Chapter 289 - 166: Still Pedaling Seated on a 19% Climb? Another Pogačar?

The peloton was now 1 minute and 20 seconds behind Andersen.

Huang Chong had a vivid memory of Ben Healy. The man was a breakaway specialist who had not only won a stage in the Tour de France through a breakaway but had even worn the Yellow Jersey. Huang Chong couldn’t possibly let the breakaway get away, so he quickly pushed forward to chase.

As he made his move within the peloton, other riders with an eye on the general classification quickly latched onto him. These included another famed breakaway rider from EF Education, Carapaz; Stephen Williams of the Israel-Premier Tech Team, winner of the Tour of Australia; and Van Wilder of the Quick Step Team, who had lost to Huang Chong at the UAE Tour.

This left Huang Chong stunned.

’Good grief,’ he thought. ’All I did was move to counter a potential threat from Brother Sharp, and the other teams’ lead riders are already this wary of me?’

’Looks like it’ll be impossible for me to launch any sneak attacks in the future!’

’Then again, I’m the lead rider for the Bora Team now. It’s only natural for them to mark me.’

Thus, after the third climb of the Wall of Huy, Huang Chong heard the official at the summit ringing a bell.

It was the signal for the final lap of the race.

Just then, Stephen Williams, the first to cross the summit line, suddenly launched an attack, attempting to go solo on the descent.

But Huang Chong reacted instantly, latching onto his wheel. His acceleration also pulled Carapaz, Kévin Vauquelin of the Arkéa Team, Maxim Van Gils of the Lotto Team, and Santiago Buitrago of the Bahrain Victorious Team along in the chase.

While these riders weren’t as famous as Pidcock, Skjelmose, or the UAE Team’s Ayuso and Almeida, the fact that they had held their position in the leading group this far made them the undisputed favorites for the day’s victory.

As for those big names? The race wasn’t even over, and more than half of them had already abandoned!

Unsurprisingly, with Huang Chong leading the chase with four others, Williams had no chance to escape. He was quickly reeled in on the descent. The six of them formed a new lead group and set off in pursuit of Andersen, who was still on a solo breakaway up the road.

The group of six rode on. With just 14.4km to the finish, they began the final climb of the Côte d’Ereffe. Before they even reached the summit, they caught Andersen, who had been in the breakaway for over 40 kilometers.

This was the Alpecin Team’s signature style: they were all powerful hardmen built for the Classics, but they all died on the climbs.

Even van der Poel couldn’t escape on the steep slopes, let alone Andersen.

Having successfully caught Andersen, Huang Chong breathed a sigh of relief.

’Clearly, I’m still lacking when it comes to race experience compared to Aldag.’

’You could even say the perspective of a rider is completely different from that of a team director.’

’Out on the road, I thought a 1-minute-20-second lead was too big, almost impossible to bring back, but Aldag told me not to worry.’

’As it turned out, Aldag was absolutely right. Andersen never stood a chance of getting away.’

After the Côte d’Ereffe climb, on the long descent, the main peloton, which had been slightly distanced by Huang Chong’s group of six, visibly picked up the pace and quickly caught them.

Nevertheless, after more than 180 kilometers of high-intensity racing, the front group had dwindled from the initial 175 riders to fewer than 30.

Huang Chong glanced at his bike computer and saw that the average speed for the race so far was only around 42 km/h.

However, the race time was already approaching four and a half hours.

"We’re about to enter the final stage of the race, and unexpectedly, almost all the pre-race favorites have been filtered out!

Pidcock, Skjelmose, Ayuso, Almeida, Matthews—these top contenders have already abandoned the race.

They’ve clearly started their preparations early for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which is just four days away.

However, still in the main group, we have Carapaz, Vauquelin, Williams, Buitrago, and Van Gils.

And most importantly, we have Huang Chong from the Bora Team, who has just returned from injury.

His performance today has been incredibly steady. It’s just unbelievable!

He returned to racing after only two weeks and has managed to stay with the group of contenders the entire time.

Crucially, when the main group caught them on that last descent, he was able to reunite with his only remaining teammate, Adrià.

This is, without a doubt, a very interesting development.

Will they be able to execute some kind of team play on the final ascent of the Wall of Huy?

To be honest, a Flèche Wallonne without the top superstars has its own unique brand of excitement.

Namely, that no one can predict who will be the first to conquer the Wall of Huy—a climb that once served as a finish in the Tour de France!"

That was Steve from the Eurosport cycling channel, giving Huang Chong a shout-out as the race entered its final phase.

As the commentator spoke, Huang Chong’s group reached the final approach to the Wall of Huy, and his Bora Team teammate, Adrià, moved to the very front.

Seeing this, Huang Chong didn’t hesitate, instantly getting on his teammate’s wheel.

Once on the climb, it was clear that the road surface of the Wall of Huy was in terrible condition.

Only a narrow strip in the middle was relatively smooth; the edges on either side were broken and rutted, like two uneven gutters.

Riding on a road like this, especially with a final climbing sprint to the finish, meant that securing that smooth central line was absolutely critical.

However, Adrià’s climbing ability was limited. He only managed to lead Huang Chong for the first 600 meters of the gentle lower slope. The moment they hit the 14% gradient, he was completely spent.

In the instant Adrià fell back, Tour of Australia champion Stephen Williams spotted the brief gap that opened as Huang Chong’s teammate pulled off. Ever the opportunist, Williams immediately launched an out-of-the-saddle attack from 700 meters out, instantly distancing the main group.

Seeing this, Steve naturally erupted with excitement on the live broadcast:

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!!

Williams of Israel-Premier Tech is so incredibly experienced!!!

He attacked the very moment the Bora Team rider pulled off! No one else reacted, not even Huang Chong!!

DO THE OTHERS STILL HAVE A CHANCE?!!

And yet, the very instant the words left his mouth, Huang Chong, seeing Williams already five or six meters ahead, decisively rose from his saddle. Unleashing over a thousand watts of power, he closed the gap in just four or five pedal strokes, gluing himself to his rival’s wheel!

The two riders maintained their five-to-six-meter gap over the chasing group as they hit the steepest part of the climb, a punishing 19% gradient.

meters—

meters—

meters—

Williams, who had been sprinting furiously out of the saddle the entire time, glanced back and saw Huang Chong, glued to his wheel, still pedaling while seated. The sight nearly drove him mad!

’What the fuck kind of monster is this?!’

’Pedaling seated on a 19% gradient... Is he another Pogačar?!’

Meanwhile, on both sides of the Wall of Huy, the local Belgian crowd was letting out a deafening roar.

In this atmosphere, Williams knew he absolutely couldn’t afford to ease up for even a single pedal stroke!!

Everyone was waiting in anticipation to see if he could hold his lead to the very end!!

However, just as Williams was pushing with all his might, with only 150 meters to go, Huang Chong, who could now see the finish gantry looming ahead, rose from his saddle once more.

Then, on the 19% gradient, after 550 meters of brutal effort, Huang Chong unleashed a burst of over a thousand watts—a level of power Williams could only dream of—surging past him and immediately opening a gap that grew wider and wider!!

One meter—

Two meters—

Five meters—

Ten meters—

As Williams watched in despair, his legs feeling as if they were dragging boulders, Huang Chong opened up a full ten-meter gap in the final 150 meters!!

The whole process looked incredibly dramatic, yet he seemed to do it with ease, as if he had plenty left in the tank, effortlessly claiming the title of the 2024 Flèche Wallonne champion!

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