Free Web NovelChapter 144: Chapter 111: Securing the Polka Dot Jersey Early, a Double Crushing with Strength and Intellect (Part 2)
This sport wasn’t just about cyclists riding from start to finish at their maximum capacity.
It demanded that riders formulate various strategies and tactics, and even have moments of on-the-spot brilliance across different terrains, to have any chance of victory.
For Huang Chong to be number one in the general classification and to have already locked up the King of the Mountains for the entire race was a true testament to his combination of strength and intelligence. His performance had been absolutely flawless!
When Coach Han and Chen Junyi saw Huang Chong be the first to cross Nie Jialiang, their faces were alight with excitement.
This was especially true for the coach. When he saw all the National Team members get dropped with 6 kilometers left to the summit, he thought it was all over.
But to his surprise, Huang Chong had relied on his own adaptability to snatch the Polka Dot Jersey ahead of schedule.
Team-level tactics were arranged by the coaches. But what Huang Chong had done—launching a deceptive attack near the summit, not by pushing his anaerobic power to the limit, but by carefully pacing his output to ensure he could sustain it until the very end and secure the win—was an on-the-fly reaction that no coach could ever teach.
Seizing such a fleeting opportunity for victory required an athlete’s deep understanding of their own abilities and a sudden stroke of genius.
That was why Huang Chong was truly a genius among geniuses.
A strategy like that was far more complex than anything in the classic tales!
"Excellent work, Huang Chong!
Your climbing points are so far ahead that you’ve completely locked up the Polka Dot Jersey. Get back to the peloton on the descent to rest and recover.
The Dongpeng Pass is 68.5 kilometers away, and it’s a second-category climb. If you still have the energy, you might as well go for those points too.
The points won’t matter for the Polka Dot Jersey anymore, but every point you earn is still very useful for our country."
After getting so excited at Laji Mountain Pass yesterday that he nearly passed out from altitude sickness, Coach Han had clearly learned his lesson today at the 3,520-meter Nie Jialiang. Not only was his tone much calmer, but he was also doing his best to keep his emotions in check.
When it came to major tactical decisions, Huang Chong had to follow the team’s orders. After all, the team had a more comprehensive, big-picture view of the race.
So, as the descent began, he took a few gulps of an electrolyte drink, ate an Energy Gel provided by the National Team, and then immediately dropped back behind Lü Xianjing’s Huaxing Team to continue drafting.
The number 2 rider, Lü Xianjing, who was wearing the blue jersey, smiled when he saw Huang Chong fall back to draft and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Fucking awesome, brother!"
Huang Chong smiled back and replied:
"Let’s keep it up, Brother Lü!"
The race continued.
After Nie Jialiang came an incredibly long descent.
The road went all the way down to the foot of the mountain before it began to climb again.
This next climb was 5.9 kilometers long with an average gradient of 5.4%. It wasn’t particularly difficult, and even the last kilometer to the summit held steady at around 5.4%.
When Huang Chong launched another out-of-the-saddle attack at the 100-meter mark, no one responded. He was left to sprint for the line all by himself.
He could only shake his head in awkwardness at the result.
’Now that I’ve killed all the suspense for the Polka Dot Jersey, no one’s going to fight for the climb points anymore.’
Now, the sole objective for every other team was to push the pace like mad over the next five stages, trying to shatter his stamina and prevent him from recovering. This would create an opening for their own riders to overturn his lead in the general classification.
As a result, even though today’s mountain stage had four categorized climbs, no one contested the final two Third Category Climbs. Huang Chong simply took first place over the line for each one, pocketing all the points (10+5+2+2) for a total of 19.
The other teams may have given up on the Polka Dot Jersey, but this stage also featured two intermediate sprints, which would determine the fate of the Green Jersey.
Huang Chong had zero sprint points. Furthermore, the winner of the Green Jersey from the first two stages, Sinschek Nils, had been dropped long ago. So, when the peloton reached the intermediate sprint points at the 79-kilometer mark in Xiongxian Town and the 166-kilometer mark in Banyan Village, riders from the other teams launched furious attacks.
Huang Chong remained in the group, showing no reaction and letting the other riders fight for the sprint points.
No one can be good at everything.
Given his style of riding, he had no chance of contending for the Green Jersey.
Besides, after today’s mountain stage, the remaining five stages had some climbs, but they were all of low difficulty. Four of those stages were perfectly suited for sprinters and classics-style riders.
Therefore, his mission for the rest of the race was simple: stick to the other teams’ general classification contenders, don’t get dropped, and maintain his current overall lead.
In any case, with the Polka Dot Jersey secured, as long as he remained first in the general classification, the Yellow Jersey and the blue jersey would ultimately be his as well.
As for the Dash King Green Jersey, the intermediate sprints in the upcoming stages, and even stage wins on the flat finishes—he could afford to let them all go.
After passing Banyan Village, the site of the final intermediate sprint, less than 40 kilometers remained in Stage Three.
This stretch of road was a false flat, climbing gradually all the way to the Dongyuan Tunnel at around the 182-kilometer mark.
As the finish line drew nearer, the pace of the leading group, composed of each team’s top riders, quickened on the gradual climb.
Even though they had completely lost their chance at the Polka Dot Jersey in Stage Three, their battle for the general classification was far from over. It would continue until the very last day of the race.
Huang Chong was, after all, from China. The riders from teams like Medellin and the Bardiani Team—not to mention the other Italian team, Corratec, and the Spanish teams Euskaltel-Euskadi and the Burgos BH Team—all believed he wouldn’t be able to last until the end.
They were Professional Teams from Europe. Why on earth would they bow their heads and surrender to a Chinese rider this early in the race?
But no matter how high they pushed the pace, Huang Chong stuck to their wheels. After the 1,170-meter-long Dongyuan Tunnel and a short descent, they faced a second tunnel, the 325-meter Hualin Tunnel. Then, with only 14 kilometers to the finish, came the 1,010-meter-long Kazigou Tunnel.
The passage through the first two of this trio of tunnels was uneventful. No one in the group attempted a breakaway.
It was only in the final one, the Kazigou Tunnel, that two riders launched a joint attack just as they neared the exit: Fagúndez Eric Antonio from the Spanish Burgos BH Team and Baldaccini Davide from the Italian Corratec Team.
Huang Chong was fairly familiar with both riders, especially Baldaccini Davide.
After the first two stages, the Italian was also ranked high in the general classification. But Huang Chong wasn’t in a hurry to respond.
It was still too far to the finish, and on this flat section, the leading group he was in was already cruising at a very high speed.
Even if the pair broke away, the leaders of the other teams wouldn’t allow them to build up too large of a time gap.
When the peloton decides to chase, its speed can be astonishing. So, for now, they let the duo hang out front with an advantage of around 15 seconds.
However, with only 3 kilometers left to the finish, the two riders saw that the lead group still wasn’t chasing them down and decisively accelerated again.
Seeing this, Huang Chong decided it was time to stop playing it safe.
He decisively jumped out of his saddle, broke away from the group of contenders, and launched a solo attack to chase down the two escapees.
By the time he caught them, only about 1 kilometer remained to the finish.
The group of contenders behind them, seeing the trio still holding a 15-second advantage, finally began to accelerate furiously, launching their final pursuit.
But Fagúndez Eric Antonio and Baldaccini Davide had been in the breakaway for so long, and they weren’t about to let all their hard work go to waste. They, too, began to ramp up their power and accelerate.
With one kilometer to go, two riders rotating wasn’t going to be enough, especially with the short, gradual inclines before the finish line in Huzhu County. So, with 600 meters remaining, Huang Chong didn’t hesitate for a second and moved up to take a turn at the front.
This was the first time since the start of the race that he had voluntarily taken the lead. The moment he did, his threshold cruising power of over 370 watts nearly stunned the two pros.
’No wonder this Chinese guy is number one in the general classification.’
’With that kind of cruising power, he could be the undisputed Core Commander on our teams!’
With Huang Chong now taking pulls at the front, it became nearly impossible for the group of contenders behind to close the 15-second gap in just 500 meters.
Finally, with 150 meters to go, Huang Chong—who had been part of the breakaway for the last 3 kilometers—saw the gap to the chasing group of contenders shrink to just 8 seconds. He decisively launched his final sprint on the slight incline, battling the two Professional Cyclists for the finish line.
