Chapter 375 - 188: I Chased the Sun and Got Burned (Part 4)

"Just as I expected! Only Huang Chong of the Red Bull Bora Team has the explosive power to follow Tadej’s attack!!

In the blink of an eye, Jonas, Remco, and even Carlos have been dropped, a gap of dozens of meters already separating them from the two leaders!!

But what I’m really curious about is whether Huang Chong, who is determined to defend the Yellow Jersey, can keep up with Tadej’s attack?

Only 4.4 kilometers remain in the race!!

Tadej keeps looking back at Huang Chong, who’s stuck to his wheel, and he’s about to link up with his teammate, Adam!!

Once they successfully link up, what kind of tactic will they employ?"

And the moment Steve’s words faded, the instant his team leader caught up to him, Adam Yates didn’t hesitate. He immediately got out of the saddle and started hammering, pulling Pogačar and Huang Chong along as they charged past the 4-kilometer-to-go banner.

Although Huang Chong was glued to Pogačar’s wheel, from the moment the attack started to Adam Yates taking over and continuing the assault, he had been riding for nearly 1.5 kilometers with his power output never dipping below 500 watts.

’He knew perfectly well that if he kept holding on like this, he was bound to blow up early.’

And so, when Adam Yates finished his pull, Pogačar glanced back at Huang Chong’s agonized face and decisively got out of the saddle once more.

This time, Huang Chong didn’t dare to respond. He could only watch helplessly as his rival rode away solo!

This was a hard truth he had to accept this year.

After all, his core power was simply no match for the "Mars People."

’He knew that his descending ability, his bike-handling skills, and even his explosive power in short sprints were, on their own, better than Pogačar’s.’

’But when it came to the most fundamental aspect—his FTP Power—he still couldn’t measure up.’

’He could handle a continuous, 1.5-kilometer anaerobic assault, but he couldn’t withstand the constant high-power attacks his rival threw at him starting from four kilometers out.’

After successfully launching his team leader, the wily Adam Yates tucked in right behind Huang Chong to draft and recover.

Though he hated being followed so closely, Huang Chong could only grit his teeth and swallow his frustration, continuing to chase after Pogačar, who was pulling further and further away.

In reality, he no longer had any hope of catching Pogačar. His only goal was to avoid being caught by Vingegaard, who was chasing frantically from behind, before reaching the finish line.

’After all, there was no way Adam Yates would take a turn pulling to chase down his own team leader.’

However, even though Huang Chong had used his explosive power to follow Pogačar’s initial attack and temporarily drop Vingegaard, Vingegaard’s ability on long, steep climbs began to shine as they neared the summit.

Under the 1-kilometer-to-go banner, Huang Chong, who was still pulling Adam Yates along, was helplessly caught by Vingegaard.

The only saving grace was that Evenepoel, C. Rodríguez, and the others had all been dropped by Vingegaard and were now left far behind.

After catching Huang Chong, Vingegaard didn’t mess around; he immediately surged past, took the lead, and started hammering toward the finish.

Because in his eyes, the only rival who mattered was Pogačar.

Huang Chong tried to stay with Vingegaard, who was riding at full tilt, but after holding on for a hundred meters, he realized he just couldn’t do it.

On long, steep climbs, he was still no match for Vingegaard this year.

Of course, it wasn’t just him who couldn’t keep up; Adam Yates couldn’t either. Both of them started to get dropped at the 900-meter mark.

One second—

Two seconds—

Five seconds—

The finish line was getting closer and closer.

But Huang Chong knew the time gap between himself and Vingegaard was only growing wider.

In the end, after surging past him, Vingegaard never looked back, riding solo all the way to the finish and crossing the line to take second place in the stage.

With 100 meters to go, Huang Chong also got out of the saddle, using his last ounce of strength to drop Adam Yates and finish in third place, 11 seconds behind Vingegaard.

As for Pogačar, who crossed the line first, he finished the stage a full 39 seconds ahead of the second-place Vingegaard, and his lead over Huang Chong was an even greater 50 seconds.

This meant that the "Mars People" had finally retaken the Yellow Jersey in Stage 14 and had also extended his overall lead on Huang Chong to 45 seconds.

As for Vingegaard, though he beat Huang Chong by 11 seconds in this stage, he also earned a time bonus for finishing second that was two seconds greater than Huang Chong’s. This allowed him to close their time gap by 13 seconds. However, in the general classification, he still trailed Huang Chong by 31 seconds, remaining in third place.

But without a doubt, when it came to a true summit finish climb, Huang Chong’s disadvantage in core power compared to those two freaks was completely exposed.

What was worse, not only did he lack a strong enough climbing domestique, but every upcoming high-mountain stage was also a summit finish climb just like today’s—

So his goal was no longer chasing the overall Yellow Jersey; he now had to figure out how to withstand Vingegaard’s relentless attacks and hold on to second place in the final general classification!

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