As sporting director, Rolf Aldag was currently far away at Bora Team's headquarters in Germany.
But just because he had not personally traveled to Adelaide in South Australia did not mean he had not been following this season's stage race.
He had watched almost the entire race as the team's newly signed sprinter, Sam Welsford, claimed the bunch sprint victories on S1, S3, and S4.
The crucial factor behind the lead sprinter's remarkable feat had been Huang Chong, who had single-handedly resolved the team's supply issues through his own ability over the past four stages.
Although the broadcast cameras did not fully capture each of his bottle runs, as sporting director, Aldag had access to the summary reports prepared by the team's coaching staff after every stage.
The reports showed that Huang Chong had performed his team duties at the highest level in every stage.
Moreover, in each of Welsford's three post-victory interviews, he had lavishly praised Huang Chong's contributions to both himself and the team on camera.
When Aldag saw that the head of the second coaching group had specifically called to ask whether, after completing the team's core objective, they should elevate Huang Chong's tactical status over the next two stages and let him contest the two climbing stages, he considered it before replying, "You can make your own arrangements based on the riders' real-time condition. But if you ask for my opinion, I think Huang Chong should first learn how to be a domestique."
With that answer, the Bora team director understood.
After hanging up, he waited until all the riders had finished their massages before laying out the tactics for S5.
He said, "Everyone, first of all, we need to thank Welsford. Without his perfect sprinting performances in stages one, three, and four, we could not