Crashes and accidents were unavoidable in professional road cycling.
No one could guarantee they would go through their entire professional career without a single accident.
Crashes like the one at the UAE Tour, happening in the final few hundred meters with the finish line practically in sight, were even more common.
For example, Mark Cavendish, Astana's lead sprinter who was also competing in this race, had once taken an elbow from Peter Sagan, then Bora Team's lead sprinter, during a finishing sprint. He ultimately spent five years in obscurity.
At one point, he had nearly retired on the spot.
Therefore, Huang Chong's accident was, strictly speaking, merely one of the most common types of crashes seen in the UCI WorldTour.
Of course, his own analysis was correct. If he had not instinctively abandoned his bike to save himself when he saw the Jayco AlUla rider charging over, he might have tipped over sideways with the bike and slammed heavily into the ground.
If that had happened, he definitely would not have escaped with just scraped skin on his elbow.
He might even have suffered extensive bruising over half his body, perhaps even injuries to his bones.
Although the system space contained two miraculous medicines, one for external injuries and one for internal injuries, he had no desire to experience the pain of being seriously hurt.
After applying the system-created external injury healing ointment, then putting on the anti-infection ointment provided by the team, Huang Chong returned to the team.
Today's result was somewhat less than satisfactory.
Unlike the Tour Down Under, where none of the teams had sent truly elite sprinters and allowed Wellsford to dominate, Merlier of the Quick-Step team had displayed strength in the first stage of the UAE Tour that put him in a class of his