Chapter 391 - 194: The Tour de France Officially Concludes, Carving Up the Huge Rewards

As Huang Chong, clad in the White Jersey, won yet another Tour de France stage, no one was more excited than Dewey and his friends waiting at the finish line.

But Zhou Ming wore the most peculiar expression of them all.

This was because Huang Chong had previously told him that with Pogačar in the race, he had virtually no chance in the mountain stages of the third week.

But now, as Stage 19 concluded, he watched Huang Chong easily cross the finish line first, with even the Yellow Jersey’s desperate pursuit unable to change the outcome. He felt a mix of admiration and a nagging suspicion that Huang Chong had been deliberately messing with him.

Still, at the end of the day, having witnessed Huang Chong win a Tour de France stage in person, he was completely and utterly won over.

This was a Tour de France stage victory, after all!

Countless World Tour Cyclists work their entire lives without ever managing to claim such a monumental achievement!

Watching Huang Chong ascend the podium after the race, swarmed and cheered on by the roaring crowd as he accepted his prize and flowers for the stage win, Zhou Ming couldn’t help but recall a scene from two years prior. In Dewey’s bike shop, Huang Chong had declared his intention to become a Professional Cyclist and compete in the three Grand Tours and five major Classics—

Back then, he had genuinely thought Huang Chong was just talking nonsense, completely naive to the harsh realities of the world.

After all, the caliber of World Tour Cyclists was simply on another level.

He had been left speechless by the climbing performances of these top-tier cyclists over the past few days.

Yet now, right before his very eyes, Huang Chong was standing on the podium of the sport’s highest stage, having secured three bona fide stage wins. From this day forward, Zhou Ming, the perpetually arrogant young master, could only give him his utmost respect.

"Holy shit, Old Huang!!

You actually beat Pogačar head-to-head!!

When we watched that descent of yours on the live feed, we were so tense we couldn’t even breathe!

You’re so fearless now, nothing like the guy you were in college!!"

After Huang Chong finished his interviews and came over to greet him, Dewey gave his best friend a hearty slap on the shoulder.

He was just so incredibly happy and proud of his friend!

"You think I wanted to attack on the descent?"

Huang Chong shook his head at the remark, a wry smile on his face as he spoke.

"I honestly couldn’t think of any other strategy to win this stage.

All I can say is, it’s a good thing he didn’t chase me right away. Otherwise, I never would’ve gotten away on the descent."

"That’s for sure. Pogačar is terrifyingly strong.

On that last climb, he attacked and chased you the entire way without ever leaving his saddle.

Vingegaard and Evenepoel couldn’t even hold his wheel!

We watched the time gap between you two get smaller and smaller. With 1km to go, it looked like he was only tens of meters behind, right? We were all sweating bullets for you.

If you’d been overtaken in that final stretch, you would have been absolutely crushed, wouldn’t you?"

Li Zifan said with a smile, patting Huang Chong’s shoulder.

Huang Chong, however, was confident that being overtaken before the finish line was never a real possibility.

’Pogačar’s strength lies in sustained high-threshold power output. If I could reach the 1km mark ahead of him, it would be incredibly difficult for him to win.’

However, he couldn’t reveal his personal riding data, so he could only change the subject with a nod.

"You win some, you lose some, General Manager Li.

Pogačar has passed countless rivals right before the finish line, so there’s really nothing to be upset about.

Let’s just say there was a certain element of luck in my winning the stage today!"

"Tomorrow is another mountain stage, isn’t it? Since you’re so good at descending now, do you think you have another shot?"

Zhou Ming, who had been listening on the side, was the last to ask his question.

But Huang Chong shook his head without hesitation, his tone firm.

"No way. An attack like that on a descent only works once.

Now that my rivals know my strengths, they’ll never let me get away again!

Besides, tomorrow is the final mountain stage, so there’s no need for me to fight for the win. Just defending my current advantage will be the greatest victory!"

...

In his post-race interview, Pogačar was inevitably asked by reporters how he felt about his defeat.

He could only shrug with a wry smile and state frankly:

"I think my team and I underestimated Huang Chong’s descending skills.

I didn’t respond to him immediately, and as a result, he just kept widening the gap on the descent.

As for the final chase, I gave it everything I had. I pushed myself to the absolute limit.

But he was just too far ahead. The fact that I managed to catch back up to his group and cross the line without losing any more time was the best possible outcome."

"Indeed. That being said, what are your prospects for tomorrow’s stage?

Are you worried Huang Chong will continue to put you under pressure in the general classification?"

"Of course. Everyone wants to win the overall title in the end.

But rather than worrying about what my rivals will do, I think it’s more important to get our own tactics right.

As for our prospects, I’ll have to discuss the specifics with the team. You’ll see the answer during tomorrow’s final mountain stage."

...

Back at the Visma Team’s support vehicles.

When Vingegaard finished the stage and returned to the team bus, his wife and young daughter were waiting for him at the finish line, just as they did at the end of every stage.

As expected, when he saw his finishing time after Stage 19, he had lost another 1 minute and 42 seconds to Huang Chong and Pogačar. Add to that Huang Chong’s 10-second bonus for winning the stage, and the total time gap had widened to 2 minutes and 25 seconds. Though he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, he knew in his heart that his hope of finishing second overall in this year’s Tour de France was now all but gone.