Chapter 281 164: A Victorious Roar in a Bloody Battle

The entire process took less than twenty seconds.

It showed just how nimble the World Tour Team doctors were.

They were almost on par with a top-tier F1 pit crew.

And as his right arm was wrapped in gauze, the Kanarieberg climb officially began.

As expected, Van Boppel, who wasn't a strong climber to begin with and had just put in a pull for Huang Chong, was instantly dropped on the 12.1% gradient after Visma Team riders Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot deliberately picked up the pace.

At the same time, he wasn't the only one dropped. Out of a leading group of more than twenty riders, only Alberto Bettiol and Michael Valgren of the EF Education Team—who had been blown away by Huang Chong in the Milan-Turin Race—and FDJ Team's Stefan King were able to hang on through the brutally difficult climb.

Having been treated and bandaged, Huang Chong's right arm no longer throbbed with pain or bled. There was no way he was getting dropped on a short, steep climb. Getting out of the saddle, he kept pace and crested the climb with the other five, forming a temporary six-man leading group. They began to chase the eight breakaway riders up the road.

After the selection on the Kanarieberg climb, the picture for the stage win had become much clearer.

With riders like Van Aert, Stuyven, and Girmay—who could have stayed with the lead group—having withdrawn due to injury, and with Trek Team's Milan and Alpecin Team's Philipsen dropped early on the climb, this new six-man group was essentially composed of the best climbers left in the race.

Therefore, the winner would almost certainly emerge from their group or from riders like Abrahamsen and De Bondt in the breakaway.

As for the third group on the road, even with riders like Politt of the UAE Team, they had already fallen more than a minute behind.

As long as the leaders rotated and worked together, it would be impossible for the chasers to bridge the gap.

Having cleared the Kanarieberg climb, they now had to begin the circuit portion, tackling the Knokteberg-Trieu climb, the Hotond climb, and the Mariaborrestraat cobbled sector all over again, but in reverse order.

This reverse-direction circuit was the most thrilling and brutal part of the Crossing Flanders course—the devilish mid-race section.

Notably, as Huang Chong's six-man group rode the Mariaborrestraat cobbled sector for the second time, Tarling of the Ineos Grenadiers Team managed to bridge the gap from behind all by himself.

This turned their original six-man group into a seven-man group.

Of course, this was not good news for the original members of the group. Tarling was a time trial specialist, a prodigy from the United Kingdom, which meant one more contender for the victory.

Soon after, having passed the 2.4-kilometer cobbled section, they immediately hit the Ladeuze climb: a 1.2-kilometer ascent with an average gradient of 5.4% and a maximum of 9.7%.

This was the penultimate climb of the race, with only 40 kilometers to the finish line.

The original six, including Huang Chong, cleared it with ease, even catching the eight-man breakaway. Only Tarling was dropped on the climb.

But the man was like a shadow today. As soon as the climb was over, he used the descent and the flats to his advantage. Relying on his time-trialing talent and a hyper-efficient aero tuck, he quickly latched back on to the group.

After the Ladeuze climb, there were no more difficult ascents for a full thirty kilometers, all the way to the 180-kilometer mark.

However, the route featured three more cobbled sectors, each with a difficulty comparable to a climb:

The 0.9-kilometer Doorn cobbled sector at the 160-kilometer mark, the 1.6-kilometer Huisepontweg cobbled sector at the 163.5-kilometer mark, and the 0.8-kilometer Herlegemstraat cobbled sector at the 170.5-kilometer mark.

At this stage of the race, every rider was exhausted.

But Huang Chong's group still numbered eight riders: their original six, plus Abrahamsen and De Bondt.

Together, they reached the final climb of the day, the Nokere, with only 10 kilometers left to the finish.

This climb wasn't particularly steep, but its difficulty lay in the fact that its latter half was paved with cobblestones.

It was 1.1 kilometers long with an average gradient of just 3.5% and a maximum of 5.9%.

On the climb, Bettiol of the EF Education Team launched an attack, but Huang Chong remained calm, staying steadily on the wheel of Visma Team's Jorgenson, completely unfazed.

And, just as he'd expected, Bettiol couldn't create a gap on the short climb and was quickly reeled in by Jorgenson, who then launched his own attack.

Then, after the eight-man group crested the short climb, before anyone could even catch their breath, Jorgenson attacked with only 7 kilometers to go.

This time, however, Huang Chong immediately went with him, gluing himself to his wheel.

The other six riders, already on the verge of cracking, were unable to respond on the final, difficult cobbled climb. Instantly, the pair pulled out a 15-second gap.

The two then reached the final cobbled sector, the 0.8-kilometer Herlegemstraat.

Jorgenson felt a mix of terror and awe as he watched the blood-soaked Huang Chong relentlessly sticking to his wheel.

The image of being pursued by a man covered in blood was genuinely horrifying.

Besides, he was all too familiar with Huang Chong's strength.

From the Tour of Guangxi last year to the Tour of Australia, he hadn't managed to beat Huang Chong even once.

He had transferred to the Visma Team this year, and thanks to the team's increased strength and his own explosive form, he had unexpectedly won the Paris-Nice Stage Race. Still, he wasn't known for his sprint.

And Jorgenson had seen Huang Chong's summit finish sprints on the Nongla Stage and on Willunga Hill with his own eyes.

'If he stays glued to my wheel until the end, I have absolutely no chance of winning.'

His only choice was to launch a suicidal, all-out attack on the final 800-meter stretch of cobbles. He prayed that the intense vibrations would aggravate Huang Chong's injuries and cause him to be dropped.

However, how could Huang Chong, glued to Jorgenson's wheel, not know what his rival was thinking?

He decisively got out of the saddle, sticking to him like glue, but deliberately not overtaking or counter-attacking.

The two of them sped past the cobbled section. It wasn't until they were 200 meters from the line, spurred on by the cheers of countless Belgian fans, that Huang Chong launched his own attack for the first time in the entire stage.

A massive burst of over 1300 watts felt like a motor kicking in on his blood-stained legs.

Jorgenson's reaction was equally swift, and he responded almost simultaneously.

But there was a clear gap in their sprinting power. Before he even reached the finishing arch, Huang Chong had already pulled ahead by nearly a full bike length, crossing the line first with an effortless, dominant advantage.

Jorgenson crossed the line right behind him, his face a mask of despair.

He couldn't help but be reminded of his time with the Movistar Team, when he had been in a breakaway for the entire race only to have victory snatched away by Pogačar at the last second.

Yet this time, despite leading for so long, he was once again denied victory right at the finish line.

Only this time, before the people of the kingdom of road cycling, the opponent raising his arms in victory wasn't the world's number one cyclist, but a rookie who had only just joined the World Tour!!