Chapter 326 - 174: Changing Past History, Starting to Carry Big Bro from the Final Kilometer

Upon hearing the team director’s reply, Huang Chong immediately bent down, pretending to grab his water bottle while actually tightening his cycling shoes.

He then turned to glance at Roglič, who was riding close behind him.

Roglič gave him a meaningful look and nodded slightly.

The two of them exchanged no words or superfluous gestures.

After all, they were surrounded by riders from other teams; it would be foolish to communicate openly in English.

Finally, as he passed under the 1 KM to go arch, Huang Chong shot out from the peloton.

Immediately, Roglič, who had been on his wheel the entire time, latched on, instantly throwing the main group into chaos.

The leaders of the various teams had all been preparing to launch their sprints in the final 200 meters.

But instead, Huang Chong of the Bora Team launched an attack from the 1 KM mark—

’Just how incredible must his anaerobic capacity be for him to be this confident he can hold on all the way to the finish?’

However, after Huang Chong launched his kilowatt burst to lead out Roglič, he glanced back at the peloton. The leaders of the various teams were in frantic pursuit—Derrick Gee, Evenepoel, Jorgenson, Rodríguez, Trek’s leader Giulio Ciccone, Lascano, and others—but he paid them no mind.

Although he immediately returned to a seated position, his cadence jumped to nearly 100 RPM. He maintained an anaerobic output of around 500 watts, continuing to drive a furious pace for Roglič.

Thanks to his early attack, Amiel, who had held a lead of over twenty seconds, was swiftly caught and passed with about 800 meters to go.

Afterward, with an expression of agony, he was swallowed up by the entire peloton.

After passing him, Huang Chong was now at the very front of the main group.

But he wasn’t a general classification rider, so he didn’t need to conserve any energy. He just kept pulling furiously for Roglič.

As he used his anaerobic power to break the wind for his leader through the fog, the chasing peloton began to lose ground.

Evenepoel, too, was dropped by the duo.

meters—

meters—

meters—

After a sustained, 700-meter anaerobic effort in the saddle, he used the last bit of energy he had to stand up on his pedals for a final push.

He pulled Roglič all the way to the 150-meter mark before he completely blew up, delivering his leader to a clear, open path toward a finish arch completely shrouded in thick fog!

Roglič, of course, seized the opportunity. Gritting his teeth, he pushed on, launching his own final 150-meter sprint.

His explosive power, in truth, was no match for Huang Chong’s.

But after being led out by Huang Chong for 850 meters, he already had a gap of several dozen meters on the chasing peloton.

With such a massive advantage, it was impossible for him to lose. He sailed across the finish line in first place.

As for Huang Chong, having completely emptied his tank to ensure his leader’s victory, he was naturally caught by the chasing peloton in the final moments, ultimately crossing the line in 13th place.

But that didn’t matter. Their goal was to get Roglič the win.

And after Stage 2, Huang Chong, through his own ability, had already changed the course of this Tour de Dauphine from his previous life.

Roglič unequivocally took the overall leader’s Yellow Jersey. He had opened a 20-second gap on the second-place finisher, the Lotto cyclist Magnus Cort.

Adding the ten-second time bonus for the stage win, his lead in the general classification was now a full half-minute.

However, despite Roglič’s victory, commentators and fans around the world watching the live broadcast were all cursing up a storm.

Even though there were cameras at the finish line, the fog on the Lalogue Pass was now so thick that it was impossible to see the riders clearly.

Only when a rider shot completely past the white finish line could people catch a fleeting glimpse of a figure.

In short, for what should have been a thrilling bunch sprint finish, viewers watching the live broadcast couldn’t tell who was who at all!