Free Web NovelChapter 148: Chapter 113: The Only Direct Showdown Between the Yellow Jersey and the Green Jersey (Part 2)
"The gap to second place in the GC is only 30 seconds! If you all cooperate well, overturning that small advantage will be a piece of cake!"
The Bardiani Team manager was in the team car, following his team from West Sea Town to the shores of the vast, blue Qinghai Lake. He didn’t forget to use the radio to remind the cyclists of the tactics they had laid out the night before.
To be honest, as Huang Chong followed the main peloton onto the Lake Loop road again, he was still struck by the beauty of Qinghai Lake.
Even though the race was called the Tour of Qinghai Lake, they didn’t actually ride a full lap—or several laps—around the lake.
In reality, they spent the entire race weaving through high mountains and deep valleys.
The Lake Loop road was just a short section ahead of them, about 60 kilometers long.
But even this one section of road along the lake, with its strong crosswinds, was the most beautiful plateau scenery Huang Chong had seen in the past seven days of racing.
First, there was Qinghai Lake itself, a vast expanse of shimmering, azure water that needed no further description.
And along its shores were massive fields of golden rapeseed flowers and boundless green pastures.
It was a bit of a shame, though, that both sides of the Lake Loop road were fenced off with metal mesh, making it impossible for people to get close to the shore for a better look at the great lake.
Of course, Huang Chong, who was currently tucked inside the main peloton to avoid the crosswinds, only let these random thoughts drift through his mind for a moment.
He quickly refocused his attention on the race.
In today’s stage, there were two intermediate sprint points.
The first was at the 43.5-kilometer mark, and the second was at the 78-kilometer mark, at the end of the Lake Loop road.
And once they passed the second intermediate sprint point, the final, difficult climb of the entire race would begin.
Huang Chong, of course, had no intention of competing for the sprint points.
So, as they passed the first sprint point, he let the Bardiani domestiques, who were leading the main peloton, take their Core Commander, Mulubrhan Henok, to sprint wildly at the front.
When the second sprint point approached, however, he knew the climb would start immediately after. He certainly wouldn’t be as casual as he was at the first one. About 500 meters before the line, Brother Xiaoma personally led him out to the front of the main group.
But in truth, he wasn’t the only one preparing for the Bardiani riders to launch a climbing attack right after the sprint.
As the second intermediate sprint approached, several other teams with top-ranked GC riders also had their domestiques bring their leaders to the very front of the group.
Clearly, every team understood the importance of this climb in the seventh stage, which could decide the final general classification. They all had the same idea.
The result, needless to say, was what could be called the most exciting intermediate sprint of the entire race, unfolding right at the end of the Lake Loop road.
Almost all the Professional Cyclists from Europe launched an all-out attack at this sprint point.
Many cyclists weren’t even fighting for sprint points, but simply to position their leaders favorably for the upcoming mountain road after the sprint.
Under Brother Xiaoma’s lead, Huang Chong’s speed in this final stretch also neared 60 km/h, which was basically a sprint.
But even at this speed, on the flat Lake Loop road, the riders from the various Pro Teams still managed to pull a considerable distance ahead of them.
"The climb is about to start!!"
"Judging by the way the other teams are riding, everyone is clearly fighting for the best position on the mountain."
"Huang Chong, get ready to follow them. Once you’re on the mountain, your teammates definitely won’t be able to keep up."
"You’ll have to rely on your own strength to stick to those foreign teams like glue."
"If you get dropped, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
"Remember, as long as you hang on during this climb, it’s all downhill to the finish line."
"As long as your time gap doesn’t fall more than five minutes behind the other team leaders, the overall championship is basically yours!!"
In the National Team’s support car, Coach Han’s voice crackled over the radio the moment the Pro Teams launched their sprint.
Huang Chong’s focus was already at its peak.
So upon hearing the reminder, he didn’t hesitate for a second. The moment Brother Xiaoma finished his lead-out, Huang Chong immediately got out of the saddle and started rocking his bike, furiously chasing after the Bardiani Team, who were already ahead of everyone else, climbing the mountain and speeding toward the summit.
Relatively speaking, the beginning of this climb was fairly gentle.
The entire 7.1-kilometer mountain road had an average gradient of 6.7%, but the hardest part was saved for the final 3 kilometers of the climb.
For this final 3-kilometer stretch, a critical section that could decide the winner, Huang Chong, who had pre-ridden the stage, had even used his system’s bike computer to record the specific gradients:
8.6%, 8.5%, and 8.2%.
With gradients like that, it was no wonder this place was called the decisive battleground of the entire race.
After passing Brother Xiaoma, Huang Chong didn’t forget to give him a thumbs-up to show his thanks.
As a sprinter, it was impressive that he had made it this far without being eliminated by the time cut. Moreover, in the previous classic-style stages, he had worked tirelessly as a domestique, leading out for Huang Chong. He was the very definition of dedicated.
So, even if only to repay his teammate’s efforts, Huang Chong couldn’t afford to get dropped on this last part of the climb and have his general classification lead overturned.
After breaking away from his National Team teammates, he started rocking his bike right from the foot of the mountain.
Although he wasn’t going at his absolute maximum output, the five to six hundred watts of anaerobic power he was generating still made him look unstoppable on the climb, as if he were riding on flat ground.
He sped past one foreign rider after another, holding nothing back.
His irresistible, forward-charging momentum filled the riders he continuously overtook with a sense of despair and dread.
To be honest, in the previous few stages, the finishes were mostly downhill or on flat roads, so Huang Chong hadn’t had much chance to shine. He had been lying low for a long time.
But now, three days later, as he once again entered a stage suited to him, these riders were finally realizing the truth:
A true GC Cyclist, no matter how long they lie dormant in a race, can always find their form and explode into an attack the moment it’s needed.
"1 KM—"
"2 KM—"
"3 KM—"
With every kilometer he climbed, Huang Chong would hear Chen Junyi’s voice over the radio, giving him an update.
By this point, after finishing the first 3 kilometers of the climb, he had completely caught up to the front of the group, right behind the Bardiani Team. He now entered the flattest part of the entire climb, a buffer zone with a gradient of only 2.2%.
Bardiani’s Core Commander, Mulubrhan Henok, seeing Huang Chong stuck to his team like glue, knew that his dream of overturning the GC for the championship was now completely impossible.
However, by attacking all the way from the foot of the mountain under the lead of his domestiques, he had accomplished his team’s mission.
In the general classification, he had successfully overtaken the Medellin Cyclist, Paredes Wilmar, who had previously been in second place.
According to the live GC rankings, he had successfully climbed to second place, behind only Huang Chong.
And the final 3 kilometers of the climb, with an average gradient of a staggering 8.4%, would be his last chance in this Tour of Qinghai Lake to go head-to-head with Huang Chong and close the gap.
Therefore, once the gentle slope was behind him, Mulubrhan Henok held nothing back. He got out of his saddle, rocked his bike, dropped his own domestiques, and launched a solo attack.
Aside from competing at the intermediate sprint points to protect his Green Jersey, this was the first time he had initiated an attack in a non-points zone.
Seeing this, Huang Chong, wearing the Yellow Jersey, who had rested and recovered on the gentler slope, showed no signs of backing down in the face of the Green Jersey’s attack. He quickly got out of the saddle to follow, sticking tightly to Mulubrhan Henok.
This was the one and only head-to-head battle between the Yellow Jersey and the Green Jersey. It was also a direct confrontation between first and second place in the live general classification.
And as the two of them launched an all-out attack on the steepest 3 kilometers, the gap to Paredes Wilmar—third in the live GC and still struggling less than 3 kilometers up the climb—instantly widened, and continued to grow!
In the end, he couldn’t withstand Mulubrhan Henok’s powerful reversal and had to relinquish his second-place spot in the general classification.
At this moment, nobody watching the live broadcast cared about who would finish third in the GC.
Because as the aerial camera locked firmly onto the Yellow Jersey and the Green Jersey, only one question remained on everyone’s mind:
The overall championship might have already been decided by this point in the race—
But in the head-to-head battle between the two strongest GC Cyclists of the event, who would be the first to reach the summit of the South Mountain Luohe Pass, at an altitude of 3,721 meters?
This was the first battle between the Yellow Jersey and the Green Jersey.
It was also their last.
Once they were over the South Mountain Luohe Pass, with the outcome already settled, there would be no reason for them to attack again.
