Chapter 286 - 166: Still Riding Seated on a 19% Climb? Another Pogačar?

But looking at the stage profile, Flèche Wallonne was indeed a more suitable race for his return.

So in the end, he could only go along with Aldag’s plan, replying:

"Alright, Director. You’ve thought this through so well, of course I’ll follow your lead!"

Hearing Huang Chong accept his suggestion, Aldag didn’t hesitate. He decisively added Huang Chong’s name to the roster for Flèche Wallonne—and as the team leader.

Without a doubt, his status within the team had been elevated yet again compared to where it was during Crossing Flanders. This would be his first time competing in a top-tier World Tour race as a team leader.

Once the news was official—that he would be returning from injury to compete as team leader at Flèche Wallonne—Bora naturally announced it on their official Chinese social media account a few days in advance.

The news hit the domestic fan community, which hadn’t heard anything about Huang Chong for half a month, like a bolt from the blue. It set off a firestorm of discussion:

"Holy shit!! What am I seeing? Huang Chong is making his comeback at Flèche Wallonne, one of the Ardennes Triple Crown races? And as the team leader?"

"Awesome! He’s coming back already? Those German doctors are miracle workers, for real. I need to order a couple cases of beer ASAP. The late nights watching races are back on!"

"Can’t wait to see Huang Chong come back strong and dominate those foreign riders!"

But in reality, while most domestic fans were excited to see Huang Chong racing hard in top-tier World Tour events again, a large number were also concerned about his recovery:

"Huh? Huang Chong’s coming back already? It’s only been two weeks! He had a minor fracture in his right arm, can it really heal that fast? It feels like they’re rushing him back!"

"To the official account admin, please confirm the health status of our rider, Huang Chong! If he’s not fully healed, the team better not be rushing him back for the sake of short-term results!"

"Exactly, the rider’s health should always come first. I just looked it up, and a minor fracture takes at least four to eight weeks to heal. Did Hua Tuo get reincarnated in Germany or something, to fix a fracture in just two weeks?"

The social media manager for Bora’s official account couldn’t answer the fans’ mix of passionate concern and doubt. However, it would be a huge problem if the team didn’t officially respond to such a hot topic.

So, before he left for Belgium, they had Huang Chong personally record a vlog at the team headquarters to reassure everyone about his health and thank the fans for their concern. This finally put their worries to rest.

...

「April 14.」

The Amstel Gold Race was the first to kick off.

Although it’s considered part of the Ardennes classics, this race wasn’t held in Belgium like Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Instead, it took place in the southern part of Limburg, Netherlands.

As the first race of the Ardennes Triple Crown, the lineup was still star-studded. Even without Pogačar, it featured van der Poel, who had just won both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Many teams sent their top one-day race specialists and their lead climbers.

These included Thomas Pidcock from the Ineos Grenadiers Team; Ayuso, Almeida, Marc Hirschi, and McNulty from the UAE Team; Tiesj Benoot and Jorgenson from the Visma Team; Skjelmose and Bauke Mollema from the Trek Team; Bilbao from the Bahrain Victory Team; Michael Matthews from the Jieke Team; Stefan King from the FDJ Team; and Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy from the EF Education Team, among others.

As for the Bora Team, its lineup for this race wasn’t nearly as star-studded.

The team leader was Adrià.

His support squad consisted of Bob Jungels, Frederik Wandahl, Giovanni Aleotti, Maximilian Schachmann, Matteo Sobrero, and Alexander Hayek.

Clearly, by sending such a lineup, Aldag had no real expectations for the race’s final result. That’s why he was rotating in some of the team’s "cannon fodder."

As for what kind of result Adrià could pull off, that was entirely up to fate.

After all, in any one-day classic featuring van der Poel, he was the biggest favorite to win. It didn’t matter that the course had many climbs and might not have been a perfect fit for him; his presence alone made him the man to beat.

But in a cruel twist of fate, while Huang Chong was away on pre-race training with the team in the Wallonne Region of Belgium, a sudden cold snap hit the Netherlands on race day, nearly wiping out the entire field of European riders—

Only riders from teams like the Uno-X Team, hailing from perpetually freezing Norway in Northern Europe, could adapt to racing in such low temperatures.

And so, the pre-race favorite, Mathieu van der Poel, finished with a disappointing result, crossing the line in just 22nd place overall—despite competing in his home country and being determined to win.

The winner was Thomas Pidcock of the Ineos Grenadiers Team—the same rider who had hit a top speed of 105 km/h on a descent during the 2022 Tour de France.

And the craziest part? In the final stretch, he was in a five-man leading group and won this year’s Amstel Gold Race with a sprint—supposedly his weakest discipline.

You have to admit, that’s the beauty of road cycling. Until the race is over, it’s truly difficult for the bookies to predict the winners of the Ardennes Triple Crown races.