Cycling: Racing into the Headwind

No matter what the other teams’ directors were thinking, Aldag had executed a tactic that blinded them to the bigger picture. He caught them completely off guard and allowed Adrià to successfully break away!

Without a doubt, judging from its immediate effect, this was a truly creative and bold race strategy.

With Adrià having successfully broken away, his ability meant that even if he couldn’t ride solo all the way to the finish, he could at least last until the final climb up Mammoshain.

This would allow Huang Chong, waiting in the peloton, to smoothly catch up to him. Then, Adrià could give him an anaerobic pull on the steep slope.

And if Adrià could go all the way, that would be even better. It would turn Huang Chong—whom everyone considered the biggest threat for the win—into a mere decoy, handing the other teams a complete and utter strategic defeat!

After all, for the Bora Team, it made no difference whether Huang Chong won or Adrià won. The result was the same.

As long as one of their riders took the win, all the other teams were losers. There was no fundamental difference!

After Adrià successfully broke away, Aldag couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The strategy he’d formulated today was definitely a high-wire act.

If a rider from any other team had responded to Adrià immediately, his plan would have failed right then and there.

But now, the race was unfolding perfectly according to his plan.

He got on the radio and told Adrià:

"Adrià, you have a lead of about 40 seconds on the peloton right now. You need to attack with everything you’ve got on the descent and try to build as big a gap as possible. I’ll have Huang control the tempo in the peloton."

"Also, the other teams should respond soon and send riders to chase you."

"But as long as it’s not the whole peloton chasing, just a few riders won’t have the power to catch you on the descent."

"And as long as it isn’t one of the other teams’ leaders chasing you, you’ll have every opportunity to drop all of them again on the final Mammoshain climb!"

Adrià heard the message and replied with a simple, "Got it." Then he focused all his attention on the long descent, riding solo all the way.

And just as Aldag had predicted, shortly after Adrià broke away, EF Education Team and Team DSM were the first to respond, sending their lieutenants to chase him down.

But two riders working together had a very limited effect on the descent.

Besides, Adrià was a leader-caliber rider himself, so they were completely unable to close the 40-second gap.

In the end, Adrià entered the final Mammoshain climb with a 40-second advantage.

The German fans lining both sides of the steep slope went wild when they saw a Bora cyclist arrive first for the third ascent, holding a massive lead!

Even though he wasn’t the team’s leader, he was a rider for the home team, and they would support him unconditionally.

And so, urged on by the fans’ wild roars, Adrià charged onto the Mammoshain climb. When he hit the 1.3 km steep section, he got right out of the saddle and started hammering.

As expected, the Team DSM and EF Education cyclists chasing from the group behind clearly lacked the power for the steep slope, and the 40-second gap began to grow—

By the time Adrià crested the summit, he had extended his advantage to a full 1 minute and 30 seconds.

At that moment, the peloton with Huang Chong had only just reached the foot of the Mammoshain climb.

With this kind of advantage, it was safe to say Adrià had all but locked up the victory.

The peloton swarmed onto the final climb. When they reached the 11.7% gradient at the 1 km mark, Jan Christen of UAE Team was the first to launch an attack.

For them, if they didn’t attack now, they would be handing the victory over on a silver platter.

And with Christen’s attack, Huang Chong, who had been sitting in and conserving energy in the peloton all race, no longer had any reason to hide his strength.

He quickly launched an attack from behind his teammate Buchman, getting out of the saddle. With an anaerobic burst of over 1300 watts, he instantly blew past Christen.

But that was to be expected. He could stay on the wheel of the UAE Team’s leader, so what was a mere subordinate?

Steve, broadcasting live, was filled with amazement and excitement. He watched as Huang Chong passed Christen on the steep slope and returned to the saddle, yet his speed was still incredible, as if he were driving a sports car. He instantly left the entire peloton far behind.

He couldn’t help but exclaim with a laugh:

"Look at that, Jimmy! This is the rider the bookies had as the third favorite to win before the race!!!"

"You tell me! With that kind of explosive power, him being ranked only third—is that fucking reasonable?!"

"On an 11.7% climb, he looks like a gecko scaling a vertical wall!"

"Damn it, Aldag has completely wiped away the shame and gloom from their last defeat. He has redeemed himself in this race!"

Jimmy heard this and wholeheartedly agreed:

"This race, he’s perfectly demonstrated just how much tactical flexibility you have when your roster is strong enough."

"I think after this race, no one will dare to underestimate the Bora Team again."

"And this is all before their Core Commander, Roglič, has even stepped up to perform. They’ve already achieved so much this season."

"Who would have thought? When everyone, including the Bora Team itself, was pinning their hopes on the stage races this season, they end up shining in the one-day classics, all thanks to a new rider they just signed?"

"I’m getting more and more excited. After the long Spring Classics season is over, what kind of performance will Huang Chong deliver in the Grand Tours?"

And while they were talking, the man himself, Huang Chong, after dropping Christen and the entire peloton, had already opened a gap of nearly 50 seconds on the short, 1.3 km steep slope.

After that, he followed Adrià’s lead and began his own solo effort.

Of course, all the teams had anticipated this move before the race.

But what they hadn’t expected at all was this: their plan had been to let Huang Chong get a gap on the final short climb, then use the combined power of the peloton to chase him down before the finish.

But now, with another Bora cyclist still up the road ahead of Huang Chong, any possibility of chasing him down was gone. This sealed their fate.

Because Huang Chong was riding so fast after breaking away, Adrià could easily slow down and wait for him. Once they linked up and started taking turns at the front, they could save a massive amount of energy, making them impossible to catch.

And reality unfolded just as all the other teams had feared.

After breaking away, Huang Chong caught up to Adrià at the end of the descent, with about 15 km remaining to the finish line.

The two worked together on the flat road, rotating and taking turns pulling at the front. In the end, they crossed the finish line with no pressure, a full minute and a half ahead of the peloton.

As the team leader, even though the UCI points were important to him, Huang Chong knew he would have countless more chances to win in the future. So, he was incredibly gracious, tapping his brakes just before the line and taking his hands off the bars early. He gestured to the German fans on both sides of the finish arch, encouraging a round of applause to congratulate and celebrate his lieutenant, Adrià, on winning the race!

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