In the final race before the Grand Tour season began, Adria and Huang Chong both successfully completed the first half of their seasons by taking victory with an absolute advantage.
Although the team's results in stage races had been a complete mess, as long as they kept making breakthroughs in one-day races, the team could not be considered a failure.
"Thank you, Huang. Actually, this victory should have belonged to you!"
Adria knew it perfectly well. Although he had deliberately eased off his power about 15 kilometers from the finish to allow Huang Chong to bridge across from behind, if the latter had been a leader from another team and had chased at full strength, there was no way Adria could have stayed away.
And if it had come down to a flat sprint at the finish, while he did have some explosive power, he would probably have found it difficult to beat Huang Chong.
Before the finish, he had not intended to take first place in the first place. Huang Chong had suddenly squeezed his brakes and graciously handed the victory to him.
Huang Chong did not particularly care. A win in such a minor race, adding another championship title to his record, had little practical value.
In terms of UCI points, it was only fifty points less.
Although crossing the line in second gave him a total of 250 points, which was not a particularly nice-looking number, losing fifty points was merely the equivalent of losing one watt of power. It would not make any substantive difference at all.
But handing the victory to his domestique could improve team relations and also showcase the personal charm expected of a team leader.
In the future, his domestiques would only admire him more and give everything for him in races.