Chapter 2406 - 608: Scotland Flyer

Chapter 2406: Chapter 608: Scotland Flyer

"And another thing is his mental toughness. Huang Kaiwen’s mental game is absolutely the best I’ve ever seen in sports, and that helps him a ton in staying in good form across different disciplines. Some athletes are really strong, but the moment it comes to crunch time they get nervous, they choke. There’s even a technical term for it called the ’Jensen Effect.’ Mostly it’s because expectations are too high and the public puts too much pressure on them, so some athletes with real ability just fall apart at key moments. But with Huang Kaiwen, that possibility basically doesn’t exist. The more critical the moment, the more he explodes."

The International Triathlon Union president Marisol Casado watched the TV and couldn’t help humming "La Vie en rose" in a relaxed tone.

Huang Kaiwen didn’t just bring attention.

His way of racing also makes triathlon look a lot more watchable—of course, the danger factor has gone up a lot too.

But for this sport, the upside is bigger.

Just look at how many sponsor logos are on Huang Kaiwen’s kit and you know how much sponsorship money that is.

Triathlon athletes don’t earn much.

There was once a guy ranked around 20th who shared his income—it was about the same as a cashier at Walmart in Canada.

Only after he finally won a pro division title once did his income rise to the level of an accountant.

Triathletes with low commercial value mainly live off prize money.

Winning a pro division title usually brings a few sponsors, life gets a bit easier, but compared to other sports it’s still way behind.

A sponsorship of around fifty grand is way too little for a top athlete, especially when triathlon requires a ton of gear and logistical prep.

Marisol Casado, however, saw another possibility.

If Huang Kaiwen keeps racing, or if he wins this one, it’ll definitely give the sport a serious boost.

The race on course had already entered the fourth lap.

But Huang Kaiwen still hadn’t managed to pull off a pass and change his position.

The two Germans ahead of him were a huge challenge.

If one attempt to overtake fails, it will for sure make the Germans tighten their guard against him.

Huang Kaiwen thought for a moment and decided to move early.

Just as they were about to exit Hyde Park, Huang Kaiwen had quietly upped his cadence. To keep the noise down, he could only extend his legs longer, pushing the pedals over a bigger range.

All to catch Jan Frodeno off guard.

Closer!

Huang Kaiwen suddenly accelerated.

His legs were pumping like crazy.

Jan Frodeno immediately noticed—Huang Kaiwen had come up on his left.

Going for the pass!

Jan Frodeno instantly steered his bike over onto the left overtaking lane as well.

Patrick Lange in front suddenly slowed down!!!

He was doing it to let him pass—the two of them were hoping to use twenty seconds to completely box Huang Kaiwen in.

The two of them swapping positions doesn’t affect them at all.

Huang Kaiwen not only didn’t slow down, he kept hammering the pedals.

Jan Frodeno cursed and could only follow by ramping up his speed.

Otherwise the three of them were going to crash together at the park gate.

Patrick Lange had no choice but to accelerate as well, trying to shut down any chance of Huang Kaiwen overtaking from the flank.

But Huang Kaiwen suddenly flicked his front wheel and forced his way back in from the left.

They were already at the park entrance; Lange was forced to brake and let Huang Kaiwen slip in front of him.

Jan Frodeno was still in third place.

But Huang Kaiwen had successfully broken out of their two-man trap, and more importantly, he’d stopped them from linking up.

Dropping two spots in one breath, Lange was fuming, practically ready to swear his head off.

It was the first time he’d run into an opponent as crazy as Huang Kaiwen, someone who could brute-force triathlon into feeling like F1.

Jan Frodeno did let out a sigh of relief.

But he immediately tensed up again.

Huang Kaiwen pulled up again on the left overtaking lane, pressing him.

Damn it, he wants to keep passing.

Jan Frodeno gritted his teeth, pushed hard, and tried to match Huang Kaiwen’s burst.

He didn’t expect Huang Kaiwen to suddenly slow down and drop back into his own spot.

Falling back to fifth, Patrick Lange hadn’t expected Huang Kaiwen to be that decisive—his idea of stealing Huang Kaiwen’s position didn’t work, and he quickly opened up a safe gap.

Originally he’d wanted to use this chance to keep Huang Kaiwen from getting back in, to force him to stay in fifth.

But not long after, Huang Kaiwen went up on the left overtaking lane again.

This time, same thing—he failed to complete the pass and returned to his spot.

Near Buckingham Palace, Huang Kaiwen launched a third overtaking attempt at Jan Frodeno, and Lange behind them couldn’t help shouting, "Idiot, he’s burning you out!"

Of course Jan Frodeno knew.

But knowing didn’t help.

As long as he didn’t want to give up his position, he had to follow Huang Kaiwen and push the pace.

Huang Kaiwen kept using this tactic to wear him down, and he could only grit his teeth and take it.

Jan Frodeno was just curious about one thing—does Huang Kaiwen not want to win anymore?

On every overtaking attempt, the rider in the left lane spends more energy. If Huang Kaiwen is draining him like this, Huang Kaiwen himself is also burning a lot of stamina.

Playing it this way is basically mutual destruction.

Unless Huang Kaiwen’s endurance is way beyond his and the others’.