Chapter 450 214: Taking the Golden Chariot's First Victory in the Mountaintop Fog

The time gap was still widening!

By the time they reached the 8.4% climb, they were already nearly three and a half minutes behind the breakaway group.

Huang Chong was getting quite anxious, so he quickly radioed Aldag:

"Director, are we going to keep hiding behind Quick Step?

If this keeps up, even with Vlasov up front following Sivakov, if the gap gets too big, I can't guarantee I'll have enough road left to catch him!

Shouldn't we take the initiative into our own hands?"

Hearing this, Aldag thought for a moment before replying:

"No, don't make a move yet. Stay calm.

We're about to hit the 11.1% section of the climb.

Given the state of the Quick Step Team right now, they can't keep leading. Landa should be attacking here.

After this part, there's a brief, gentler plateau in the middle of the Quintana Negro.

You wait for Landa to attack first. Then see if the other teams' leaders respond immediately.

Let them wear each other out a bit first. Then, when you see your moment, launch your counterattack on this steep section!"

Hearing this reply, Huang Chong had nothing more to say.

And just as Aldag predicted, upon entering the 11.1% climb, Quick Step's leader, Landa, launched an out-of-the-saddle attack.

This was both a pre-arranged team tactic and a move born of necessity.

Because all of his domestiques were about to blow.

And so, the other GC leaders, like O'Connor, Mas, Carapaz, and the rest, all followed suit.

They didn't really have high hopes for the overall championship anymore, but if they didn't follow Landa's attack, their podium spots—even second place—would truly be at risk.

Landa, sitting in fifth place, wasn't far behind them in the overall standings anyway.

But without a doubt, their attacking power on steep climbs was a bit lacking. After pulling for less than two hundred meters, the effort basically fizzled out.

Huang Chong, who had been riding defensively, saw them ease up and decisively got out of the saddle himself, beginning a rapid surge past them from behind.

"Huang Chong is launching his counterattack!!!

Just as we thought, he's going for the Stage 15 win!!

Let's see if anyone can match his pace?!

Ah, O'Connor in second place doesn't seem to be responding—

And neither are the leaders of the other teams!!

He's going to pull away on his own on this steep climb and chase down the breakaway group all by himself!!

But he's still 3 minutes and 20 seconds behind Sivakov's group, and with only 5.8 km left in the race, does he still have a chance?!"

As Steve's questioning voice echoed, Huang Chong glanced behind him and was surprised to see no one was following him.

'These guys are no fun at all!'

But he didn't care what their plans were. His mission was to catch and overtake the breakaway group before the finish line.

However, after the 11.1% steep section, the next three kilometers were a flatter, transitional zone.

Although he managed to close the gap slightly with his immense power output, heading into the final three kilometers of super-steep climbing, he was still two minutes behind.

Meanwhile, in the breakaway group, which had already reached the final steep section, Sivakov blew up almost immediately.

But the local rider, Castrillo, immediately launched an out-of-the-saddle attack on the 10.7% grade.

Vlasov could only do his best to hang on to his rival's wheel, while radioing to Huang Chong, telling him to catch up soon because he was about to get dropped.

Hearing this, Huang Chong grew even more anxious. He had no choice but to increase his power output and start hammering it in the saddle.

And so, for every one of the following kilometers, he rode like a man possessed, putting out nearly 470 watts, and finally caught Vlasov and Castrillo under the 1 km-to-go kite.

After that, he smoothly overtook his rivals and rode on toward the finish line.

With the finish line so close, Castrillo naturally wanted to respond.

But the final kilometer had an average gradient of 14%, with its steepest parts hitting 24%.

On such a steep incline, he couldn't keep up with Huang Chong's pace at all.

Plus, the summit of the Quintana Negro was at an altitude of 1,800 meters. Up here, the peak was shrouded in thick fog, and visibility was extremely low.

After Huang Chong took just one corner, Castrillo lost sight of him completely. In the end, he could only watch as the Red Jersey rode away, crossing the finish line first on his Golden Chariot.