Chapter 462: Securing the Sixth Win and Becoming the Best Lieutenant

As the Vuelta a España announced the news of withdrawals from the Red Bull Bora Team, the directors of the other teams undoubtedly learned of their situation and began contacting their lead riders over the radio.

This was especially true for the Decathlon and Movistar teams, whose riders were in the top three of the general classification. Their directors contacted O’Connor and Mas, respectively, to ask about Huang Chong’s current condition.

If they spotted anything unusual with the man in the Red Jersey, they would surely have their leaders try to attack, hoping to find an opportunity for a dramatic upset.

However, whether it was O’Connor or Mas, after receiving their teams’ orders, they could only feel a sense of powerlessness as they watched Huang Chong. He was pushing steadily up the First Category Climb in the main group, his cadence and upper body core as stable as ever.

Huang Chong’s rock-steady riding rhythm was definitely not a sign of food poisoning.

So, they didn’t have the guts to try and pressure Huang Chong on the climb to test his true condition.

What if nothing was wrong with him, and they needlessly exhausted themselves on the final climbing stage, only to crack prematurely and plummet down the GC rankings? They would be filled with regret.

O’Connor and Mas both replied decisively to their respective team directors in similar terms:

“No, the Chinese rider’s form looks incredibly stable right now. I don’t recommend launching any probing attacks or provocations against him.

The race is almost at the finish. We’re already so far behind. If we take a risk now, there’s a 99% chance it will end in disaster.

Is the team willing to bet on that 1% chance for a massive upset?”

Receiving such decisive responses from their lead riders, the two GC teams naturally didn’t insist. They just instructed their leaders to keep a close eye on the other GC contenders besides Huang Chong.

As the summit of the sixth climb, the Los Tornos, approached, the last two riders in the breakaway, Vine and Bette, were relentlessly caught by the Quick Step Team, with Cataño setting the pace.

Huang Chong had expected this. After all, this climb offered time bonuses, which were crucial for all the GC riders except him.

In the end, with 30km to go and about 4km left to the summit, Sivakov of the UAE Team, currently tenth in the GC, was the first to launch a solo attack.

Huang Chong, of course, didn’t respond.

Sivakov’s attack from this position posed no threat to him. He didn’t care about the six-second time bonus at the top of the climb, so he let the other rider go off alone.

But while he wasn’t worried, the Quick Step Team, which had been controlling the pace for most of the race, certainly was.

Landa was only one spot ahead of Sivakov in the standings. If he was overtaken, he would drop out of the top ten.

So, Quick Step’s last remaining domestique, Cataño, decisively accelerated on the climb. He pulled his leader in a hard chase for 700 meters before completely burning himself out.

And with no domestiques left, Landa glanced at the main group and had no choice but to launch an attack himself on the climb to chase the breakaway rider, Sivakov.

Huang Chong still didn’t react, but his domestique, Lipowitz, who was ranked eighth in the GC, decisively followed Landa.

At the same time, Adrià of the Red Bull Bora Team, who had been resting for a long time, seized the opportunity the moment Cataño blew up. He moved to the front of Huang Chong and began to take control of the main group.

At this stage of the race, with only the final climb remaining, the pacemaking on the earlier rolling hills had been done by Ineos and the Quick Step Team. Now, of course, Red Bull Bora could come out to reap the rewards.

However, Landa’s acceleration was too poor. His attack posed no threat and he couldn’t get away. A few hundred meters from the summit, he was caught by the main group. Then, Mas of the Movistar Team and Adrià both surpassed Landa and Lipowitz, crossing the summit 25 seconds behind Sivakov, who had gone over first.

The Quick Step Team had worked hard all race, but it was all for nothing.

Adrià, of course, didn’t need the time bonuses, but he had indirectly helped his teammate Lipowitz neutralize Landa’s attack.

After the Los Tornos climb, only one final summit finish remained: the Picón Blanco climb.

The climb was 8km long with an average gradient of 9%, with pitches reaching a maximum of 18%.

This was undoubtedly the hardest climb of the stage.

Sivakov, still in a solo breakaway up ahead, took the first-place time bonus and continued his attack, clearly intending to go all the way for a solo victory.

But the Red Bull Bora Team, having retaken control and still possessing two domestiques, was not going to let him get away.

Adrià immediately started a full-speed chase, with Huang Chong right in his wheel.

They were now on the final climb of this year’s Vuelta a España, so Adrià no longer needed to conserve energy. He held nothing back on this pull.

Sivakov had no chance of staying away and was caught shortly after the start of the First Category Climb.

Then, with 6.4km to the finish, Adrià was also completely spent. It was safe to say his work for this Vuelta a España was done.

At this moment, there was no one left in front of Huang Chong. He could launch a solo attack and go all the way, pushing for his sixth stage win of this Vuelta a España.

But just as he was about to make his move, the voice of Aldag came over the radio, making him pause.