Free Web NovelChapter 149: Chapter 114: Taking the Crown with Three Stage Wins and a Million in Prize Money
As a black GC Cyclist, Mulubrhan Henok’s endurance seemed to be a natural racial advantage.
Sure enough, as the race advanced to the seventh stage, he had kept a low profile throughout all the previous stages. Yet, when it came to the crucial climbs that could determine the final outcome, he left all his rivals behind.
Moreover, his endurance wasn’t his only strength; his explosive sprinting power was also clearly formidable for a GC cyclist.
After all, with Huang Chong having secured three jerseys early on, the only thing left for him to compete for was the Dash King Green Jersey.
However, as a GC Cyclist, how could he possibly beat pure flat-road sprinters or classics riders in a sprint?
There was only one answer. He would have to rely on his superior recovery and his stronger explosive power—compared to other riders of his type—to snatch up all the intermediate sprint points positioned on climbing stages and uphill sections.
The one thing the Bardiani Team manager hadn’t anticipated was his plan’s premature failure. He had intended to hide Mulubrhan Henok’s strength, letting him make his move at South Mountain Luohe Pass to seize the overall lead after everyone else was worn down by a week of racing. However, the appearance of a local rider like Huang Chong had completely derailed this strategy.
But in Mulubrhan Henok’s eyes, while he had certainly lost in the general classification, he still wasn’t entirely convinced of Huang Chong’s personal strength.
All of Huang Chong’s current advantages came from his solo breakaway in the second stage, a time when Henok himself had to follow team orders and stay safely in the peloton.
’If the team had let me chase Huang Chong with everything I had, especially if they’d let me join the breakaway in the early stages, wouldn’t things be completely different now?’
But regardless of his thoughts, with the race this far along, there was no turning back the clock.
The only thing he could do was to beat Huang Chong head-to-head before the last difficult climb—or rather, before the final 3km of climbing—to prove that his own strength was, in fact, not inferior to this Chinese rider.
As for his failure to win the overall title, he considered that more of a strategic error on the team’s part.
But could things really go the way he hoped?
Facing Mulubrhan Henok’s aggressive attack, Huang Chong quickly stuck to his wheel. He found that his opponent’s maximum power output was indeed no weaker than his own, also reaching around 1200W.
But despite putting out that much power, Henok saw Huang Chong follow and immediately backed off. After only a few pedal strokes, not even ten seconds, he sat back down and reduced his power to just over 300 watts for the climb.
Huang Chong was a little dumbfounded by this.
’Jeez, what kind of timid tactic is that? His attack is way too conservative.’
’He couldn’t drop me with one max-power burst, so he just gives up and doesn’t dare push anymore?’
’He’s that scared of me drafting off him!’
So, even with a long 2.8km still to go to the summit, he had no intention of stopping his anaerobic effort.
Just as Coach Han and Chen Junyi had said, as long as he could break away solo, first place in the general classification would be his for the taking.
The current situation was perfect: a one-on-one showdown with the man in second place on the GC, on the steepest section of the entire course.
There was no better time to attack.
So, holding nothing back and with no intention of drafting off his rival, he got out of the saddle, swiftly overtook him, and charged for the summit.
Mulubrhan Henok saw that Huang Chong wasn’t interested in a tactical battle on the steep climb, but was opting for a direct confrontation. Having just returned to his saddle, Henok was forced to stand up on his pedals again to give chase.
Although his rhythm was thrown off, he knew that if Huang Chong opened a real gap, it would be difficult to close it.
Thus, their roles of attacker and defender instantly reversed, with Huang Chong seizing the offensive.
But Huang Chong’s anaerobic attacks weren’t ten-second affairs. He launched into a 30-second surge, pushing 700-800W. Only when he saw his rival clinging desperately to his wheel did he sit back down, recovering at his 350W threshold to catch his breath.
But just half a minute later, thanks to his powerful lungs and superior VO2 max, he had already recovered from the anaerobic effort.
So he immediately stood on his pedals again, cranking the power back up to 700-800W to launch a second attack.
Seeing the relentless attacks, Mulubrhan Henok got out of his saddle to follow, despite being at a punishing altitude of 3,500 meters.
To his surprise, after only a brief recovery, Huang Chong unleashed another anaerobic burst, this one lasting nearly thirty seconds.
After weathering that attack, he managed to hang on, but a wave of fear washed over him.
He knew with chilling certainty that if the attack had lasted just a few seconds longer, he would have completely blown up.
After Henok managed to follow two of his anaerobic surges, Huang Chong glanced back at him. He saw the other rider’s mouth was hanging wide open, gasping for air. His upper body was unsteady on the bike, and even when riding at threshold, he was weaving in an S-pattern, desperate to ease the grade of the climb. Huang Chong knew his rival was a spent force.
So he sat back down and, after about a minute of riding at threshold, pulled out his electrolyte sports drink and gulped it down. He drained the entire bottle, then tossed his other bottle—the one with plain water—to the side of the road, opting for maximum weight savings.
Then, after leading Mulubrhan Henok to an altitude of 3,600 meters, with only 1.3km left to the finish, he rose from his saddle one last time. After more than a minute of recovery at a low-power cruise, he launched his final, all-out anaerobic attack, instantly unleashing a peak power output of nearly 1,100W.
