Chapter 407 - 200: The ’Gold Content’ of an Olympic Champion, Net Worth Skyrocketing Overnight

"He won!!

China’s own Huang Chong is the first to cross the finish line!!

There isn’t a single rider behind him! No one could keep up with him as he crossed that line!

Only the Eiffel Tower, adorned with the Olympic rings, now stands silently behind him!

On the live feed, we could all clearly see that the Belgium National Team’s top star, Road Cyclist Remco Evenepoel, unfortunately suffered a mechanical failure about 4km from the finish, costing him a significant amount of time—

—but honestly, even if he hadn’t had bike trouble, given Huang Chong’s lead of over twenty seconds, it would have been completely impossible for Evenepoel to catch up with only 4km remaining!!

Let’s congratulate Huang Chong for clinching this thrilling victory and becoming the champion of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games men’s road race!!!

And congratulations to the entire China Team for securing another incredibly precious Olympic gold medal here in the romantic capital: Paris, France!!"

As Huang Chong crossed the white finish line in first place, Director Xiao’s voice, trembling with immense joy and excitement, continued to ring out over the broadcast.

Beside him, the lead host was undoubtedly just as excited.

But he possessed the profound professionalism befitting a lead network host, and so he simply summarized in a calm, steady tone:

"That’s right. Huang Chong has not only achieved an unprecedented best for China’s road cycling program on the Olympic stage—filling a void where we previously had no medals—but he has also set a new historical record.

At the same time, on behalf of our nation, he has elevated our standing in the world of road cycling to a whole new level!

We may never know exactly how much sweat Huang Chong poured into winning this gold medal in private, how many storms he weathered, how many winding roads he traveled, or how many towering mountains he summited—

—but we can clearly see that all his past hardship and dedication have, in this very moment, borne the sweetest fruit and will now reap the richest rewards.

Professional sports is always a fierce competition, like thousands of soldiers trying to cross a single-plank bridge. So we have every reason to believe that right now, Huang Chong is the best Road Cyclist in the world!

Furthermore, after today’s race, I believe the sport of professional road cycling will be understood, loved, and followed by more people in our country, all thanks to Huang Chong’s struggle and effort here in Paris.

Finally, we must thank Huang Chong—who left his home to travel far and wide, competing in Europe to seek a higher level of competition—for giving the entire nation this spectacular race, one destined for the history books. It is he who has brought the sport of professional road cycling into the homes and hearts of the people!!"

...

For Chinese road cycling fans, this was a deeply emotional moment. To see one of their own country’s Road Cyclists win gold at the Olympics, and to create history in such a dramatic fashion—with only the final 10km looking relatively easy—was enough to bring tears to their eyes. That would be no exaggeration at all.

His parents, relatives, friends, classmates, and even Chen Junyi’s parents, as well as his mentor (Director Zhang of the Zhejiang Team), all of whom knew he would be representing the country at the Olympics, were now too overjoyed to speak.

Every fan was genuinely proud of Huang Chong and sincerely thrilled that the China Team could achieve such a historic breakthrough in what is considered a niche sport.

After all, in the world of professional road cycling, China was very much an emerging nation.

Before today, the country lagged far behind the powerhouses of Europe in terms of both competitive level and accolades.

In previous Olympic Games, for instance, the athletes China sent either missed the time cut midway through the race and were unable to finish, or they failed to even secure the basic qualifications to compete.

This wasn’t due to a lack of effort in training on the part of the Chinese riders; the gap in performance was simply that large.

The disparity was stark, the disadvantage immense.

But now, with Huang Chong’s victory over all the nations boasting top-tier Road Cyclists—Belgium, France, Denmark, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Slovenia, the United States, and Australia—he had reached the pinnacle of the sport. Without a doubt, the people of China could finally hold their heads high!

As for why this feeling was temporary... well, any fan who followed the World Tour knew that Huang Chong still had many major races on the circuit that he had yet to win.

What’s more, there were still rivals with the greatest overall strength whom he had yet to defeat head-to-head.

...

As Huang Chong reached the finish line first, he glanced back and, seeing no sign of Evenepoel, slowed down after crossing and made a small celebratory gesture.

He raised his Lightning, the bike he usually rode with the team, and let the photographers from all over the world capture his victory celebration, with the Eiffel Tower as his backdrop.

To be honest, it had been a very long race, lasting over six hours.

It was the longest and most grueling one-day race he had ever ridden, one certainly worth a special commemoration.

It was even nearly 20km longer than the Liège Race he had competed in back in April—one of the five oldest classic Monuments.

Fortunately, through his own perseverance and his prior knowledge of Evenepoel, he had finally won the gold medal he had yearned for—the one that all the fans across the country had been waiting for.