Chapter 361 - 184: The Yellow Jersey Defense War, End of Week One

But just after the peloton passed the first climb and swallowed up the five breakaway riders, a new nine-man breakaway group formed. It quickly opened a gap on the main group and pulled further and further away!

This new breakaway was clearly larger and stronger overall than the initial group of five.

They included Anthony Turgis from the TotalEnergies Team.

Pidcock from the Ineos Grenadiers Team.

Derrick Gee from the Israel-Premier Tech Team.

Alex Aranburu and Romo from the Movistar Team.

Ben Healy from the EF Education Team.

Lutsenko from the Astana Team.

Van Gils from the Lotto Team.

And Stuyven from the Cuike Team.

Huang Chong couldn’t care less that the breakaway was pulling away. He knew he wasn’t going to win the stage anyway, so he was more than happy to let them take the victory.

That way, Pogačar couldn’t get the time bonuses for a top-three stage finish. As long as Huang Chong stuck with him and they crossed the finish line in the same group, he would secure his Yellow Jersey.

It was a nice idea in theory, but putting it into practice was far from easy.

This became especially true when the peloton reached the 131 km mark. This was the second gravel sector, the three-star difficulty Côte de Baroville, which also included a category four climb. Just as the main group was about to enter the gravel, a crash occurred.

The road was already narrow, and the climb began with a steep 9.2% gradient. The crash forced riders to dismount and push their bikes uphill.

On such a steep gradient, it was impossible to get back on the bike and ride uphill after the crash.

After all, the gravel was far too slippery for road bike tires, making it impossible for the riders to get out of the saddle and generate power.

Fortunately, Huang Chong had been strictly executing the tactics Aldag laid out before the race. He stayed glued to Pogačar’s wheel at the front of the peloton, and they both entered the gravel sector just before the crash happened behind them.

He made it through safely, but all the other Red Bull Bora riders, including Roglič, weren’t as skilled on gravel and got held up by the crash. By the time they remounted, they had already lost 35 seconds to Huang Chong’s leading group.

"Huang, our teammates were just held up by the crash. I’ll have them link up with you before the next gravel climb.

But for the next several dozen kilometers, you won’t have any domestiques. You have to rely on yourself to stick with Tadej, Jonas, and Remco."

Hearing this reminder, all Huang Chong wanted to do was curse.

’That son of a bitch Aldag, all he knows is how to sit in the team car and spout bullshit.’

’I’m in the Yellow Jersey, which already puts a huge target on my back. Now all my teammates have been dropped, and he wants me to fend off three top riders by myself? Isn’t that just wishful thinking?’

It was no wonder Huang Chong was complaining. After all, his temporary lead in the general classification had been won through a series of improvisations and quick thinking.

He wasn’t the strongest Road Cyclist in the world; how could he possibly have the ability to single-handedly take on Pogačar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel?

Unsurprisingly, the other riders were no fools. Seeing that the Red Bull Bora Team’s domestiques and even their team leader were all held up by the crash on the gravel climb, they immediately made their move.

Evenepoel was the first to launch an attack.

For Quick Step, Huang Chong and Roglič of the Red Bull Bora Team were undoubtedly their main rivals in this year’s Tour de France.

If their leader could drop Roglič first, it would be a massive gain.

However, a solo attack from Evenepoel was too dangerous for UAE and the Visma Team.

Everyone knew the Belgian had a terrifying natural talent for one-day classics. If he got away, the general classification standings for Pogačar and Vingegaard would be instantly overturned.

So, Visma Team’s domestique, Laporte, immediately led Vingegaard in the chase and quickly reeled Evenepoel back in.

Then, with 89 km to go, Pogačar launched an attack of his own on the descent.

Huang Chong didn’t hesitate for a second, immediately chasing and sticking to Pogačar’s wheel, refusing to let him get away.

Eventually, Pogačar realized he couldn’t shake Huang Chong on the descent and had no choice but to abandon the attempt.

After two consecutive attacks failed to drop Huang Chong, Pogačar and Eve kept pushing the pace. After more than ten kilometers of furious riding, they actually caught up to Pidcock’s breakaway group.

The breakaway riders had been maintaining their own rhythm and doing just fine, so they were all a bit dumbfounded to see the leaders of the four top GC teams suddenly catch up to them, each without any domestiques.

’What’s going on?’

’Do these GC leaders want to be in the breakaway too?’

’What’s the point of any of this—’

But soon, with Evenepoel and Pogačar still unable to drop Huang Chong and Vingegaard, they finally eased off the pace after a prolonged struggle, choosing to wait for their group of domestiques to catch up from behind.

Seeing the four main contenders slow down, the riders in the breakaway seized the opportunity to attack again, once more pulling away from Huang Chong’s group.

As expected, after the third and fourth gravel climbs, all the domestiques, including the riders from the Red Bull Bora Team, successfully rejoined their four respective leaders.

This made Huang Chong breathe a sigh of relief.

Those attacks from Evenepoel and Pogačar had truly put him in a cold sweat.

If Vingegaard hadn’t worked with him to chase them down, he never would have been able to keep up on his own.

With his teammates back, he felt much more at ease.

However, with only 22 km to go and on a flat gravel sector, Pogačar attacked again.

Once again, Laporte of the Visma Team led the chase for Vingegaard, with Huang Chong glued to Vingegaard’s wheel.

’I have to admit, my teammates, including our leader Roglič, really aren’t cut out for one-day classics. The moment we hit a gravel road, they instantly lose ten-plus seconds.’

’It’s a good thing the gravel sectors in Stage 9 are all fairly short. If the whole route were on gravel, Pogačar could really ride away solo on this kind of terrain.’

With 8 km to go, the main group entered the final gravel sector.

This was also Pogačar’s last chance to try and attack, so he went for it again.

But while the Visma Team’s support squad this year might not have the climbing prowess of the past two years, their ability in the classics was second to none. They once again neutralized Pogačar’s final attack for Vingegaard.

In the end, seeing he truly couldn’t break away, Pogačar stopped trying. He had to settle for crossing the finish line in the same group as Huang Chong and the others, behind the nine-man breakaway.

This outcome was undoubtedly a satisfying one for the Red Bull Bora Team.

Because with Huang Chong successfully fending off wave after wave of Pogačar’s attacks, the team had somehow managed to carry the Yellow Jersey, held by an incredibly narrow margin since Stage 2, into the second week of the Tour de France.

But for how much longer could Huang Chong hold on to this prestigious jersey in the second week of the race?

That was something not even he himself could predict.

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