Chapter 291 - 167: First Showdown with Pogačar, First Liège Race, First Time in the Main Lineup

"And four days from now is Liège-Bastogne-Liège. In that historic and prestigious race, will the team continue to have you as its leader?"

Huang Chong, of course, was too sharp to answer a question that would require disclosing team strategy. He could only evade with a smile, saying:

"Thank you for the compliments. As for which races I’ll be in, including my role on the team, that’s all up to the team’s arrangements.

Of course, I hope to compete for the team in every major race and do my absolute best to achieve great results.

But as for future plans, we’ll have to wait for the team’s official announcement!"

"Alright, thank you for your time.

Also, we all know you were unfortunately involved in a crash at Crossing Flanders. Has your arm injury completely healed?

As you know, with a super rookie like yourself, the fans are all very concerned about your health!"

Huang Chong smiled, nodded, and replied:

"Thank you to all the fans for your concern. My right arm has recovered very well, and I’m no longer in any pain.

Everything felt fine after today’s race, too.

However, I still need to go back for a follow-up check with the team. You can find out more details through the Bora Team’s official announcements!"

...

After interviewing the champion, the reporter immediately went over to the runner-up, Stephen Williams, and congratulated him with a smile.

"Congratulations, Stephen, on taking second place in this year’s Flèche Wallonne. Your attack on that final short climb was absolutely brilliant!"

Stephen Williams felt quite bitter at that moment, but he knew he couldn’t let it show on his face.

After all, second place was still an incredible result—an accomplishment countless professional cyclists might never achieve in their entire careers.

He maintained his composure as best he could and smiled.

"Thank you. I truly gave it my all fighting for the win, but Huang Chong of the Bora Team was just more outstanding in the final sprint—

I’m very satisfied with getting second place, and I’m also very grateful for all the hard work from my entire team.

Without the team’s help, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to get such a good result while riding in today’s unpredictable rain!"

"Of course, a rider’s success is impossible without the team’s support!

However, we all know that you won the overall title at the Tour of Australia, your first World Tour event of the year.

Huang Chong from the Bora Team was also in that race, and he even took two stage wins.

Compared to back then, do you think he’s changed at all?"

Williams was a veteran. He knew reporters loved to ask the runner-up these kinds of shitty questions after a race.

But a pro is a pro. He smiled, his composure unwavering:

"I think he’s clearly much stronger than he was at the Tour of Australia.

His string of results since then proves it.

For a rookie, the season debut is often more of a trial run for the team.

But now, he’s not just a top-tier rider; he’s also become the face of the Bora Team for one-day races. So, congratulations to him!"

After the interviews, Huang Chong went to collect his champion’s trophy, along with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of high-end champagne.

The champion also gets their national anthem played. So, when fans back home in China once again saw and heard on the live broadcast as Huang Chong brought that melody—etched into the very soul of every Chinese person—to the World Tour awards ceremony, they were all filled with an immense sense of pride.

...

When Huang Chong returned to the team, his teammates who had competed alongside him in the race gave him a resounding round of applause.

The race had been unexpectedly difficult. Thanks to the double whammy of heavy rain and a cold snap, Huang Chong only realized after returning to the team and seeing the list of finishers that out of 175 starters, only 44 had managed to complete the race.

On the Bora Team, besides Adrià and himself, the other five riders had all DNF’d.

The Trek Team’s leader, Skjelmose, had even suffered from hypothermia during the race.

If the team hadn’t gotten him warm in time and pulled him from the race, the consequences could have been disastrous.

’A Danish rider, from a Nordic country of all places, actually got hypothermia.’ Huang Chong was at a loss for words.

But it also went to show that winning in such harsh conditions—even without any other big-name riders competing—made Huang Chong’s performance nothing short of flawless.

After Flèche Wallonne, a follow-up check by team doctor Charlie revealed no issues with Huang Chong. So, Aldag had him transfer directly to the next venue, heading for the Liège region of Belgium.

There, for Liège-Bastogne-Liège—the oldest of the five Monuments, nicknamed "The Old Lady" just like the Serie A team Juventus—he would be racing alongside the team’s top riders for the first time.

To Huang Chong’s surprise, even though Aldag had fielded the team’s multi-day race Core Commander, Sindel, and Core Deputy Commander, Fransov, for this monumentally important race, the lineup still designated him as the team leader.

This was undoubtedly a huge vote of confidence in Huang Chong after his recent string of victories.

After all, in the history he remembered from his past life, these two were Roglič’s strongest support riders in the Tour de France and the very heart of the Bora Team’s core lineup.

The field for Liège-Bastogne-Liège would again consist of 175 riders from 25 teams.