Free Web NovelChapter 138: Chapter 108: Summit Breakaway, China’s Pidcock?
Huang Chong heard the reply and immediately looked back over his shoulder.
He saw that, sure enough, two riders—one in a green kit and another in a two-toned light blue and pale yellow kit—had broken away from the main group and were chasing him frantically.
He didn’t need to guess. These two were definitely gunning for the HC Level climbing points at the Laji Mountain Pass.
Yesterday’s city criterium didn’t have any climbs, so there was no Polka Dot Jersey for the King of the Mountains.
So today, whoever was first to cross the Laji Mountain Pass would earn the first climbing points and get to wear the Polka Dot Jersey.
As a GC Cyclist, Huang Chong was definitely going to contend for the Polka Dot Jersey as well.
If he could wear it all the way to the end, while not as valuable as the overall champion’s Yellow Jersey, it was still worth 50,000 US dollars.
That was equivalent to over 300,000 RMB. How could he not be tempted?
So, seeing the two riders chasing him wildly from behind, while Stensby Anton and Sinschek Nils ahead of him seemed to have reached their limit—so tired they had even taken off their cycling glasses—Huang Chong saw no need to keep drafting off them.
He decisively got out of the saddle, unleashing a kilowatt of power. He shot out from behind the pair like a sports car, instantly dropping them.
When Stensby Anton and Sinschek Nils saw him launch such a ferocious attack out of the saddle at this high altitude, their faces filled with shock. They both wanted to give chase, but they found they simply couldn’t, and could only watch as Huang Chong quickly sped away.
"Damn it, is this Chinese rider really that strong?"
Stensby Anton spat on the side of the road, a look of helplessness on his face.
"Looks like we all underestimated him. I don’t get it. Isn’t the climbing ability of Chinese riders supposed to be on the weaker side?"
"Why is this guy still able to attack with a kilowatt of power at such a high altitude?"
Sinschek Nils replied, also speaking in English.
"I guess only God knows the answer to that. In any case, I can’t respond to his attack!"
"It seems like he was drafting behind us the whole time as part of a plan."
"Right now, I just hope he doesn’t pull too far ahead of us. Otherwise, after the summit, it’s all downhill. Even if we work together to chase, we probably won’t be able to catch him."
"Then let’s pray his descending skill is just average!!"
...
Putting out a kilowatt of power, Huang Chong reached a speed of 35 km/h—a full 10 km/h faster than the others. After opening up a gap of several dozen meters, his figure quickly vanished around a massive hairpin turn ahead.
His point of attack, of course, was not chosen randomly. It was a carefully considered decision.
From his previous test ride, he was already very familiar with the structural changes of this stage.
Especially the last 20 km to the summit. Although the average gradient was 4.9%, the road construction meant it definitely wouldn’t be that exact number for the entire section.
In the final five kilometers, he had paid special attention to the gradient changes on these consecutive hairpin turns.
There were sections with a 5.6% gradient, sections with 4.3%, and even an extreme section that hit 6.1%.
Since he was going to attack, he naturally had to choose the most difficult section of the climb to do it.
Therefore, he launched his decisive attack only when he entered the 6.1% section, clearly felt the gradient steepen, and was just a short distance from the U-shaped bend ahead.
This was a tactical move he had rehearsed in his mind many times.
As soon as his rivals couldn’t keep up, he would quickly disappear from their line of sight.
After the hairpin turn, he immediately returned to a seated pedaling position and began hammering toward the summit at his maximum lactate threshold power of a high 370W.
At this power output, his average climbing speed could still approach 30 km/h.
As a result, when Stensby Anton and Sinschek Nils made it through the 6.1% climb and rounded the hairpin turn, Huang Chong, who had been only a few dozen meters ahead of them, was now a tiny figure in the distance, like a small animal.
This meant he was at least a hundred meters ahead of them.
Moreover, the gap was still widening frantically. It was impossible for them to catch him now.
In terms of time, Huang Chong had very quickly opened up a gap of a full minute on them.
As for the Medellin and Bardiani riders who had broken away from the main group but were further behind, the gap to them had rapidly stretched to nearly two minutes.
"My God, is this Chinese rider on some kind of magic potion? We lost sight of him for just one turn, and he’s already pulled this far ahead—"
Watching Huang Chong ride further and further away, Stensby Anton felt like he was going crazy.
’Such a strong Chinese rider, and a Climber at that?’
’This is too ridiculous!!’
This completely shattered his stereotype that Chinese riders were generally not good at high-mountain climbs.
"It’s unbelievable! With his climbing ability, he could be the Core Commander for any Intercontinental Team in my country, the Netherlands!"
Sinschek Nils could only reply with a wry smile.
And just as the two of them were marveling at Huang Chong’s strength, the Medellin and Bardiani riders, who had originally been sent by their teams to go for the Polka Dot Jersey, also received radio notifications from their team managers.
When they learned that a Chinese rider had launched an attack with 5 km left to the summit, was incredibly fast, and had already opened a time gap of more than two minutes, they looked at each other, horrified.
"This—my manager told me a Chinese rider up ahead launched a breakaway attack. Bro, can you believe it?"
The Colombian rider glanced at the Italian rider behind him and asked with a strange expression.
The Italian rider, his face contorted in pain as he panted heavily, heard this and replied:
"I got the notification from my team too. Looks like it’ll be tough for us to get the Polka Dot Jersey. We can only see who can get the time bonus for second place at the climbing line."
"Damn it, since when did China suddenly produce such a formidable rider?"
"Let’s chase! Every bit we gain back counts. Once we get to the descent, if we work together, it’s not impossible to catch him before the finish line!"
Huang Chong knew that once he attacked, he would only have a short 5 km to extend his lead.
After that, the European Teams were bound to react.
But he hadn’t revealed this tactic even to Coach Han beforehand.
He had only told him that he wanted to join the breakaway today and test his race condition.
Coach Han, of course, had no doubts about Huang Chong’s personal abilities and trusted him completely.
As long as he didn’t crack prematurely, a breakaway was fine. After all, today’s stage was only 132 km, second in length only to the city criterium.
Huang Chong had withstood repeated attacks from two Kazakhstan riders at the Asian Championships. There was no way he would blow up on a single climb and end his entire race.
But what Coach Han hadn’t expected was that Huang Chong wouldn’t just join the breakaway. With 5 km left to the summit, he launched a solo attack and instantly extended his lead.
This immediately energized him, his eyes glued to the time gap between Huang Chong and the riders behind him, provided by the race officials.
He muttered to himself, constantly calculating:
"One minute, three seconds—"
"One minute, thirty seconds—"
"Two minutes, one second—"
"Two minutes, thirty-seven seconds—"
"Three minutes, two seconds—"
"Huang Chong has reached the Laji Mountain Pass!!"
"He’s not only secured the Polka Dot Jersey, but he’s also extended his lead over the riders behind to a full three minutes!!!"
"Quick, Xiaochen, tell him not to stop attacking!!"
"As long as he can ensure his own safety, he must continue the breakaway on the descent!!"
"If he can maintain this time gap and reach the foot of the mountain, he’ll have a chance to win the stage with a solo ride!!"
Coach Han was completely overcome with excitement.
But he soon realized that this emotional surge, combined with being at the 3,828-meter-high Laji Mountain Pass, suddenly made it difficult for him to breathe. His face turned pale.
He quickly took out an oxygen canister and took several deep breaths from it.
Seeing this, Chen Junyi was about to ask Coach Han if he was okay, but he waved his hand, signaling her not to worry about him.
So, she quickly followed his instructions, relaying the tactical plan verbatim to Huang Chong, who was now descending at high speed.
When Huang Chong heard the plan, he didn’t actually need anyone to tell him.
Since he had already opened a full three-minute gap on the climb, he was definitely going to ride solo to the very end.
There was nothing to hesitate about.
So he quickly curled himself into a ball, his chin almost touching his handlebars, putting himself in an absolutely aerodynamic position to plummet down toward the foot of the mountain.
As the breakaway rider who had attacked at a crucial moment, the official race cameras naturally focused on Huang Chong, also displaying his real-time average descent speed.
As a result, when the managers of the various European Teams saw his descent speed reaching as high as 102 km/h on the straights, they couldn’t help but clutch the back of their heads and cry out in unison:
"Jesus!! What is with this Chinese rider?"
"His descent speed can actually reach 102 km/h?"
"Is he crazy, or am I?"
"My God! What am I seeing?"
"What is he doing, does he have a death wish? Does he think he’s the Chinese version of Pidcock?"
...
