Free Web NovelChapter 65: Chapter 65: Drifting the Corner, Stunning the Crowd
While the two influential figures in the support vehicle were discussing Huang Chong’s future career path—
The coaches from the other divisions and the team leaders from the sports schools were still glued to the race, watching the cyclists who were battling the driving wind and rain as they sped across the course.
Even the coaching staff for the Women’s ITT A and B groups were gathered in the support crew lounge, watching the final stages of the Men’s Group A race, which featured the strongest competitors.
It was standard practice in road cycling for the strongest competitors to start last.
In ITT races, in particular, the starting order wasn’t determined by a random draw. Instead, it was based on qualifying times, from slowest to fastest.
The competitor with the best qualifying time was usually saved for last.
That’s why the end of the race always garnered the most attention.
Just like in a Tour de France ITT, the cyclist with the best overall time starts last, becoming the absolute center of attention.
Of course, Huang Chong didn’t command the same level of attention as a Tour de France champion.
In fact, aside from event staff and competitors, the only people at the Provincial Games were a handful of local spectators and sports reporters from the various municipal teams.
But even so, when Huang Chong hit a cruising speed of 47 km/h, nearly every competitor—men and women alike—was stunned. The chatter began immediately:
"Holy shit, is this some top pro from the National Team? A cruising speed of 47 km/h, and a first-leg time of 12:06.84? How the hell are we supposed to compete with that?"
"No kidding. I didn’t even notice until you said something. At the end of the first leg, this guy is a full minute ahead of the rider from the Hangcheng Wenhai Team in second place. He’s a minute and a half ahead of me—"
"Insane. That’s just insane. If he finishes the race at this average speed, what do you think his FTP Power is?"
"At least 320W. I’m only at 280W—"
...
Meanwhile, in the coaching areas for the various city teams, the coaches and instructors were equally stunned and began questioning one another:
"Hey everyone, which city’s team is this guy from? With that speed and power, he has to be at the level of a Tier One National Team cyclist, right? Why is he at the Provincial Games? Are they just trying to mess with us?"
"No idea. All I know is he’s not from our Ningbo Team—"
"And he’s not on our Jinhua Team!"
"Old Liu, why are you so quiet? Of all the teams in this ITT, your Hangcheng Team is the strongest overall. This has to be one of your guys, right?"
"Yeah, you old fox, that’s just shameless. Bringing a rider this strong to a provincial-level race. Why not just take his training data to Director Zhang and have him represent the province at the National Road Cycling Championships?"
Hearing the coaches and instructors from the other city teams aim their teasing barbs at him, Liu Jialiang felt a surge of frustration.
If this cyclist who started last really was one of his, he wouldn’t have minded. He would have gladly taken all the complaints and grumbling from his peers.
After all, if he had cultivated a cyclist this strong—one who was in a league of his own—his reputation and standing among road cycling coaches would skyrocket.
But as fate would have it, the guy currently slaughtering the competition wasn’t his rider at all.
In fact, this guy had become the biggest obstacle to the vow he’d made before the race to sweep the podium. freewebnoveℓ.com
If Huang Chong finished at his current pace, there was no doubt that the strongest rider on his team would have to settle for second place, and by a very large margin.
He looked at the electronic screen, saw Huang Chong’s official time at the second checkpoint after completing the second 10km leg, and finally let out a heavy sigh. He answered honestly:
"Alright, everyone, ease up on the firepower. I’m a straightforward man. I’ll tell you the truth: the rider who started last isn’t from our Hangcheng Team either!"
"What? He’s not on your team either? Then what the hell is going on?"
"Old Liu, this is no time for jokes. If he isn’t from one of our six city teams, then where did he come from? How can he even compete in our Provincial Games?"
As the coach of the Hangcheng Team, Liu Jialiang was based in the same city as the Provincial Sports Bureau, so he naturally had closer ties.
It was a geographical advantage.
Zhang Guowei himself would even visit their cycling academy from time to time.
So his access to inside information was naturally better than the other five city teams. He had already heard a little about Huang Chong, and replied helplessly:
"I have no reason to lie to you. This rider was personally groomed by Director Zhang from the provincial team. He’s currently a reserve cyclist.
"Officially, his rank is no different from our trainees. He hasn’t been formally assigned to a Tier One provincial or city team.
"But you’ve all seen his performance. After the Provincial Games, he’s guaranteed a spot on the provincial Tier One team!"
Hearing this, the other coaches and instructors felt a sense of relief. It all made sense now.
’So the kid is one of Director Zhang’s people?’
’That would explain his incredible skill. After all, you couldn’t become a reserve cyclist for the provincial team without some serious talent.’
’That kind of position takes up a special recruitment slot!’
...
"Huang Chong, your second checkpoint time is in. Your average speed has dropped slightly to 44 km/h, but you’re still 4 km/h faster than the rider in second. The U-turn is coming up ahead. Prepare to decelerate for a slow pass."
Chen Junyi’s voice came over the radio right on cue.
Huang Chong wasn’t surprised by the result. The last 5km of the 20km one-way course was a long, gentle climb with a 2.5% gradient. A drop in his average speed was inevitable.
As he approached the U-turn, however, he steered his TT bike to the outside line and began to cut in toward the apex.
However, the moment he entered the turn, he didn’t slow down. Instead, he used the immense forward momentum to suddenly stand up on his pedals. The rear wheel slid out, looking for all the world like he was about to crash. The sight made Chen Junyi turn pale in the support car. But Huang Chong, relying on his balance, powerful muscles, and superb mountain biking skills, charged straight for the apex.
Only when his bike reached the center of the turn and the centrifugal force peaked did he abruptly lock up the brake on his rear disc wheel.
The locked disc wheel immediately began to slide on the puddled asphalt. Taking advantage of the slippery surface, it executed a spectacular inertial drift. The bike threw up a massive spray of water as Huang Chong whipped the TT bike around the heart of the U-turn at maximum speed.
Then, still standing, Huang Chong began stomping on the pedals, launching into another anaerobic sprint. He generated over a kilowatt of power coming out of the turn, rapidly bringing his speed back up to around 47 km/h as he accelerated toward the rider ahead.
Clearly, that single, daring and stylish drift through the 180-degree turn had saved him a good seven or eight seconds on his rivals.
The photographers positioned on both sides of the U-turn, tasked with capturing the event, were left completely dumbfounded:
"What the fuck did I just see? Did that competitor just slide through the turn on his wheels? Does he think he’s driving an AE86?"
"That’s called drifting, dude. I managed to get a shot of him cornering. It was so awesome!"
One female photographer couldn’t help but scream. She watched Huang Chong’s stylish form through her lens, her heart pounding with excitement.
She was an avid road cyclist herself—why else would she brave the wind and rain to photograph a race? Seeing that maneuver made the whole trip worthwhile.
To see that kind of top-tier bike handling, something you’d normally only see in a mountain bike event, in a road race? How lucky was she?
But Huang Chong, who had just executed that extreme cornering maneuver, didn’t have time for such thoughts. He was focused on one thing only: finishing the race as fast as possible. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
So, after his out-of-the-saddle sprint, he settled back onto his seat, lowered his power output and heart rate, and continued pushing at his maximum lactate threshold as he furiously chased down the rider ahead of him!
...
