Chapter 479 - 225: Taking On the World Single-handedly

"Holy shit, so close for Huang Chong! Ganna and Beloved Consort are still just too strong. Their power output in the last 10km was insane!!"

"Especially Ganna! He pulled ahead of Huang Chong by 22 seconds on a 10km flat. Absolutely insane!!"

"Sigh, congrats to Beloved Consort for defending his World Championships ITT title, but Huang Chong was fucking incredible. Starting so early was just too much of a disadvantage—"

"Definitely. If Huang Chong had been one of the last to start, even just ahead of those two, he could have adjusted his power output based on the real-time splits. He might have been able to just grit his teeth for the last 10km and push for the gold!!"

"Gold would’ve been great, but he was up against Beloved Consort and Ganna, after all. For Huang Chong to even get a medal is already a hell of an achievement. Here’s hoping he gets his revenge on them at next year’s World Championships—"

"He lost the ITT, but the road race is still to come. I hope Huang Chong isn’t too affected by this result and can pull off a miracle!!"

After the ITT, the fans back in China were undoubtedly quite disappointed.

Seeing Huang Chong lose by such a slim margin made everyone feel even more frustrated.

But that’s competitive sports.

As long as a result is achieved within the rules, everyone has to accept it, regardless of who wins or loses.

What no one knew, however, was that while Beloved Consort and Ganna had overtaken Huang Chong at the last moment, they felt little joy. Instead, Huang Chong’s performance left them with a lingering sense of apprehension.

’After all, this is only his first World Tour season, and he can already ride at such a terrifying speed. Will we still be able to keep him down in the future?’

It was a question no one could answer with confidence.

Besides, Huang Chong had already snatched away the gold medal and White Jersey that should have belonged to Evenepoel at both the Olympics and the Tour de France.

And now their abilities in the ITT were becoming remarkably close. Even though he had once again defended his World Championships title, what Evenepoel felt most after the race was pressure.

He also had to compete in the road race on the final day of the World Championships. And even though his Belgium Team’s eight-man lineup was incredibly stacked—perhaps even a cut above Slovenia’s—

’But during the Olympics, hadn’t the Belgium Team completely outclassed the China Team, only to lose the gold medal they were so sure of winning?’

The road race ultimately came down to extended endurance and extreme climbing ability, areas where Evenepoel was a notch below both Poga?ar and Huang Chong.

Of course, Huang Chong is the China Team’s lone contender. No matter how strong he is individually, he has zero tactical options.

’As long as I have my teammates wear him down and control his movements, I’m confident I can avenge my defeat at the Olympics.’

After the men’s races at the World Championships concluded, it was time for the women’s ITT.

The China Team sent two riders to compete in the ITT at this year’s World Championships: Tang Xin and Zhou Qiuying.

Tang Xin had participated in the Olympics, while Zhou Qiuying was from the Yunnan Team.

When the race was over, the two, being of similar ability, finished in 52nd and 53rd place, respectively.

Although the women’s race was only 29.9 kilometers, they had to tackle the exact same five climbs as the men.

Clearly, the abilities of the two young women from the China Team were a far cry from the international standard.

Their average speed was only around 38.5 km/h.

The winner, Grace Brown—the Australian rider who had also won gold at the Paris Olympic Games—posted a terrifying average speed of 45.6 km/h. Her finishing time was more than a full seven minutes faster than the two Chinese riders.

Faced with this result, Coach Han just let out a long sigh and didn’t say anything more.

He knew full well that ’without Huang Chong’s sudden emergence, the rest of China’s male riders would be at about the same level as the women’s team when facing these global powerhouses.’

Therefore, Huang Chong’s medal was by no means a source of regret, but an incredibly precious gain.

After the first day of competition, the men’s and women’s ITT races for the Junior and U23 categories took place. The China Team did not field any riders in these events.

The members of the China Team didn’t appear again until the Mixed Relay Team Time Trial on September 25.

However, Coach Han didn’t have Huang Chong participate in the team time trial.

Although Huang Chong was world-class, his individual strength so far exceeded that of his teammates that having him participate would just be a waste of his energy. It wouldn’t significantly improve their time, and he would only end up being held back.

The mixed relay required three male and three female riders. Coach Han had specifically brought a six-person squad from China just for this one event.

Huang Chong, on the other hand, was tasked solely with the two individual events: the ITT and the road race.

As expected, the China Team failed to reach the podium in the Mixed Relay TTT, finishing in 14th place.

Individual ability is far from enough in a team time trial. For instance, the Italian Team, despite having Ganna and Affini on the men’s side, couldn’t take the top spot because their female riders weren’t on the same level. They only managed to finish third.

They even finished behind the second-place German Team.

As for first place, it was won, unsurprisingly, by Australia.

Australia’s women’s squad was simply too powerful, giving them a clear advantage in the mixed relay.

As for the Belgium Team, which included Evenepoel, they didn’t participate at all.

With all the ITT events concluded, the road races for the various categories were set to begin on September 26th.

Unlike the time trials, the road races would begin with the men’s and women’s U23 and Junior categories.