Chapter 367 186: Relentless Pursuit, Showdown at Le Lioran

Ultimately, Huang Chong and Vingegaard exchanged a glance. Words were hardly necessary; they had reached a silent agreement to chase Pogačar together.

But Huang Chong wasn't stupid. He wouldn't pick up the pace right from the start of the descent.

Instead, he intentionally slowed his pace, waited for his team leader Roglič to catch up, and only then did he move to the front of the trio and start accelerating down the mountain to chase Pogačar.

Of course, waiting for his team leader came at a price. Pogačar was now more than 20 seconds ahead of them.

However, Huang Chong's descending speed was simply too fast. After Pogačar extended the gap to about 30 seconds, his sheer speed on the descent prevented it from growing any larger.

But Evenepoel, who had been dropped and was alone behind them, clearly didn't have top-tier descending skills. The trio quickly opened up another gap of nearly 20 seconds on him.

"Huang, well done. When you reach the foot of the mountain and start the Pertu Pass climb, don't take any more turns at the front.

Be smart about your tactics. Let Jonas do the chasing.

You need to save your energy. I'll have Primož rotate with Jonas!"

This tactical call from Aldag basically confirmed Huang Chong as the team's Core Commander.

Though he didn't state it outright.

But in reality, anyone with eyes could see that Roglič's climbing ability was no longer a match for his own trusted lieutenant.

And as it turned out, Aldag had made the right call.

During the Pertu Pass climb, as Vingegaard frantically increased the pace, Roglič was dropped again on a section with a 12% average gradient, 2.5km from the summit.

This was a gap in raw power.

Huang Chong gritted his teeth and stuck with Vingegaard, constantly looking back to check on Roglič's condition, but could only watch helplessly as his team leader fell further and further behind him.

"Huang, don't worry about Primož. Just focus on your own job.

Tadej is fading up ahead. The time gap to him is being rapidly closed by you and Jonas.

There are still 17km to the finish. In the upcoming sections, you absolutely must not take any turns leading them.

You have to save your energy. At the very least, make sure you have enough left for one sprint before the finish.

If you can wait for Primož to regroup with you again, that would be ideal.

Then, for the sprint before the finish, I'll have him lead you out. This will give you an extra layer of insurance for keeping the Yellow Jersey.

If he can't catch up to you by the finish, then you just stick to Tadej's and Jonas's wheels the whole way and wait for an opportunity.

Remember, with your sprinting ability, and with Tadej's stamina rapidly declining, you have a chance to keep the Yellow Jersey."

Aldag's decisive and straightforward tactical instructions once again made Huang Chong feel the cruelty and competitiveness of professional sports.

With his own powerful rise, he was destined to mount a strong challenge to Roglič's status as the team's core leader in this year's Tour de France.

On the course, they were teammates, helping and coordinating with each other.

But no matter how much he respected and admired this senior figure of the cycling world, once the final general classification was decided, their tactical positions would likely be reversed.

But Huang Chong really couldn't be concerned with any of that right now.

Because as Vingegaard desperately pedaled while seated on the steep slope, Huang Chong's own energy was draining furiously just to keep up.

In fact, no one knew that he was already at his limit just by firmly sticking to Vingegaard on the climb; it was completely impossible for him to take a turn at the front.

And as Vingegaard and Huang Chong gritted their teeth and persevered, the gap to Pogačar, who had attacked earlier, shrank to only about 13 seconds with 600 meters left on the Pertu Pass.

This was a gap of twenty to nearly thirty meters.

Seeing the white figure in the Slovenian national champion's jersey reappear before his eyes reignited the fighting spirit in Huang Chong, who had been on the verge of breaking.

In truth, after Pogačar had launched his solo attack on Mary Mountain, successfully built a lead of over 30 seconds, and completely disappeared from view, Huang Chong had given up hope for the Yellow Jersey he was wearing.

Anyway, he knew very well that with his own ability this year, if Pogačar got away solo, there was no way he could catch the Mars People.

Only Vingegaard was unwilling to give up, launching a desperate chase on the climb, so naturally Huang Chong had to follow him for dear life. In the end, the two of them managed to reel Pogačar back in again.

The arch marking the summit of the Pertu Pass drew closer and closer.

But in the last hundred meters, Huang Chong felt like he was climbing a stairway to heaven.

His road bike clearly weighed only 7kg, but he was pedaling with the heavy feeling of a fully loaded touring bike.

This was undoubtedly a very bad physical sign.

It meant that during the high-intensity anaerobic climb, a large amount of lactic acid had built up in his body, and he was nearing his breaking point.

And as they approached the arch, Vingegaard and Pogačar even started a small sprint, vying for the King of the Mountains points for crossing the line first.

In truth, the final overall winner of the Tour de France usually also takes the King of the Mountains' Polka Dot Jersey.

Because on the HC Level climbs in the mountain stages, the points for the first person across the line are just too massive.

No matter how hard the breakaway riders struggled, they could never actually keep the Polka Dot Jersey.

But Huang Chong truly had no energy left to fight for any Polka Dot Jersey.

'Let those two freaks fight over it however they want!'

Afterward, the three of them grouped up again for the descent.

During the descent, Huang Chong's powerful cardiorespiratory system began to naturally clear the acid.