Chapter 440 - 211: If You’re Going on the Offensive, You Must Secure a Commanding Lead! (Part 2)

The headlines were all uniform, consisting of a single short phrase:

"Racing Against the Wind Chinese Dragon"

The golden Chinese dragon motif, along with the pattern of the Qian Trigram with its six solid yang lines, were the shared thematic elements for the Golden Chariot and the golden helmet.

This was something Huang Chong had specifically requested when he participated in the design process.

Because he was born on October 10, 2000, his Chinese zodiac sign is the Dragon.

Next was the Qian Trigram. This was a hexagram Huang Chong was very fond of; it is also the first hexagram in the Zhou Yi, centered on the themes of vigor and relentless self-improvement.

This in itself was a perfect match for the fighting spirit of professional athletes who, in their quest for victory, brave all hardships, persevere relentlessly, and never speak of surrender.

Additionally, beneath the painted Qian Trigram was the commentary for this hexagram by Confucius:

"As Heaven’s movement is vigorous, so must the noble man unceasingly strengthen himself!"

As for Westerners viewing dragons as evil creatures, Huang Chong didn’t care.

’What does that have to do with Chinese dragons?’

Chinese dragons are the greatest symbols of good fortune, not those evil spirits from the West with two large wings.

On the rest day, the team delivered the Golden Chariot and the golden helmet to him—items that the two major groups had spent a long time designing especially for him.

Starting from the second week of the Vuelta a Espa?a, he would be racing with the Golden Chariot and the golden helmet.

This undoubtedly made his teammates very envious.

It wasn’t just that it was a custom livery exclusive to Huang Chong, the Olympic champion—a design his teammates weren’t qualified to use in a race. It was also that the mythological elements and Chinese aesthetic looked incredibly cool when painted on the road bike and helmet.

In addition, Huang Chong had also taken the time to explain to them the important status of the dragon and the Qian Trigram in traditional Chinese culture, which made them like it even more.

When it came to the depth of traditional culture, China truly possessed a wealth of treasures and heritage, and the dragon and the Zhou Yi hexagrams were the very pinnacle of that essence.

Of course, although his teammates weren’t qualified to wear the golden helmet during races, they could still collect them privately.

Therefore, nearly all members of the Bora Team received an autographed golden helmet from Huang Chong, a special gift from the Red Bull Group.

And for the fans back home in China, especially the Brother Fus and wealthy ladies, the release of Huang Chong’s exclusive racing bike was like a massive giveaway.

Because while Professional Cyclists couldn’t use it, there were no such restrictions on fans.

So, the first batch of Golden Chariots and golden helmets listed on Lightning’s official website sold out in seconds after going live.

Meanwhile, the number of official pre-orders for the second batch was soaring continuously.

These were helmets worth over 3,000 yuan and a road bike worth 100,000 yuan, yet they were selling like hotcakes.

This just went to show how immense the influence of an Olympic champion is within the country.

Of course, while these sales figures directly benefited Huang Chong (as the brand ambassador, he earned a fixed commission on each unit sold), his mind was not on such matters.

This was the life of a Professional Cyclist: apart from competing, most of their time was spent in secluded training—a life akin to that of an ascetic monk.

Opportunities to go online were few and far between.

Especially since he was in the middle of the Vuelta a Espa?a, currently fighting for the first Grand Tour championship of his career, he had no time to spare for anything happening off the race course.

...

「August 27.」

The second week of the Vuelta a Espa?a officially began.

The cyclists had moved from the extremely hot south of Spain to the northwest.

Stage 10 went from Ponteareas to Baiona, covering a total distance of 160 km with 3,074 meters of climbing.

This was another mountain stage, featuring a total of four categorized climbs along the route.

Two of them were First Category Climbs, with the other two being Third and Second Category.

However, the final First Category Climb was positioned far from the finish. Coupled with the relatively low difficulty of the day’s climbs and the lack of high-altitude sections, it was a stage perfectly suited for a breakaway.

Huang Chong held a massive lead in the general classification, so as long as no GC contenders were in the breakaway, he wouldn’t bother reacting.

And so, the five-man breakaway group on this stage successfully stayed away to the finish.

However, the stage win was once again claimed by the Green Jersey holder from Visma Team, Van Aert.

This meant that, like Huang Chong, he had now also secured his third personal victory in this year’s Vuelta a Espa?a.

In fact, if you ignored the general classification and only looked at stage results, Van Aert’s performance in this Vuelta a Espa?a was even more impressive than Huang Chong’s.

Because the guy had not only won three stages but had also taken second place on multiple other stages.

However, after going all-out on the four short climbs today, Van Aert was completely spent by the time Stage 11 arrived—a stage even more suited to breakaways.

Stage 11 was a medium mountain circuit race, with the start and finish lines located close to each other at the Cortizo Science and Technology Park.

Totaling 164 km in length with 2,890 meters of climbing.

It was noticeably easier than the previous day’s stage.

This stage also contained four categorized climbs, but the first three were Second Category, and the last one was a Third Category Climb.

The final Third Category Climb was only 10 kilometers from the finish. With an average gradient of 9% and a maximum gradient reaching 11.1% over a 600-meter section, Huang Chong definitely had an opportunity to attack on the climb and win the stage if he chose to.

But on a stage like this, as the overall leader, he preferred to save his energy whenever possible, choosing to once again give the breakaway riders their chance to shine.

In the end, a large breakaway group of thirty-three riders also managed to stay away all the way to the finish.

The stage victory was claimed by Eddie Dunbar of Jieke Team, who won the sprint to the line.