Chapter 489: Reaching the Highest Point of the Entire Human World!

“AHHHH, HUANG CHONG WON!! HE ACTUALLY BEAT POGAČAR!!”

“HOLY SHIT, THAT WAS FUCKING INCREDIBLE! TRULY, FUCKING INCREDIBLE!!”

“When Huang Chong got dropped on that final climb, I thought he was going to have to settle for second place again. I can’t believe he managed to chase back on the final descent!!”

“Huang Chong is an absolute god of descending and sprinting. No arguments there, right, all you big-shot pros out there?!?!”

“Pogačar’s coveted Rainbow Jersey… a victory that was right in his grasp just slipped away. He’s definitely going to be grinding sprints like crazy this off-season!!”

“Huang Chong is a god among gods!! So what if he was facing the scorching sun? He is now the most magnificent rainbow in the world!!”

“That was insane!! The old saying ‘third time’s the charm’ is true after all. The ancients did not lie!!”

“Even though Huang Chong has only beaten Pogačar once in the general classification this year, this is his third time taking him down in a final sprint this season! A triple kill! Who else can do that?!?!”

“Pogačar’s going to have sleepless nights after this. He used to be the one dropping Vingegaard in the final sprints, and now he’s become Vingegaard!!”

After Huang Chong clinched a last-second victory over Pogačar in the final sprint by a razor-thin margin, a frenzied, celebratory atmosphere instantly erupted across all of China’s road cycling fan communities.

At the same time, headlines like “Huang Chong Defeats Pogačar in a Thriller to Reach the Pinnacle of the World” quickly dominated the trending lists on all social media and short-video platforms.

Any celebrity gossip, relationship scandals, or major international news was instantly buried by his earth-shattering, history-making achievement.

Furthermore, major media outlets, Zhejiang TV Station, sports commentators from other fields, cycling content creators, the official media channels of China’s major Intercontinental Teams, and all of Red Bull Bora’s official accounts were all independently posting or sharing the news of Huang Chong’s World Championships victory.

This overwhelming wave of popularity was, without a doubt, the biggest news in the country tonight.

The magnitude of its impact even surpassed Huang Chong’s equally historic ride in Paris.

After all, his victory in Paris was only the country’s first impression of him. Although people saw his god-like performance back then, most were still relatively unfamiliar with the sport of road cycling.

But now, with him once again being crowned champion of the world in Zurich, the public already had a basic understanding of the sport.

Thus, the unprecedented scale of the celebrations at this moment was hardly surprising!!

At the finish line, Coach Han and the entire coaching team, their hearts pounding at nearly 180 bpm, also erupted into a frenzy after Huang Chong won the race.

They were even more thrilled and stunned than a fully-itemized Dian Wei fresh from the jungle.

The entire team swarmed forward, pulling the newly crowned champion, Huang Chong, into a tight embrace at the center of the crowd.

To be honest, before the race, no one would have dared to imagine Huang Chong could win in Zurich.

The intimidating presence of Pogačar was simply too immense.

Ever since “The Martian” won the Tour de France in 2020, his subsequent dominance in the one-day Classics had been god-like, putting him on equal footing with and in direct opposition to van der Poel!

For instance, the five Monuments were practically divided between the two of them every year.

In any one-day race with difficult climbs—like Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Lombardy, and even Flanders—Pogačar had ruthlessly snatched victory away whenever van der Poel was also competing.

And the terrain of this year’s World Championships was supposed to be much more suited to Pogačar’s comfort zone.

But no one expected that Huang Chong—who was a long shot according to the betting odds and was competing single-handedly—would be the one to have the last laugh.

“Huang Chong, you did it!!!”

“You won the World Championships!!!”

“And you beat Pogačar in a sprint to the line!!!”

“You are the undisputed national hero of our country in the world of road cycling. On behalf of everyone who loves this sport, I want to express my sincerest gratitude for your hard work and dedication!!”

Coach Han, now over fifty with a good deal of white in his hair, was actually moved to tears.

As the head coach of the National Team, having been immersed in the state sports system for many years, his life was usually one of endless pressure—pressure from his superiors, the nation’s hopes, and the public’s expectations.

But in this moment, he could finally unleash the purely emotional side of himself that he usually kept hidden deep inside.

Surrounded and celebrated by his own country’s team members, Huang Chong couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down his face either.

‘I really thought that after Pogačar dropped me on the final climb, the championship had once again slipped from my grasp.’

And on the flat section that followed, the gap to Pogačar had only continued to grow, from a mere ten meters, to twenty, then thirty.

‘That feeling of watching your rival ride further and further away… even knowing I have a cheat system, I would never want to experience that again.’

Fortunately, the circuit layout for the World Championships was incredibly nuanced.

The organizers had placed the climb at the very beginning of the circuit, followed by nothing but flat roads, a long descent, and a long, straight flat leading to the finish arch. This was what gave him the chance for a desperate comeback.

Looking back from a god’s-eye view, he had actually held more advantages over Pogačar even before the race began.

Not only did he know his opponent’s tactics, but he also fully understood where the circuit’s layout offered him opportunities to turn the tables.

As long as he seized every opportunity, gritted his teeth through the long haul, and patiently waited for his moment, he would have a chance to reach the highest step on the podium of an international competition.