Chapter 469: A Rider Destined to Become a Legend Is Officially Born

Huang Chong had no spare attention for the signs on the side of the road.

Riding in an ITT required a fixed posture to achieve optimal aerodynamics. Moving his head around would only increase drag.

Besides, he had already scouted the final stage’s terrain with the team in advance, so he was thoroughly familiar with it.

Even without Aldag’s constant reminders over the radio, he could perfectly control his own riding pace.

So, with only 150 meters left to the finish line, he got out of the saddle and started to sprint.

Although a TT bike is heavier than a standard road bike, his terrifying anaerobic burst of power meant his speed instantly shot up to over 60 km/h.

The final two kilometers were a gentle incline, which played to his strengths. Since he hadn’t fallen behind earlier, his final time of 26 minutes and 23 seconds beat Stefan King by about five seconds, securing him the last stage victory of this Vuelta a España.

The race began and ended with a time trial stage, and Huang Chong won both. This prompted Stefan King, a time trial specialist, to give a wry smile and stand up to applaud him.

It was impossible not to be impressed by such powerful, well-rounded riding ability.

After Huang Chong crossed the line, O’Connor—whom he had overtaken—followed suit. The Vuelta a España was finally over, and all questions had been answered.

Steve declared:

“An unforgettable Vuelta a España, and it all ends here! Let me congratulate Huang Chong on winning the first Grand Tour general classification of his professional career!! In this Vuelta a España, he also set all sorts of unprecedented records. For example, winning seven stages in a single edition, wearing all four classification jerseys on the first day of the race, and holding onto the overall leader’s jersey and the best young rider’s White Jersey from start to finish. It’s no exaggeration to say that a rider destined to become a legend has officially been born today!”

While the commentators were praising Huang Chong and summarizing his performance, the official Vuelta a España awards ceremony quickly got underway.

Naturally, Huang Chong was the first to take the stage, as the first award was for the Stage 21 victory.

The prize, in addition to a transparent glass trophy, included a Tissot Watch from the sponsor.

Next up was the UAE Cyclist, Soler, who had spent over a thousand kilometers in breakaways during this Vuelta a España. He took the stage to receive the “Super Combativity Award.”

Immediately after, the entire UAE Team came on stage to accept the “Best Team Award.”

Actually, if it weren’t for the food poisoning that caused so many of their riders to withdraw, the Red Bull Bora Team could have contended with the UAE Team for the best team award.

But now, they could only settle for second place.

This also fully demonstrated that even though the UAE Team achieved nothing in the general classification, their squad of domestiques was still incredibly dominant—truly in a league of their own.

After the Best Team Award, the final winner of the White Jersey took the stage.

After changing into his Red Bull Bora team kit, Huang Chong went on stage again to receive his award.

Although he hadn’t worn the White Jersey for a single day at the Tour of Spain—with the honor being passed down to C. Rodríguez, Skjelmose, and his own teammate Lipowitz in turn—the jersey, like the Red Jersey, had belonged to him from the very first day until the end.

After the White Jersey came the Sprinter’s Green Jersey, won by Groves of the Alpecin Team.

Clearly, the guy was a true opportunist.

Because Van Aert of the Visma Team unfortunately withdrew due to injury in Stage 16.

The King of the Mountains’ Polka Dot Jersey naturally went to Vine for his wild breakaway in Stage 20.

Looking at it this way, aside from a lack of results in the general classification, the UAE Team actually had a very successful Vuelta a España, taking home several major awards.

Only Visma, another powerhouse team, once again came away empty-handed. Compared to last year when they swept all three Grand Tours, this year was an absolute disaster, a complete fall from grace.

Finally was the overall champion’s Red Jersey. Huang Chong went on stage again, and again received a Tissot Watch and a special commemorative trophy of a completely different design.

The final podium of the awards ceremony was, of course, for the top three riders in the general classification to receive their awards together.

Mas of the Movistar Team was unable to overtake the second-place O’Connor of the Decathlon Team by the end of the race.

As for Huang Chong, he led them both by more than ten minutes in the general classification. He simply wasn’t in the same league.

As the race committee officials finished presenting Huang Chong with the overall champion’s award—a glass platter—the Chinese national anthem began to play.

This was an honor that belonged to Huang Chong alone!!

After mentally singing along to the national anthem, Huang Chong considered his real prize: the massive haul of points and prize money from this Vuelta a España.

While not as much as the Tour de France, it was still a massive windfall for him and the Red Bull Bora Team.

First were the seven stage wins, for a UCI points reward of 1260 points (180 x 7).

One third-place stage finish was 95 points.

Wearing the Red Jersey for 21 days gave an extra reward of 420 points (21 x 20).

Finally, the Vuelta a España overall victory was worth 1100 points.

The total was 2875 points.

Converted to FTP Power, and added to his existing balance, Huang Chong’s FTP Power would increase by another 6 points after the Vuelta a España, reaching 476 watts.

This level was certainly getting infinitely close to the top rider, Pogačar.

Now it would come down to whose recovery was stronger during the anaerobic attacks on the climbs.

And besides the UCI points, there was also the prize money from stage wins and classification jerseys.

The Vuelta a España overall win was 150,000 euros.

The seven stage wins were worth 77,000 euros (7 x 11,000).

The single third-place stage finish was worth 2,700 euros.

Twenty-one days in the Red Jersey were worth 10,500 euros (21 x 500).

Twenty-one days in the White Jersey were worth 1,470 euros (21 x 70).

One day in the Green Jersey was worth 100 euros.

One day in the Polka Dot Jersey was worth 100 euros.

The final White Jersey victory was worth 11,000 euros.

Therefore, Huang Chong’s total prize money from this Vuelta a España was 252,870 euros.

This was a little less than second place in the Tour de France, but for the team, it was a truly massive haul.