Chapter 283 - 165: Director, I Want to Participate in the Ardennes Triple Crown

Although it was just a minor injury, his family and friends were undoubtedly worried sick when they heard the news. They all called him from back home immediately, one after another, to check in on him and express their concern.

Huang Chong, of course, responded to each of them. He even made a special WeChat video call to his parents, explaining in detail that it was just a minor injury, that the team had treated him immediately, and that he had already returned to Germany to recuperate.

But during this time, the person most concerned about his injury was, without a doubt, Chen Junyi.

So after he returned to Germany, she was constantly bustling about, stewing beef bone soup for him and changing his dressings. She had practically transformed into a professional nurse.

Huang Chong saw all of this. Everything she was doing for him went far beyond the duties of a colleague; she was acting just like a partner.

But the thought of her returning to the United Kingdom for graduate school in the latter half of the year made him swallow the heartfelt words that were already on the tip of his tongue.

Although he had won a true top-tier World Tour race and his FTP Power had now reached 428 watts, he still hadn’t gone to the Tour de France to test his mettle, nor had he competed against the very best cyclists—

He wanted to wait until he had achieved some real results at the Tour de France—winning a stage, at the very least—before he would tell her how he felt.

...

On March 31st, the second of the five major Classics, the Tour of Flanders, officially began.

However, he not only missed the race due to injury, but Pogačar was also not participating.

The latter was set to race the Giro d’Italia this year, so he had to cut back on top-tier one-day races to conserve energy. Otherwise, he might not have enough left in the tank for the Tour de France.

And without Pogačar at the Tour of Flanders, van der Poel was left without a rival. He broke away on the most difficult cobbled climb, soloed for dozens of kilometers, and comfortably secured the win!

As the king of the Classics, he was so dominant without Pogačar that it was almost lonely.

Watching the live broadcast at home, Huang Chong couldn’t help but feel an itch to be out there.

This was one of the five major Classics. Not only were there a huge number of UCI points up for grabs, but the course was also perfect for him.

He had already fully adapted to the numerous short, steep climbs and cobbled sections after his experience at Crossing Flanders.

’If I had been able to race, even if I couldn’t beat van der Poel, I definitely could have fought for a podium spot.’

Instead, with him out of the race, the Bora Team had sent their lead sprinter Meus to compete, but Meus hadn’t even managed to finish.

In the end, the team’s only result came from veteran Marco Haller, who finished 33rd and earned 15 UCI points.

After the Tour of Flanders ended, April began.

On the 1st, a multi-day race, the Tour of the Basque Country, was set to be held in Spain.

This race was truly star-studded.

With the exception of the UAE Team’s Pogačar, nearly every top climber was there.

The lineup included Vingegaard and Kuss from the Visma Team; Evenepoel from the Quick Step Team; Roglič and Sindel from the Bora Team; Carlos Rodríguez from the Ineos Grenadiers Team; Skjelmose from the Trek Team; Ayuso from the UAE Team; and Oscar Onley from Team DSM, among others.

However, despite the stacked lineup of talent, a massive crash occurred during the fourth stage, [Etxarri Aranatz-Legutio]. With about 37km left to the finish, on a turn during a high-speed descent, a pile-up occurred that was even more severe than the one Huang Chong had been in at Crossing Flanders.

Vingegaard and Vine were so seriously injured they were unable to move. Huang Chong’s own team leader, Roglič, as well as the Quick Step Team’s Evenepoel, were also caught in the crash and forced to abandon the race on the spot.

As Huang Chong watched the scene unfold on the live broadcast, memories from his past life instantly flashed into his mind.

He’d seen this race before in his past life, but after becoming a Professional Cyclist, the constant racing and intense team training had made him forget about it.

He never expected that after his rebirth, this disaster that wiped out the leaders of multiple teams would actually happen all over again.

Unsurprisingly, the crash immediately caused a massive uproar across global online media.

After all, Vingegaard’s injuries were extremely serious. As the two-time defending Tour de France champion, fans had considered him the top favorite to win again this year.

Now, injured so badly, would he even be able to make it to this year’s Tour de France?

Furthermore, fans across the globe were questioning the race organizers: why were there so many rocks in such a dangerous corner? Were they trying to get the riders killed?

In an instant, the entire cycling world’s online community erupted.

Chen Junyi, who was at home helping Huang Chong recover and watching the race with him, was horrified by the scene and couldn’t help but cry out:

"Oh my god, that crash was horrifying! Vingegaard from the Visma Team and Vine from the UAE Team... is it life-threatening? I just hope they’re all safe!"

Hearing her words and seeing the genuine concern on her face as she prayed for riders from other teams, Huang Chong knew it stemmed from two things: her innate kindness, and her fear for him, hoping he would never end up in a similar situation.

After all, he was currently at home recovering from a crash himself.

He thought for a moment. Instead of revealing what he already knew, he simply reached out, rubbed Chen Junyi’s shoulder, and said comfortingly,

"Crashes are unavoidable in professional road cycling. They’ll all be okay. The medical care in Europe is excellent, so I’m sure they’ll be fine. Don’t worry too much."

Hearing this, Chen Junyi subconsciously tightened her grip on his hand. Her clear, bright eyes stared right at him, filled to the brim with worry.

But she was also rational. She knew that, just as Huang Chong had said, massive crashes like this were simply unavoidable. Even a rider with the best bike-handling skills would be powerless to stop it.

Therefore, no matter how much she worried about Huang Chong’s safety, she couldn’t say certain things out loud. It would only place an unnecessary mental burden on him.

A road cyclist absolutely cannot enter a race carrying a mental burden, and she couldn’t ask Huang Chong to promise her anything.

But as Chen Junyi held his hand tightly, her face a mask of worry, Huang Chong—who was no fool—could feel the sincerity of her emotions. He could only place his right hand, still wrapped in gauze, gently over hers and say softly,

"I understand how you feel right now. Rest assured, I will be extra careful about my safety in future races."

...

With the team leaders of major teams all out with injuries, the Tour of the Basque Country came to a rather anticlimactic end.

In the end, Ayuso of the UAE Team won the overall title.

As for the Bora Team, with Roglič’s early withdrawal, they had to settle for Sindel and his lieutenant, Maximilian Schachmann, finishing 12th and 13th respectively in the general classification.

The day after the now-infamous Tour of the Basque Country concluded, on April 7th, the racing world seamlessly transitioned to the third of the five major Classics: Paris-Roubaix, also known as the "Hell of the North."

The terrain of this race was completely unsuitable for a GC Cyclist like Huang Chong.

Even though his right arm had already healed—thanks to a secret application of Internal Injury Healing Ointment—it was impossible for him to participate.

So once again, it was the van der Poel show. He used his brute strength to leave everyone in the dust, launching a solo attack dozens of kilometers from the finish to win with no rivals in sight.

He even finished a full three minutes ahead of the group that sprinted for second, third, and fourth place, which included his own teammate Philipsen, the Trek Team’s Pedersen, and the UAE Team’s Politt.

This just went to show that his reputation as the king of the Classics was well-deserved. Especially on the treacherous roads and cobblestones, his strength was simply terrifying.

With Paris-Roubaix coming to a close, there was finally a seven-day break in the World Tour calendar, allowing the top riders from every team to catch their breath.

However, just before April 14th, with the Ardennes Triple Crown about to begin, Huang Chong—having already missed two of the five major Classics—finished a team training session and went straight to Sports Director Aldag. For the first time, he proactively made a request to race.

"Director, I’m fully recovered. I want to race in the Ardennes Triple Crown!"