Chapter 471 - 221: The Coolest Guy on the World Tour?

He had left his home and crossed the ocean to make his way in Europe. From the very beginning, his intention had been to pioneer a path for his country in road cycling, to provide world-class training data and a frame of reference for the younger generation back home.

All of this had to be grounded in reality.

He knew people always subconsciously craved shortcuts to success, methods that promised results without the grueling effort.

But there are no shortcuts in competitive sports.

So, when the Vuelta a Espa?a reporter saw that he couldn’t coax the soundbite he wanted out of Huang Chong, he switched to a few routine questions before ending the interview. And just like that, this year’s Vuelta a Espa?a came to a definitive close.

The race may have been over, but the moment the news of Huang Chong being officially crowned the Vuelta a Espa?a champion reached China, the country’s cycling fans erupted in celebration as if the New Year had come early.

Not only were fans everywhere discussing his victory, but trending topics on major platforms, official news channels, and independent media outlets were all abuzz with the good news from Huang Chong in Spain.

Before Huang Chong, a veteran of Chinese cycling, Ji Cheng, had already competed in the three Grand Tours.

But their tactical roles and race objectives on the World Tour circuit were completely different.

Ji Cheng could never have reached the heights Huang Chong now occupied.

And as for whether another Chinese rider could do it in the future, or when that might be?

Those questions remained unanswered.

All that could be said was that, for now, Huang Chong was truly worthy of the praise and adulation from all of China’s fans and official media.

He had truly made unprecedented history, becoming a true pioneer who carved out a new frontier for his country in international road cycling.

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After the Vuelta a Espa?a concluded, the Red Bull Bora Team didn’t immediately pack up to return to Germany.

As the winning team, they had to participate in the champion’s parade in Madrid the next day.

It was a long-standing Grand Tour tradition.

As the overall champion, Huang Chong would naturally be in the center position on the parade float, soaking in the adoration and cheers of the local fans.

Winning a Grand Tour meant it wasn’t just Chinese fans cheering for him; the fans in Madrid would offer him thunderous applause as well.

After the parade, however, Huang Chong began to experience the hassles that came with being a Grand Tour champion.

The saying "fame has its price" was proving to be true.

Not only did he receive interview requests from major European road cycling channels, but also from official state media in China, like CCTV, Xinhua News Agency, and the People’s Daily.

Meanwhile, his management agency informed him that numerous European cycling brands were knocking on his door, ready to discuss commercial partnerships.

In short, this Grand Tour title didn’t just bring Huang Chong competitive glory; it also caused his commercial value to skyrocket.

Of course, according to the new bonus clauses in his renewed contract with the team, winning the Grand Tour meant the team would not only give him a direct bonus of one million euros, but his future annual salary would also see a seven-figure increase.

In short, his income was set to rise steadily over the next few years.

Furthermore, with the backing of the massive Chinese market, especially after his Olympic victory, it was only a matter of time before his commercial value surpassed even Poga?ar’s.

Just how important was the Chinese market?

For example, Eileen Gu’s annual prize money from ski competitions was only in the hundreds of thousands.

But after winning gold at the Winter Olympics, her commercial endorsements alone boosted her annual earnings into the tens of millions.

Once Huang Chong had dealt with everything and returned to the team headquarters in Germany, he didn’t immediately dive back into training. Instead, he requested a few days of vacation from the team.

In just a few days, on September 13th and 15th, two top-tier one-day races were scheduled to be held in Canada: the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.

But these two races were too close to the end of the Vuelta a Espa?a, and the long journey, flying from Europe to North America, meant Huang Chong definitely wouldn’t be participating.

No matter how strong he was, he was still human and needed to rest.

After two Grand Tours and an Olympic road race, making him compete in two more high-intensity, top-tier one-day races would be too much for even a body made of iron.

In the end, the team sent a second squad to compete, built around Sindel with Higuita, Sobrero, and Jungels in supporting roles.

It was worth noting, however, that Poga?ar planned to compete in both Canadian races. So, despite being far from Europe, their importance and the attention they garnered would not be diminished.

But Huang Chong, who had already started his vacation, had no time to worry about any of that.

He was using his time off to accompany Chen Junyi to Birmingham in the United Kingdom, where she was about to start her master’s program.

As one of Europe’s major developed nations, the United Kingdom was surprisingly lacking in top-tier road cycling events, not even measuring up to Germany, which hosted only two one-day classics.

The UK did have races like the Tour of Britain, but the classification was too low—not even Pro Level. Apart from local British riders, someone like Huang Chong would certainly never come here specifically to compete.

After dropping his girlfriend, Chen Junyi, off in Birmingham to get registered, Huang Chong had expected to help her find a place to live. However, it turned out that many of Chen Junyi’s undergraduate classmates were also here for their master’s degrees.

This meant she could skip the whole apartment-hunting process and move right in with them.

Her classmates, however, were clearly thrilled to meet Huang Chong.

They already knew that Huang Chong and Chen Junyi were a couple, but seeing the top-tier sports star in the flesh was a surreal experience.

So, even though they didn’t follow road cycling closely, they couldn’t resist asking for his autograph and a group photo.

Huang Chong wasn’t particularly fond of this sort of thing.

He was a pure cyclist, his mind consumed with one thing: how to win the Tour de France.

He wouldn’t even participate in these off-the-bike activities unless they were official team obligations.

But since they were Chen Junyi’s classmates, he couldn’t refuse. He graciously fulfilled everyone’s requests.

After spending a few days with Chen Junyi in the United Kingdom, his vacation came to an end, and Huang Chong had to return to Germany to resume team training.

There were only two World Tour races left in the season, both taking place in October: the autumn classic, the Tour of Lombardy, and the Tour of Guangxi in China.

But before those, there was another extremely important, top-tier race that wasn’t part of the World Tour calendar.

The Road World Championships, being held this year in Zurich, Switzerland.

The World Championships would run from September 22nd to September 29th.

The first day of competition would feature the men’s individual time trial (ITT), while the final day would be the men’s road race.

Huang Chong had promised the General Administration of Sport before the Tour de France that he would participate in this year’s World Championships, so he was committed to going.

However, at the World Championships, riders compete for their national teams. Since the China Team only had one slot, his chances of winning this year were next to none.

Not only would he be up against riders like Poga?ar and van der Poel, but their national teams would have a large number of riders.

With them having the support of top-tier teammates, how could an already physically and mentally exhausted Huang Chong challenge them all on his own?

It was a fool’s errand.

Of course, even though riders at the World Championships represent their countries, their trade teams still provide support for their daily training.

The influence of the Rainbow Jersey was simply too immense.

Whoever won it would get to wear the Rainbow Jersey in the World Tour for the entire next season, which held enormous promotional and commercial value for their team.

This was especially true for the Red Bull Bora Team.

Huang Chong was already an Olympic champion, riding a one-of-a-kind Olympic Golden Chariot and wearing an Olympic golden helmet.

If he could also win the Rainbow Jersey from the World Championships, he would be the absolute sharpest-looking rider in the World Tour peloton.