Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

"Nice!! Huang!!!"

The moment Huang Chong secured third place, Aldag’s wild yell erupted over the radio.

In the Tour de France, any top-ten stage finish is incredibly valuable.

At the same time, even the slightest advantage is a huge victory for a GC Cyclist.

Huang Chong crossed the line third. Although he was in the same group as the peloton behind him and had no actual time lead, the top three finishers get time bonuses!

This meant that he was the first of the top-tier GC Cyclists in this year’s Tour de France to gain an advantage.

But Huang Chong himself remained clear-headed.

This small lead was nowhere near enough to celebrate for long.

Besides, he knew his success today was entirely because Van Aert of the Visma Team was in the peloton, and the other teams had no intention of cooperating in the chase.

They just let the Visma Team lead the chase, but Jorgenson’s pulling power alone was no match for the two riders ahead, Bardet and his companion, who were taking turns at the front.

Otherwise, with only a 35-second lead four or five kilometers from the finish, the pair would have been swallowed up by the main group long ago.

As it turned out, the judgment of all the teams in the peloton was spot on.

If Huang Chong hadn’t used his cornering ability—far superior to Jorgenson’s—to drop him on the turn 1km from the finish and create a gap on the peloton, Van Aert would have been the one to take the win!

"Holy fuck, that was insane!! It’s a shame he couldn’t catch Bardet in the end, but Huang Chong’s timing for that overtake on the corner was perfect. He completely dropped the peloton!!"

"I gotta say, Huang Chong’s cornering was fucking on the limit. If that were me, I would’ve crashed right into the wall!!"

"So intense!! This is the Tour de France, after all. I feel like if the track had been five meters longer, he would’ve been overtaken by Van Aert!!"

"Huang Chong’s anaerobic capacity is insane. He did a full 1km anaerobic sprint at the end. What kind of cardio is that?!"

Back home, seeing Huang Chong finish the S1 Stage and gain an advantage over riders like Pogačar, the fans were ecstatic.

Even though everyone knew Pogačar hadn’t really been trying.

But gaining even the slightest GC advantage in the first week meant Huang Chong had a chance to wear the Yellow Jersey.

Especially with the second stage being a hilly one, as long as Huang Chong could stick with the main group to the finish, his sprinting ability might not be enough to beat the top-tier sprinters, but who could guarantee that Pogačar would be able to beat him in a flat-out sprint?

After the stage, when Huang Chong returned to the team, he was greeted with a round of applause.

Including the team leader, Roglič.

Their team hadn’t actually been aiming for a GC result in this stage; the goal was simply not to lose any time.

But Huang Chong taking the initiative to secure an advantage for the team was a pleasant surprise.

Most importantly, Huang Chong had shown them his personal ability to seize the right moment to win—a rare and priceless skill.

"That was a perfect performance, Huang!!

In this stage, you showed us exactly how to be an excellent hunter.

I think after today’s stage, every team will look at you with newfound respect!"

After the race, Ralph Denke personally hugged Huang Chong, the sheer joy on his face impossible to hide.

But the race had only just begun. After the brief celebration, they immediately dove into tactical planning.

The Tour de France S2 Stage was mostly flat, but it contained six extremely difficult, short, steep climbs (one Fourth Category Climb and five Third Category Climbs).

The last two climbs were the same; in the final 40 km, the riders would have to complete a short circuit, tackling the famous Italian Saint Luke climb (Côte de San Luca) twice.

This climb is often featured in top-tier local Italian races, such as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and has also been part of the Giro d’Italia.

The S2 Stage runs from the northern Italian coastal town of Cesenatico to Bologna.

The total distance is 199.2 km, with a modest total elevation gain of only 1,859 meters.

However, the stage is by no means easy.

The first Third Category Climb, Monticino (Côte de Monticino), is at the 74 km mark.

It is 2.0 km long, with an average gradient of 7.2% and a maximum gradient of 9%.

This climb isn’t very difficult, and all the sprinters should be able to keep up.

But the second Third Category Climb at the 89 km mark, Gallisterna Mountain (Côte de Gallisterna), is the second-hardest short, steep climb of the stage.

It’s 1.4 km long with a punishing average gradient of 10.5%, reaching a maximum of 14.4%.

After that, the riders will pass the only intermediate sprint point at the 108.5 km mark before reaching the only Fourth Category Climb at 139 km: Bottega di Zocca (Côte de Botteghino di Zocca).

This is the easiest climb of the stage, at 1.9 km long with an average gradient of 6.3% and a maximum of 7.6%.

But after this climb, there’s almost no time for rest, as they immediately head into the Third Category Climb at the 151.5 km mark: Montecalvo (Côte de Montecalvo).

It is 2.8 km long, with an average gradient of 7.6% and a maximum that can reach 10.8%.

After this climb, the riders will enter the final 40 km circuit and tackle the Saint Luke climb twice, located at the 170 km and 188.5 km marks of the stage.

It is 1.9 km long, with an average gradient of 10.2% and a maximum gradient reaching a staggering 20%.

Without a doubt, this is the toughest climb of the stage.

Moreover, the second time up this wall of a climb, they will only be about 12 km from the finish. If a rider like Pogačar breaks away solo on the steep slope, it will be impossible to catch him.