Chapter 401 - 198: It Is Because He Burst Onto the Scene That Our Country Can Compete Head-On with Europe

The start and finish lines for this Olympic race are in the exact same location.

After setting off from Trocadero Square, the race director’s car will lead the 90 riders from different countries on a 5km ceremonial ride.

They will then reach the 0km mark, the official start of racing, where the peloton will be released to let all the riders head west out of the Paris City Center.

They will then ride out to the distant suburbs, complete a large loop, and return to the Paris City Center from the east.

In the final 50km or so, the riders will cross the famous Seine River, enter the final Montmartre climb, and circle the famous Sacred Heart Cathedral in Paris for three laps.

After the final climb up Montmartre, the riders will change course, returning to the foot of the Eiffel Tower, then ride across the Jena Bridge to the finish line in front of Chale Palace: Trocadero Square.

Once the ceremonial ride ended, the peloton surged forward like a herd of wild horses. Five riders immediately launched the first breakaway.

They were Eric Manizabayo from Rwanda.

Thanakhan Chaiyasombat from Thailand.

Ashraf Ed Doghmy from Morocco.

Christopher Lagane from Mauritius.

And Charles Kagimu from Uganda.

The nations with a real chance at gold certainly wouldn’t pay any mind to a breakaway launched by riders from these five countries.

In truth, the professional scene runs on etiquette and unspoken agreements.

Knowing full well that these smaller nations lacked the necessary strength, the stronger teams let the breakaway group go, purely as a gesture to give these underpowered athletes a chance to showcase themselves.

Huang Chong and Lü Xianjing, meanwhile, tucked themselves away in the middle-to-rear of the peloton, content to just cruise.

Having ridden in the World Tour for so long, Huang Chong knew the strategy of a one-day classic like the back of his hand.

Seeing his teammate was clearly nervous after the race began, he pulled up alongside him and said with a smile,

"Relax, Brother Lü. This race is 270km long.

According to how they race here in Europe, one-day races are usually divided into three stages.

For example, the first 170km is basically the first stage.

The top riders use it for basic cruising and to weed out riders who are a level below in terms of pure ability.

All we have to do is maintain a steady pace and stick with the peloton. They almost never make any big moves in the first stage!

So if a rider is too tense, their body will get stiff, and they’ll burn way more energy than if they were relaxed."

Hearing Huang Chong’s timely advice, Lü Xianjing nodded, a wave of relief washing over him.

He was well aware of the limits of his own abilities.

Competing for a medal was a pipe dream, an unrealistic fantasy.

In fact, judging by the results of past Olympic races, simply finishing the race without being pulled for being outside the time limit would be a historic achievement.

But even though a high placing was out of reach, being chosen by the head coach and traveling thousands of miles to France to participate in the Olympics was, in itself, a tremendous honor.

He definitely didn’t want to get dropped early.

Otherwise, it would be a real waste of such a great opportunity to compete head-on with the world’s top riders.

"Then what are the other two stages?"

After Huang Chong’s reminder, Lü Xianjing quickly relaxed.

Once he wasn’t so mentally tense, his riding did indeed become much smoother and more effortless.

"The second stage usually begins around the 100-kilometer-to-go mark. That’s when riders hoping to win from a breakaway will launch their official attacks, unleashing a relentless series of moves on one climb after another.

During this time, the teams in the peloton that are aiming for the win will send out their domestiques to control the pace and constantly chase down the breakaway riders.

In this process, anyone who gets dropped on a climb is out of the running.

The pace of a one-day race is incredibly fast. Once you’re dropped, there’s no time to recover.

Then, with about 50km left to the finish, the race enters its final stage.

This is when the Core Commanders from each country will launch all-out attacks, one after another.

So, to win a one-day race, you have to have a ton of patience in the first two stages.

You also have to conserve as much energy as possible amidst the constant surges and attacks from other riders."

Huang Chong made it sound simple, but keeping up with the pace of the other riders through all three stages of the race was anything but.

Fortunately, Lü Xianjing knew his role in the race was just to be a good domestique for Huang Chong; he didn’t have the pressure of competing for a top result.

So after hearing Huang Chong’s explanation, he could only pray that he could hang on to the peloton’s pace through the first two stages. That would ensure Huang Chong could make it to the final stage to go head-to-head with the top riders.

...

A long time after the race began, CCTV, which was broadcasting the event live, finally brought its host and guest into the studio.

This was an old CCTV tradition; their event scheduling was always incredibly tight.

But this was also a disadvantage inherent to road cycling.

The first half, with its cruising and attrition, really wasn’t much to watch. The exciting parts were always in the middle and later stages.