Chapter 425 - 205: Establishing a General Classification Advantage, Beware the Coming Stage

After all, he was the only rider who had dared to respond to Huang Chong on the steep climb.

But when asked if he regretted responding to Huang Chong, Van Eetvelt was incredibly decisive in admitting it, stating frankly:

"Yes, I regret it immensely now.

In a moment of impulse, I chose to go hard and follow Huang Chong on the climb, and as a result, I completely blew up.

In the end, not only did I lose a ton of time, but I also made myself look exceptionally stupid.

I have to admit, I was the most reckless rider today in terms of tactical choices.

I both underestimated my opponent’s strength and completely overestimated my own legs!"

As soon as Van Eetvelt’s interview was released, it almost instantly ignited heated discussions among cycling fans worldwide.

But people are very forgiving of a rider so candid and willing to confront his own shortcomings, and the response was overwhelmingly one of encouragement.

As for those who would mock or ridicule him, they were few and far between, even within China’s road cycling fan community.

An old saying goes: Humility leads to progress.

Therefore, everyone knew that with such an attitude, Van Eetvelt was destined for significant improvement and progress in the future.

...

After Stage 4, the only stage in the Vuelta a España officially designated as flat arrived.

But in reality, anyone who looked at the terrain profile for Stage 5 would discover that this so-called 177 km flat stage still featured numerous short climbs in the first 125 km, with a total elevation gain of 1,691 meters.

With that much climbing, it would be considered a hilly stage in any other race.

However, from the 125 km mark to the finish at 177 km, aside from a section of downhill, it was indeed a truly flat road.

On a stage like this, Huang Chong and the entire Red Bull Bora Team would definitely be focused on taking it easy and conserving energy.

Anyway, his current advantage in the general classification was already large enough; they had to be willing to concede stages they didn’t need to contest.

This wasn’t just a matter of peloton etiquette; it was also the only way they could guarantee they would have enough energy in the subsequent climbing stages to fight for the overall victory.

In the end, Stage 5 was, as expected, a showdown between the sprinters from the various teams in an anaerobic dash to the finish line.

What no one expected, however, was that Van Aert and Groves, who had been such direct rivals in Stages 2 and 3, both failed to take the stage win.

They only managed to take second and third place on the stage.

As for the stage victory, it was snatched away by Pavel Bittner of Team DSM!

But that’s how flat finish sprints are, always full of chance and coincidence.

No one can ever guarantee a win.

So Van Aert, finishing second on a stage yet again, could do little more than shake his head in frustration and learn from the experience.

And after the only flat stage, Stage 6 was another high-mountain stage, 185.5 km long with a total elevation gain of 3,711 meters.

The riders would travel from Jerez de la Frontera all the way to Yunquera.

Huang Chong was extremely wary of this stage.

Because from his past life, when he watched the 2024 Vuelta a España, his most vivid memory was of this very stage.

He remembered clearly that in his past life, although Roglič ultimately won the overall title...

...he, the man originally in the Red Jersey, had lost six and a half minutes on this stage—one perfectly suited for a breakaway—to Ben O’Connor, one of the two leaders for the Decathlon Team.

...