Chapter 385 - 192: Launching a Kilowatt Attack on the 2800-Meter Mountain

"I have a big enough lead on Remco right now. Only Jonas is a real threat to me in the overall standings.

As for Tadej, we stopped trying to beat him a long time ago, so I’m not worried about him attacking early.

I’m confident I can stay with the main group, so just send Sindel up to the breakaway.

With him up front, it also gives us an X-factor—more tactical options for the final climb!"

Huang Chong’s current standing within the team was incredibly high.

It was no exaggeration. Before the final week’s showdown, he had managed to cement his position in second place in the general classification. He had even beaten Vingegaard on the climb up the Baiye Plateau. With such a top-tier performance, in the eyes of the Red Bull Bora Team’s upper management, he had long since become the team’s true core rider.

Even if their original Core Commander, Roglič, hadn’t been forced to withdraw due to injury, based on his performance in the first two weeks, he almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to keep from losing time to Vingegaard on the Baiye Plateau.

Therefore, Aldag had to consider Huang Chong’s words very carefully.

And so, before the breakaway group could pull too far ahead of the peloton, he quickly got on the radio. He ordered Sindel, who was riding ahead of Huang Chong, to attack and join the day’s breakaway.

As Sindel made his sudden move, the team directors for the Visma Team and Quick Step Team were sure to notice it immediately.

They immediately got on their radios to share this development with their own riders in the breakaway and with their team leaders.

Once the breakaway group had formed and successfully pulled away from the peloton, the race settled into a familiar pattern: the peloton advancing at a steady pace, while the riders in the break worked furiously to extend their time gap.

The UAE Team was undoubtedly the most composed.

Though they had lost two riders to withdrawal—Ayuso and Wellens—their team of domestiques still had five men.

Politt, in particular, had been on absolutely monstrous form in this year’s Tour de France.

They didn’t need to react to the breakaway group at all.

Sivakov and Politt were still tasked with rotating at the front to control the pace of the peloton over the first two HC Level climbs.

Then, on the final climb, Soler, Adam Yates, and Almeida would give Pogačar his final lead-out up the slope.

Then, once Pogačar was within striking range, he would launch a solo attack to seal the victory. It was a strategy as plain as day.

But even though every team knew UAE’s playbook, countering it was another matter entirely.

Still, the Visma Team’s decision to send Vingegaard’s best climbing domestique into today’s breakaway was a remarkably bold move.

As for how effective it would be, only the final results would tell.

"Cycling fans, the breakaway group has now pulled two and a half minutes ahead of the main group.

Judging by the composition of today’s breakaway, the main action of this stage will likely be concentrated on the final First Category Climb.

I suspect the UAE Team’s tactics will be the same as we saw in Stages 14 and 15.

They’ll send riders to control the peloton, and then on the final summit finish climb, they’ll have their Core Deputy Commanders lead Tadej into striking distance. Then, a few kilometers from the finish, he’ll attack, drop all his rivals in an instant, and take the stage win—"

On European Sports, after the breakaway had formed and quickly built a two-and-a-half-minute lead on the climb up Valles Pass, host Steve began to analyze the various teams’ strategies.

"I agree with you, Steve.

After all, in this Tour de France, Tadej has already lost to Huang Chong twice in a final sprint—on the mountain stages of S4 and S11.

He can’t afford to let Huang Chong follow him to the finish line for another sprint.

But on today’s stage, both the Visma Team and the Quick Step Team have obviously changed their tactics. It looks like they’re planning to go all-in on this stage!"

"That’s right, but I think with the current gap between Jonas and Tadej, it would be incredibly difficult to overturn the general classification, to say nothing of Remco.

I think the Visma Team’s strategy today is aimed more at the Red Bull Bora Team. After all, Huang Chong is only 33 seconds ahead of Jonas.

On a high-mountain climb, a time gap like that can be erased in less than 100 meters!"

"But we can’t forget that Huang Chong’s ability on high-mountain climbs definitely puts him among the very best riders.

Although he lost over ten seconds to Jonas on Stage 14, he adjusted very quickly for Stage 15. Not only did he stick to Jonas’s wheel during his relentless attacks on the Baiye Plateau, but he even managed to overtake him before the finish.

This shows that his climbing ability in the high mountains is now on par with Jonas’s this year—he can even go head-to-head with him.

I am truly looking forward to it. What a brutal, savage scene it will be when the peloton reaches the final climb!"

At the same time as the European Sports broadcast, domestic channels in China were naturally broadcasting the race live as well.

In fact, China Sports had even invited a legend of professional road cycling to be a guest commentator for the race today: the retired rider Ji Cheng, who had participated in all three Grand Tours.

However, Pogačar had won the two summit-finish stages in the second week with unstoppable, crushing attacks launched several kilometers from the line. As a result, the hosts, commentators, and guests on the Chinese broadcast had almost unanimously predicted another victory for Pogačar today.