Chapter 451: Vuelta a España Finale, the GC Triple Strike Arrives

Chapter 451: Chapter 215: Vuelta a España Finale, the GC Triple Strike Arrives

A thick fog swirled at the summit of Quintana Negro.

But unlike the stage in the spring’s Tour de Dauphine—the fog-shrouded race where Huang Chong had led Roglič to victory, with visibility completely obscured—the cameras were able to get a clear shot of him crossing the line first today.

The image was striking, as if he had won by parting the thick fog with some supreme power, letting the sun shine through. Such a scene was a true rarity on the World Tour circuit.

This dominant victory for Huang Chong on the final race day of the second week could only be attributed to the combination of high altitude, a brutally difficult and steep slope, and the notoriously unpredictable weather of northern Spain.

After Huang Chong caught up, Vlasov was completely spent, unable to provide any sort of tactical lead-out.

His form was still ultimately affected by his injury from the Tour de France and the long recovery that followed. The fact that he managed to hang on until the final kilometer today was already an exceptional performance.

But the help he provided Huang Chong during this stage was still undeniable.

By painstakingly sticking to Castrillo’s wheel, he not only prevented the latter from launching an all-out attack but also relayed real-time distance and time gaps to his team leader, who was furiously chasing up the steep slope behind them.

Intelligence is, and always will be, a crucial component of victory in the sport of road cycling.

After Huang Chong crossed the line first, Castrillo—this Vuelta a España’s undisputed best young rider—finished close behind, only about ten seconds back.

For a rookie from a Professional Team to finish just ten seconds behind the Red Jersey—a rider who had been steamrolling the competition in this Vuelta a España—on a major GC stage like this… that achievement was arguably more impressive than winning from a breakaway.

They say the Vuelta a España is the best top-tier stage for rookies to get noticed, and that’s certainly no exaggeration.

With a spectacular, world-class performance like that in the second week, Castrillo joining a World Tour Team next year was a certainty.

In fact, he would likely be flooded with offers from major World Tour teams the moment the Vuelta a España concluded.

Of course, none of this concerned Huang Chong.

As far as he was concerned, while Castrillo’s climbing ability was impressive and his race form and tactics were excellent, the Red Bull Bora Team most likely wouldn’t be interested.

Their team simply wasn’t lacking that type of climber.

His only focus now was seeing how much time he had put into the other GC contenders by the time they reached the finish.

He then watched his rivals cross the line. O’Connor, second in the overall standings, finished 1 minute and 52 seconds behind him. Mas, third overall, came in 1 minute and 4 seconds back. With his lead in the general classification now extended to nearly nine minutes over O’Connor and eleven minutes over Mas, Huang Chong finally felt a sense of relief.

To have accumulated such a massive advantage by the end of the second week of the Vuelta a España meant the race was his to lose. Even with consecutive mountain stages and a final individual time trial in the third week, it would be impossible for anyone to overturn his lead unless he suffered more than just a minor collapse on a single stage.

“We can now say with near certainty that the form and raw ability this team leader from China’s Red Bull Bora Team has displayed over the first two weeks puts him in a league of his own in this year’s Vuelta a España!

With two weeks of racing complete, he holds a staggering nine-minute lead in the general classification over O’Connor in second place! My God, as long as he finishes the third week without a major incident, I simply cannot see any way, given his strength, that another rider could find an opportunity to reverse this!!

Let’s congratulate Huang Chong for taking another classic mountain stage victory with his signature aggressive style!

And congratulations are also in order for becoming the first rider in this year’s Vuelta a España to secure a grand total of four stage wins!”

After Stage 15, Steve from European Sports offered his summary of the first two weeks, his tone filled with admiration.

“Huang Chong has truly seemed unstoppable at this Vuelta a España.

Skjelmose of the Trek Team once described Tadej of the UAE Team as a sun—get too close and you’ll get burned.

I think that same sentiment will increasingly apply to any rider who goes up against Huang Chong.

His riding style and characteristics are practically a mirror image of Tadej’s.

Not only is his overall ability a clear tier above the rest, but his racing style is just as versatile.

They can both adapt to the super-high intensity and fluctuating rhythms of the one-day Classics, seizing fleeting opportunities to win from right under the noses of the top specialists.

And they can also, on brutally steep and treacherous mountain climbs like today’s, use their sustained explosive power, rapid recovery, and incredible endurance to systematically devour the competition!

I mean no disrespect to Jonas, of course, but I truly believe that if the debate over the past few years has been between him and Tadej for the title of best rider in the world, then starting next year—and for many years to come—we will have to add a powerful new contender to that conversation: Huang Chong!”

“I agree with you, Jimmy.

However, I do think Remco from the Quick Step Team has the potential to join their ranks in the future.

It’s just that for now, his ability on long, steep climbs probably needs a bit more polishing when compared to Jonas, Tadej, and Huang Chong—”

And as the lavish praise for Huang Chong from the two expert commentators on European Sports was translated and spread back to China, it undoubtedly left domestic cycling fans ecstatic.