Chapter 330 - 175: Carrying Big Brother Again, Winning Back-to-Back Stages

"And for some reason, Huang Chong’s incredibly aggressive move to fight for position just now reminded me of van der Poel.

Except he’s like a leaner van der Poel—"

But while they were bantering, Huang Chong had already led Roglič and successfully muscled his way to the very front of the peloton.

This caused the leaders of all the other teams to look alarmed, as if facing a dire threat.

This was especially true for Jorgenson. He had been overtaken for a stunning defeat by a blood-soaked Huang Chong in the final moments of Crossing Flanders. So when he saw Huang Chong suddenly burst from the middle of the peloton to his side, his already pale face turned even whiter.

But Huang Chong couldn’t be bothered to care about the other leaders’ expressions. With just two kilometers to go, he pushed to the front of the group with Roglič in tow and launched his attack.

While seated, he cranked his power output straight to 450 watts and started accelerating furiously on the climb.

This power output was on the edge of his Zone 4 threshold, but for the other riders, it was already their anaerobic zone.

Therefore, aside from Roglič, Evenepoel, and a few other top riders who could keep up while seated, most of the cyclists had to get out of the saddle just to follow.

But pedaling hard at around 32 km/h for a full kilometer on a 4.8% climb requires an enormous amount of energy.

Then, as they passed under the 1 km-to-go arch, Huang Chong got out of the saddle again. He tapped into his anaerobic reserves, leading Roglič in a furious charge as their speed shot up to nearly 40 km/h.

However, every rider knew he would attack today, so the team leaders all responded immediately.

But to make sure he could last until the finish, Huang Chong wasn’t going all out. He just kept looking back, ensuring that he and Roglič maintained a one- to two-bike-length lead at the front of the peloton without increasing his power any further.

But Roglič’s uphill sprint was already formidable. If Huang Chong could deliver him to the final 200 meters with the lead intact, he would be virtually unbeatable.

In the end, with Huang Chong’s help, Roglič—already in the overall leader’s Yellow Jersey—once again bested the field in the final moments. He was the first to cross the finish line, raising his arms in celebration.

However, the peloton had been watching them closely today, so opening up another 20-second gap was impossible.

Moreover, the top teams had worked to wear Huang Chong down starting from 10 km out, so he didn’t have enough energy left for a massive, one-kilometer-long burst like yesterday.

Although his FTP Power was already world-class, that figure was based on him being completely fresh.

But in the World Tour, after several hours of continuous climbing, it’s completely impossible for a rider to still be able to hit that number in the final hour.

Huang Chong had yet to be tested in a Grand Tour, and this was actually his biggest weakness.

Learning how to properly pace himself and manage his energy over three straight weeks of high-intensity racing was the crucial real-world experience he now had to gain.

The reason Pogačar is so strong isn’t just that his base power is genuinely a cut above the rest; his ability to manage his energy and apply his power efficiently is also absolutely world-class.

Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly win with solo breakaways from tens of kilometers out every time.

As Roglič won the stage again and claimed the 10-second winner’s time bonus, his lead in the general classification was further solidified.

But even with a full 34-second lead over Evenepoel—who had been forced to attack early and ended up finishing second in the stage—the advantage still wasn’t enough to guarantee Roglič the overall victory.

Because the fourth stage was an ITT, Evenepoel’s strongest discipline.

It’s no exaggeration to say that although Evenepoel struggled to beat Vingegaard and Pogačar in time trials that featured difficult climbs...

...when it came to ITTs on flat roads or with gentle slopes, he was genuinely the best in the world.

These days, not even Filippo Ganna could beat him.

And with Evenepoel’s time-trialing prowess, he had a very real chance to overturn Roglič’s current GC lead in one fell swoop during Stage 4!

This was why Huang Chong had gone all-out in Stages 2 and 3 to help Roglič build up a time buffer in the first place.

It was all to help Roglič offset his expected time trial deficit to Evenepoel in advance.

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