when the race has reached such a fever pitch! Hurry up and give all the fans watching this race live the info on this Chinese rider. I think everyone is dying to know who on earth he is!"

"Alright, Steve, I have to admit, even after scouring the entire internet, I could only find bits and pieces on this Chinese rider. He just joined China’s Hengxiang Continental Team six months ago, but in that half-year, he has never participated in a single professional race under the UCI, not even a Class 2 level race."

"What did you say? He’s never participated in a UCI-sanctioned event? How is that possible? So, does that mean his current UCI rider points are—?"

"Yes, you guessed it. Zero. He’s a complete rookie!"

"Oh, my God, what a risky and bold choice!"

On the Eurosport cycling channel, Steve, the host for the Asian Championships live broadcast, was more than just amazed after hearing the information his colleague provided about Huang Chong. He was almost speechless. He couldn’t help but exclaim:

"I never would have thought that the Chinese—who we in the West have always seen as conservative and traditional—would be so incredibly aggressive with their team selection this time, daring to start a rookie who’s never been tested in a UCI Level event!"

"I agree with you, but with the race as it is now, it seems their choice wasn’t wrong. Their top riders, like Ma Binyan and Niu Yikui, have already been left far behind and are still losing ground. Only this rider, Huang Chong, is still latched on to the World Tour Cyclists from the Astana Pro Team. It’s truly—unbelievable!!"

"That may be, but his situation right now is far from optimistic. There are still a long 50 kilometers left to the finish line. I think this next stretch will be the most difficult 50 kilometers he has ever faced since the first time he got on a road bike!!"

"You’re right, but I’m looking forward to him pulling off a miracle in this race. I’ve always been a fan of underdog stories—that’s the real charm of competitive sports. So, I hope that in the remainder of this race, he doesn’t get torn apart by the two world-class riders from Kazakhstan like the Japanese Team’s Arashiro Yukiya was—"

...

Watching the live broadcast online, Coach Han and Chen Junyi were both staring intently at the real-time race footage.

Their English was excellent, so they naturally understood everything the two Eurosport commentators were saying.

To be honest, they had no objections to the commentators’ analysis.

Because the reality was just as they described: Huang Chong’s current situation was far from optimistic.

Although he had managed to stick with the two Kazakhstan riders through all the difficult climbs in the first 100 kilometers of the race, the next 50 kilometers would be the most arduous part.

He had no teammates around him, nor were there any other lead riders from other Asian countries who could work with him.

He could only rely on himself, facing the riders from Kazakhstan—the strongest cycling nation in Asia—all alone.

And it was one against two.

This situation had Coach Han so nervous his breathing grew ragged. Even the head coaches of the other Asian nations were in disbelief as they watched the broadcast camera fixed tightly on the trio of Huang Chong and the two Kazakhs.

This previously unheard-of Chinese rider was actually overpowering the lead riders from seventeen other Asian nations at the Asian Championships?

It was something they never could have anticipated!!

And now the biggest question was, could he, by himself, challenge the two World Tour Cyclists from Asia’s strongest nation and be crowned the king of Asia?

After all the rolling hills and short climbs, Huang Chong could no longer see the Japanese Team’s Arashiro Yukiya at all.

At this moment, the course once again entered a series of high-speed descents.

Gelber of the Kazakhstan team saw that they had still failed to break the last remaining Chinese rider on the final set of rolling, short climbs, and began to strategize:

’How should I devise a new tactic to drop this opponent in the rest of the race?’

Although he was a classics-style rider with a fairly strong sprint, he felt that dragging things out to a final sprint at the finish line was too much of a gamble.

A sprint, by its very nature, was full of possibilities.

Besides, he and his teammate, Yevgeniy, knew nothing about this Chinese rider.

Although, judging by his build, he looked more like a GC Cyclist—lean and wiry.

But the fact that he could stick to them like glue on the most difficult climbs earlier showed that his explosive power was nothing to scoff at.

So, Gelber quickly started speaking to Yevgeniy in their native language, not even using English, for fear that Huang Chong would understand their conversation:

"We can’t just let him comfortably follow us all the way to the finish, Yevgeniy.