Chapter 322 173: Officially Making the Core Lineup, Competing in the Little Tour de France

It's fair to say the Tour de Dauphine is a top-tier stage race designed specifically for climbers.

"The intensity of the races in Europe is just on another level compared to the domestic league.

With this kind of high-mountain climbing, I doubt most domestic riders could even finish the race—

Besides, we race too many flat stages back home. When you spend all your time sitting in the peloton, it's easy to start coasting.

That's not really conducive to a rider's development."

Huang Chong let out a deep sigh after looking over the terrain maps for the eight stages of the Tour de Dauphine.

As someone who came from the Chinese league, he was certainly the most qualified to comment.

The domestic pro league in China has almost no climbing and consists mostly of one-day races.

The only challenging stage races were the Tour of Qinghai Lake and the Tour of Hainan Island.

In any case, strictly speaking, the Tour of Guangxi wasn't all that difficult.

Of course, the Tour of Hainan had clashed with the Asian Games last year, so he'd had to miss it. Since he hadn't ridden it himself, he couldn't really comment on its difficulty.

But after competing in these European events, if he were to go back and race in China, the difference between the two would be painfully obvious.

Chen Junyi didn't know what to say to that.

Race planning, in the end, couldn't be dictated by the will of a single individual.

It wasn't that China lacked difficult roads, but whether the riders could endure them was a huge question.

'Right now, all Huang Chong can be is a pioneer, paving the way in Europe. He can only help the domestic riders by accumulating experience abroad and then sharing his insights back home later.'

She said comfortingly:

"The gap will definitely close over time. The gap in a sport can't be closed overnight; it takes the collective effort of several generations.

But you being the first one to make it this far already makes you a great role model.

I believe that the better your results, the greater your influence will be back home!"

Huang Chong nodded. He understood this perfectly well, so he said:

"For now, that's all it can be. I'll just focus on doing my part!"

...

On June 2nd, the Tour de Dauphine officially began.

The hype surrounding this race was no less than that for Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The anticipation was at its peak.

After the Bora Team officially announced their race lineup ahead of time—with Huang Chong in the center of the promotional poster—the Chinese cycling community went into a frenzy.

What did this mean?

It meant he had officially been named part of the team's core roster.

At the same time, the lineup for the Tour de Dauphine was essentially a dress rehearsal and warm-up for the Tour de France.

This was tantamount to the Bora Team announcing their Tour de France roster ahead of schedule.

Initially, the Chinese fans had been indignant when they didn't see Huang Chong selected for the Giro d'Italia roster—

But now? Well, damn, it turned out Bora had him skip the Giro because he was going to the Tour de France!!

For a Road Cyclist, what race could possibly be more important than the Tour de France?

Just being named to the Tour de France squad is a massive achievement in itself.

What's more, Huang Chong wasn't just in a water carrier role—he was Roglič's personal lieutenant!

The two hosts of European Sports, Steve and Jimmy, were ecstatic when they saw the Bora Team's roster. They couldn't help but say with a laugh before the race:

"Look at this Bora Team lineup, Jimmy. Do you think the title for this year's Tour de Dauphine can possibly escape their grasp?

I'm certain that Aldag putting Huang Chong on the roster was the most brilliant decision he could have made.

I absolutely can't wait to see him partner with Primož."

Jimmy replied:

"I agree, the overall champion of this year's Tour de Dauphine should be from the Bora Team!

Compared to the other teams' lineups, while riders like Evenepoel, Rodríguez, and Jorgenson are all very competitive...

...how can they compete against Bora's two GC leaders?

I'm even more optimistic that Huang Chong will have an outstanding performance at the Dauphine.

After all, we all know his form has been absolutely red-hot this year, and his race schedule has been perfectly spaced out.

We have no doubt about Roglič's strength, of course, but he's raced very little this season.

He might need some time to find his rhythm during the race!

Of course, as for the final result, let's follow the race cameras and see for ourselves!"

...