After Little Ma took fifth place on the stage, the news spread across major domestic sports websites and forums almost overnight.
As the first sprinter to finish in the top five of a UCI WorldTour race, domestic cycling fans were undoubtedly thrilled.
Who said Chinese riders weren't good enough?
Countless fans even left comments beneath the posts, saying it was such a shame and regret that they could not witness the moment in person.
But in reality, for office workers and students, with the National Day holiday having just ended, finding time to travel to beautiful Guangxi for a UCI WorldTour race was indeed somewhat unrealistic.
Of course, the Tour of Guangxi was still a UCI WorldTour event, and it had only just resumed after a two-year hiatus. Even so, the roadsides throughout this edition remained packed with fans and spectators.
And as an autonomous region of the Zhuang people, Guangxi had an especially rich local folk culture.
During the race, the roadsides were filled with folk and cultural performances spontaneously organized by locals or arranged by officials. There were so many that riders like Huang Chong could barely take it all in.
After the second race day ended, every team had to transfer from Qinzhou to Nanning that same day.
On the national team's bus during the transfer, the atmosphere was naturally joyous and lively.
Little Ma's fifth-place stage finish was something none of them had dared to imagine before the race.
But as a member of the team, Little Ma included, everyone knew perfectly well that while the record-setting honor belonged to him, Huang Chong had created the conditions that made it possible.
Without Huang Chong leading him out and launching him in the final stretch, Little Ma was confident that, given his form that day, he could