After all matters related to the ITT were settled, Huang Chong returned to the support area, where his teammates greeted him with applause and hugs.
"That was incredible, handsome! You actually beat the Asian cycling king! That all-out overtake in the final 1KM had my blood pumping. You were practically flying!"
Brother Ma was the first to come over with praise and a hug. "Looks like you never went all out when racing us before, huh? You really hid it well!"
"I think so too. Huang Chong and I are similar types of riders. Thinking back to last year's National Road Cycling Championships, when we first fought for the gold medal, I wasn't convinced."
Brother Niu from the Longjiang Team spoke as he stepped forward to hug Huang Chong, then continued, "But who would have thought that race last year would turn out to be my best chance at fighting for gold?
"And this year, whenever I raced alongside this guy, I got beaten from start to finish.
"Honestly, it's pretty irritating."
"But today, Huang Chong has shown us his personal limit too, hasn't he?"
Brother Lü smiled. After hugging Huang Chong, he patted him on the shoulder and said with a sigh, "At your current level, you're already a whole tier above us. Are you planning to challenge the UCI WorldTour and the Tour de France next?"
Huang Chong's current level had indeed reached the entry threshold for the UCI WorldTour.
But he knew perfectly well that he was still far from the elite among world-class riders.
If he wanted to keep improving, the best way was undoubtedly to achieve strong results in the UCI WorldTour and earn more UCI points. The pressure involved would be enormous.
At his current level, winning one of the five Monuments or taking