Chapter 488: Third Time's the Charm, I Am the World's Most Resplendent Rainbow

The reason was simple: Ben Healy’s riding style was just like van der Poel’s—he’d throw everything he had into it.

When he attacked, he didn’t give a damn if anyone behind him would work with him. He’d just go hard, and keep going hard, until he was utterly spent.

This gutsy riding style, limited as it was by his own strength, rarely succeeded, but it sure won him a lot of fans.

After all, who doesn’t love a true warrior?

After Ben Healy and his companion broke away, the race entered the climb on the sixth lap. Van der Poel, who had been biding his time in the peloton, saw that the Belgium Team’s domestiques were dwindling and that they were still unable to close the gap to Huang Chong’s group. Finally, he could hold back no longer and decisively launched an attack from the main group.

Evenepoel, Jorgenson, and the others still didn’t respond to van der Poel’s attack.

Instead, Onley from the British Team responded.

Van der Poel was already famous for his incredible explosive power, so he quickly opened up a gap of nearly a hundred meters on the peloton and built a 20-second lead, forming a third group on the road.

But he didn’t know that with 51.6 km of the race remaining, Pogačar had already reached the sixth lap’s climb. Seeing that he and Sivakov still couldn’t shake Huang Chong, Pogačar finally made his move on the steepest part of the slope. He got out of the saddle and launched his most powerful attack.

Faced with his thousand-plus-watt output, Sivakov couldn’t put up any resistance and was instantly dropped.

Huang Chong gritted his teeth and followed, but his thighs instantly turned to stone.

He was getting a taste of what Vingegaard had faced for the past two years.

It truly took incredible courage and strength to follow Pogačar’s attack.

Although he barely managed to stay on Pogačar’s wheel, the moment they crested the climb, he had to frantically shake out his legs to relax the muscles.

Seeing that Huang Chong had stayed with him, Pogačar’s face remained expressionless.

He was well aware that the remaining fifty kilometers would be a one-on-one duel between him and Huang Chong.

On every subsequent climb, he would have to seize every opportunity to attack relentlessly until he finally dropped Huang Chong.

Cycling fans worldwide, with the exception of the Slovenes, clenched their fists in excitement as they saw Huang Chong actually manage to stick with Pogačar on the 20.7% gradient.

Pogačar had been dominant for too long. Now, seeing someone emerge after Vingegaard to challenge his throne in a one-day race was something everyone was actually happy to witness.

Seeing Pogačar win with a solo breakaway from dozens of kilometers out, killing the race’s suspense early on, was fine once or twice. But any more than that, and it just got boring.

Ultimately, road cycling races are at their best when evenly matched riders go head-to-head.

And Huang Chong did not disappoint. By the end of the sixth lap, he was still glued to Pogačar’s wheel.

Final lap. 26.8 km to go.

The main group had now caught Ben Healy, van der Poel, and the others, reforming into the second group on the road.

But they were still a minute behind the leading duo of Huang Chong and Pogačar.

At this point, the domestiques from the Belgium Team, the Dutch Team, and all the other powerhouse nations were almost completely spent.

A large group composed entirely of team leaders began an all-out pursuit of the leading pair.

Huang Chong, drafting behind Pogačar, now felt that he was nearing his breaking point.

‘The Mars People are, after all, just too powerful.’

Plus, he’d been worn down too much by Sivakov and Pogačar’s combined attacks in the fifth lap; he had gone into the red far too often.

‘If the World Championships were contested by trade teams, I would have absolutely no chance of defeating this Great Demon King.’

‘With the United Arab Emirates’s domestique system and tactical coordination, I truly wouldn’t stand a chance this year.’

‘It’s only because the World Championships use National Teams, and Pogačar’s teammates are relatively average, that I’ve been able to hang on this long.’

The two remaining short, steep climbs were the most difficult part of the entire race.

‘If I can’t hang on, the result will be just like the Liège Race, and I’ll have to swallow another bitter defeat.’

The 800-meter climb was upon them.

Pogačar couldn’t be bothered to look back at Huang Chong anymore. As soon as they hit the steepest section, he got out of the saddle and attacked again.

Huang Chong immediately followed suit.

But riding so close to his breaking point, he felt his thighs turn a little more to lead with every single pedal stroke.

This was the result of rapid lactic acid buildup from the anaerobic effort.

Fortunately, surviving an 800-meter climb wasn’t too difficult for him.

But immediately after, the final climb was upon them.

Pogačar glanced at Huang Chong and, unusually, didn’t get out of his saddle. Instead, he remained seated and began to gradually increase his power output on the climb.

Huang Chong watched his power meter as the wattage climbed from 400 watts, past 600, and held steady—all on a 20.6% gradient. He held on for several dozen seconds before decisively easing up for a couple of pedal strokes, rapidly decreasing his power output.

He knew that if he kept pushing through those next couple of anaerobic pedal strokes, he would completely blow up.

As he deliberately eased his power, Pogačar instantly opened up a ten-meter gap.

Steve saw this and cried out in excitement:

“My God!! On the final climb of the last lap, Tadej has finally dropped Huang Chong!!! It seems the Tour de France champion is, after all, stronger than the runner-up!! With only 19km to go, does Huang Chong have any chance of closing this gap?!! The saving grace is, although Huang Chong was gapped on the steepest part of the climb, he’s about to crest the top! We all know how strong his descending skills are! If he can seize the opportunity on the upcoming descent, there’s still a glimmer of hope!!!”

Seeing Huang Chong get dropped by Pogačar on the final climb, the fans back home were undoubtedly filled with despair.

He had held on for so long, and victory had been so close.

And based on his form in this race, Huang Chong had clearly improved so much since the Liège Race.

But even so, could he still not defeat the blazing sun before him?

However, Huang Chong’s answer was just as Steve had predicted.

After cresting the Witikon climb and riding several kilometers on the flats, he reached the final long descent and immediately began to accelerate into the turns.

The thirty-plus-meter gap was gradually erased with each increasingly aggressive turn.

Pogačar’s descending was already top-tier, but it wasn’t dominant like his climbing. And it certainly couldn’t compare to a cheater who had maxed out all his cycling-related stats.

30 meters—

20 meters—

10 meters—

Before the descent was even over, Huang Chong shot out of a high-speed hairpin turn and was already on his wheel.

The two were back on even terms, riding side-by-side into the final five kilometers.

These five kilometers included a 200-meter short climb, followed by a short descent and the ultra-long, flat finishing straight.

Pogačar seized the final opportunity on the climb, getting out of his saddle to attack again.

Huang Chong knew he couldn’t afford to ease up on this climb.

Even if he blew up on the spot, he had to hold on until the very end.

And so, on the climb lined with crowds of spectators, he desperately clung to Pogačar’s wheel and successfully made it to the top.

“Unbelievable!! Absolutely unbelievable!! Using his advantage on the descent, Huang Chong actually caught back up to Tadej!!! And he survived that final 200-meter climb!! Only 3 kilometers left in the race!!! They’ve hit the flat roads!! So, who will have the last laugh?!!”

As Steve’s excited voice rang out, Huang Chong, still glued to Pogačar’s wheel, entered the final 1-kilometer straightaway.

The finish-line gantry was visible in the distance!

Fans on both sides of the road began to frantically bang on the barriers.

Countless shouts echoed through the streets of Zurich!!

“800 meters to go!!!

Tadej, at the front, keeps looking back to check on Huang Chong!!!

600 meters!!!

The two are still locked together, maintaining their formation!!!

400 meters!!!

200 meters!!!

150 meters!!!

Huang Chong launches his sprint!!!

The moment Tadej glances back, Huang Chong surges past him!!

Final 50 meters!!!

He’s still holding a half-bike-length lead!!!

30 meters!!!

And let’s congratulate Huang Chong!!!

He’s the first to cross the finish line!!!

He has beaten Tadej in a sprint once again!!”