Chapter 498 The Superstar Effect, Changing a Nation's Road Cycling Development Process (Part 2)

If he managed to win another Tour de France in the future, it was impossible to imagine just how popular the Chinese brands he endorsed would become.

“Old Huang, bet you didn’t expect to see me here, did you?”

At two in the afternoon, after Huang Chong had lunch and headed to the hotel lobby to meet the fans joining the group ride, a now portly and prosperous-looking Dewey stood at the very front of the crowd, grinning at him.

Huang Chong was, of course, delighted to see his best friend.

His friendship with Dewey was as close as if they were biological brothers.

Whenever he finished a race in Europe, Dewey was always the first to text or call to congratulate him.

He seemed even more concerned with Huang Chong’s daily life than his own parents were.

He stepped forward and gave Dewey a tight hug, then laughed and patted his friend’s big belly, which looked like he was ten months pregnant, and teased:

“Old Du, when did you get here? Why didn’t you tell me beforehand? A guy like you doesn’t need to deliberately snatch a VIP fan spot for the group ride, right? And another thing, how did you get as round as a ball? Can’t you control your weight a little? Don’t you know obesity is bad for you! You must be pushing 220 pounds by now. Are you even going to be able to ride a road bike later?”

Dewey, with his usual carefree attitude, just shrugged and replied:

“You really can’t blame me for gaining weight. It’s all Wu Fang’s fault, that woman. You have no idea. Back when she was recovering after giving birth, we had rich, heavy meals every day. But she’d just take a couple of bites and stop, leaving me to be her human garbage disposal. My mom’s ‘fodder’ was just way too nutritious. Damn it, I was gaining a pound with every meal. Before I knew it, I ended up like this. But don’t you worry, I’m still a smidge under 220 pounds. I can still ride. It’s been way too long since we rode together. Later, Mr. World Champion, how about you do me a favor and be my lead-out?”

Huang Chong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The guy was still a master of passing the buck, refusing to admit his own lack of self-control and constant bingeing, using his wife as a scapegoat instead.

Still, he nodded and said with a smile,

“No problem. I’ll personally lead you out. This afternoon’s group ride is just a casual one anyway. I’ll take good care of those weak legs of yours.”

“Huang Chong, what about us?” Zhou Ming interjected from the side, a hint of jealousy in his tone as he watched Huang Chong and Dewey’s animated reunion. “We’re not this fat pig here. You’re the man who beat Pogačar. Aren’t you going to give us a pull later?”

Their friendship was a classic case of rivals turning into friends. Their relationship had started out stiff, but after Huang Chong’s skills skyrocketed and he truly became a Professional Cyclist, Zhou Ming had taken the initiative to reconcile.

So now, they could be considered friends.

Hearing Zhou Ming’s words, Huang Chong laughed, shook his hand, and replied cheerfully,

“General Manager Zhou, you’re being too formal. You came all this way to support me in person. It would be ungrateful of me not to give you a pull. Don’t you worry. No matter how fast you ride later, I’ll lead you out the entire way, until you’ve had your fill. How does that sound?”

Zhou Ming was, at heart, a rather haughty young master. Seeing Huang Chong play along so readily, he broke into a smile and nodded.

“That’s more like it.”

With that, he didn’t forget to turn and instruct Little Mili, who was beside him.

“You’ll be in the team car later. Make sure you film the entire thing for me. This is a once-in-a-lifetime scene—the world champion acting as my domestique! I want to keep it as a memento!”

Little Mili couldn’t help but chuckle, replying in her unique, smoky voice,

“Understood, General Manager Zhou. I’ll record the whole thing. I won’t miss a single shot.”

Li Zifan was the most normal of the three. He also came forward to shake Huang Chong’s hand, saying with a smile,

“There’s an old saying that you should look at a man with new eyes after just three days’ absence. Huang Chong, you’ve really had a meteoric rise. It’s unbelievable. Two years ago, you were just a regular bike mechanic, and now you’re the world champion. So, can you give me an inside scoop? For next year’s Tour de France, are you confident you can beat Pogačar again?”

That was a tough question for Huang Chong to answer, especially with so many fans watching.

In the world of professional cycling, who would dare claim they could guarantee a victory over Pogačar?

Besides, at their level, although there was no longer much of a gap in raw power between him and Pogačar, the latter had far more experience in major tours—something Huang Chong couldn’t compare to.

Pogačar’s track record was simply too brilliant, and his racing résumé was extensive. For top-tier cyclists like them, race control and the final outcome often came down to form on the day; power output was merely the foundation.

He replied with a smile,

“General Manager Li, are you trying to put me on the spot, or just giving me a hard time? I might have gotten lucky and beaten Pogačar at the World Championships, but in the entire world of cycling, who can say for sure they’ll beat him at the Tour de France? I can only say I’ll do my best!”

Li Zifan was a sharp man. He chuckled at the answer and didn’t press the issue, just nodding.

“Alright. I’ll be there in person to watch the whole race. I’ll be watching you create a miracle!”

Huang Chong could only shake his head with a wry smile.

‘Evidently, such polite non-answers were lost on a man like Li Zifan.’

After briefly greeting his friends, Huang Chong exchanged some pleasantries with the fans in attendance.

Then, along with his domestiques, he led the group of several dozen fans out of the hotel lobby and onto the road.

For a group ride hosted by a top-tier team, the Fangchenggang city officials had, of course, arranged to clear the roads in advance.

To accommodate the event, they had not only cleaned and swept the urban race course ahead of time but had also completely closed it to traffic during the scheduled period.

At the same time, the entire contingent of Red Bull Bora Team domestiques formed a line at the front of the main group to control the pace. The team’s logistical support vehicles also followed at the front and rear, ensuring the training ride went off without a hitch.

As they began their training ride on the five-lane highway, both sides of the road were already packed with fans.

The race hadn’t even started, yet the atmosphere was already like that of an official stage.

Countless fans were wildly shouting Huang Chong’s name.

The effect this superstar generated was absolutely fanatical.

Countless cheers echoed throughout the city.

This was especially true for Huang Chong, who was now wearing the Rainbow Jersey and riding front and center in the main group. Everywhere he went, countless fans pulled out their phones to record him.

You could already imagine the buzz about road cycling that would flood China’s short-video and social media platforms after today.

Huang Chong’s domestiques were stunned by the enthusiasm the Chinese fans displayed.

They were all battle-hardened veterans, but outside of the Tour de France, they had never seen a spectacle of this scale.

This was just a week-long race worth a mere 300 UCI points.

Yet the fan atmosphere was this incredible!

If they hadn’t come to participate in this Tour of Guangxi themselves, they would have never imagined that a cycling race in China could draw such massive crowds.

They even felt that after this Tour of Guangxi, the top brass at the UCI would immediately convene a meeting to discuss the possibility of hosting more top-tier races in China.

After all, in the modern sports world, nearly every major event was trying to get China involved.

The reason was simple: China’s consumer market was just too massive.

Add to that the nation’s rapid economic growth, the rising consumer spending power, and such well-developed road infrastructure that you couldn’t find a single bad road in the city—

Most importantly, China’s territory was vast. Aside from lacking fjords like Norway, it boasted nearly every type of terrain found on Earth.

With its complex geography and the three massive, step-like drops in elevation from east to west, route selection would be the least of their worries if they wanted to establish new top-tier races.

And the source of all this, undoubtedly, was their team leader. He had created it all.

Single-handedly, he had changed a nation, spurring the rapid development and advancement of professional cycling.