Free Web NovelChapter 59: Chapter 59: Aren’t I a Road Cyclist? Did You Get the Training Plan Wrong?
If we use running to draw a comparison with road cycling, then track cycling would be the equivalent of the 100- and 200-meter sprints, which place the most importance on a cyclist’s short-term anaerobic explosive power.
An ITT, on the other hand, is like the 1500-meter and 3000-meter middle-distance races. It requires a cyclist to stay within their lactate threshold for the entire duration—the mixed-oxygen zone between aerobic and anaerobic—using their true FTP Power and pursuing ultimate aerodynamics to complete the endurance ride.
As for the mass-start road races that stretch for one or two hundred kilometers, they are undoubtedly marathons. Most of the time, the cyclists maintain an aerobic pace within the peloton.
But the demands on a cyclist’s abilities in a mass-start race are the most comprehensive.
For example, flat stages require sprinters to use tremendous anaerobic explosive power, while mountain stages require GC Cyclists to demonstrate exceptional threshold riding abilities.
When Huang Chong heard Chen Junyi ask him to complete a 30 km ITT endurance test, he didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless.
Although she was beautiful and seemed easygoing, this was the provincial team’s training base.
Especially since she came bearing two titles that sounded highly professional, she was clearly no ordinary person. He didn’t dare say much and replied directly:
"Okay, Chen—"
"I am currently Director Zhang’s assistant. You can call me Assistant Chen!"
Seeing that Huang Chong didn’t know how to address her, Chen Junyi calmly explained her position at the base.
"Okay, Assistant Chen. Should we start now? Where’s the route?
You’re not going to make me ride 30 kilometers in circles on the oval velodrome track, are you?
This track is only 333.3 meters a lap. I’d have to do 90 laps! I’d probably get dizzy and pass out!"
"No, ITT data needs to be collected in a natural environment. I also need to observe your riding position under different wind conditions. You’ll be riding laps on the road circuit around the base."
As she spoke, Chen Junyi was already heading out of the building.
Huang Chong quickly mounted his TT bike to follow her. Once they reached the main gate of the base, Chen Junyi continued:
"The road circuit around our base is a standard 10 kilometers per lap—it was designed that way. So, you just need to do three laps!
But pay attention: during the ride, you must pace yourself. Don’t let your power output fluctuate up and down.
Also, you need to go all out for this test. Treat it like a real race and complete it to the best of your ability.
Don’t hold anything back. That’s the only way I can get accurate data on your current performance!"
After listening to her instructions, Huang Chong nodded in agreement, then mounted his TT bike and turned on the expensive Garmin computer he had bought specifically for his professional training.
His cycling equipment was now quite professional.
The two top-tier bikes Dewey and Zhou Ming had given him were both equipped with electronic groupsets that included power meters. Once connected to the bike computer, they could measure his actual performance data.
Although there was sure to be a discrepancy between the electronic device and the System’s data, Huang Chong had compared them before and found the difference was small enough to be negligible.
But as the saying goes: all the gear and no idea.
That phrase was a perfect fit for his ITT capabilities.
Of course, his overall cycling skill and power output had already reached the level of a junior Professional Cyclist. There was no question about that.
Especially after his victory in Suzhou, he had received a system reward of 20 Basic Optimization Value points, and his FTP Power had now reached 293W.
The problem was, he had never ridden a TT bike in his previous life.
Therefore, this test was actually the first time he’d ever ridden a TT bike in his two lifetimes of cycling combined.
The result was predictable. First, he was completely unfamiliar with the bike’s solid disc rear wheel and felt uncomfortable with every aspect of it.
Second, he was unfamiliar with the TT bike’s aerobars, let alone maintaining an aerodynamic position for the entire ride.
So, when he finished the 30 kilometers and returned to the main gate, one look at his bike computer told him everything. His average speed was only 40 km/h. He knew his performance on the TT bike was mediocre, even terrible.
After all, under normal circumstances, at the same power output and with a good aerodynamic position, a cyclist on a TT bike should be about 5 km/h faster than on a road bike.
Instead of getting faster, he was actually slower. It was laughable.
Chen Junyi had been waiting at the main gate the entire time. Each time Huang Chong passed, she recorded his lap speed, and she observed his riding position throughout the whole test.
To be honest, her first impression of Huang Chong’s performance on the ITT test was terrible.
It was so bad she could tell at a glance that he was completely unfamiliar with his own expensive TT bike.
To put it more bluntly, when it came to ITT, Huang Chong was a complete amateur.
If it weren’t for his exceptional bike-handling skills, which saved him from losing balance on several critical corners, he would have crashed multiple times. His reactions were sluggish—he’d enter a turn with both hands still on the aerobars instead of switching to the base bars.
"Assistant Chen, I’m finished. You can look at the data now. My performance wasn’t great, was it?"
Chen Junyi looked at Huang Chong, who was panting heavily but had clearly given it his all. After a moment of thought, she felt compelled to warn him:
"Huang Chong, before I answer your question, I need to emphasize one thing:
As athletes, we must be scientific, logical, and objective.
So, regardless of whether my feedback is good or bad, I need you to not take it personally." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Huang Chong figured he was mentally tough enough to handle it, so he replied with a smile:
"Assistant Chen, don’t worry, go ahead. I can take it—"
Chen Junyi nodded, then gave his bike computer a cursory glance and said:
"Alright, I’ll tell you then. From my perspective, your ITT performance isn’t ’not great’—it’s terrible!"
Huang Chong: "..."
Even though he was mentally prepared, hearing such a blunt assessment still stung a little.
However, he knew that honest advice is often hard to hear. Besides, it really was his first time on a TT bike, and he just couldn’t get used to the equipment, which felt much more unwieldy than a road bike. It felt like he couldn’t quite put his power down where it needed to go. So, he didn’t take it personally.
He knew that if she was going to be that blunt, she could definitely explain exactly what he was doing wrong.
As if she could read his mind, Chen Junyi gestured for him to head back to the base and began to explain:
"I can tell you’re very unfamiliar with the TT bike.
Never mind maintaining an aerodynamic position—you haven’t even mastered basic technical skills like changing hand positions.
And according to your previous fitness test results, your upper body strength is completely insufficient.
This causes your body to sway more frequently as the distance increases, which in turn increases wind resistance and indirectly reduces your aerodynamic and cycling efficiency."
Huang Chong was speechless.
He was indeed an amateur when it came to riding an ITT, but that was only in practice. It didn’t mean he’d never watched an ITT race or couldn’t understand the basic theory behind it.
So, after hearing Chen Junyi’s assessment, which hit every one of his weak spots, he felt a newfound respect for the woman of his own age standing before him.
The fact that she could identify his weaknesses was a good thing; it meant he had room to improve.
And once he improved his ITT skills, he would be able to compete in stage races.
"Now that we’ve identified the problems, Assistant Chen, what training exercises should I do to work on these shortcomings?"
Huang Chong fully accepted Chen Junyi’s critique and immediately asked for a solution.
However, Chen Junyi didn’t give him a direct answer. Instead, she said:
"Let me go back and study this more carefully. Starting tomorrow, I will have your entire training plan and all your exercises laid out for the next month!"
So, the next morning, after Huang Chong finished morning practice with the other athletes and ate breakfast in the cafeteria, Chen Junyi handed him the training schedule she had drafted, along with a customized meal plan.
Huang Chong took the papers and glanced over them, discovering they were densely packed with dozens of completely different training exercises—
There wasn’t just cycling-related training like riding on rollers, outdoor aerobic rides, and track sessions, but also various strength-training exercises to be completed in the gym.
There was even weekly long-distance swimming and jogging—
Seeing so many exercises to complete, with every day scheduled down to the last detail, Huang Chong nearly fainted.
With a wry smile, he asked:
"Assistant Chen, I’m a Road Cyclist, aren’t I? Did you give me the wrong training plan?"
