After the race, when Huang Chong returned to the team bus, every staff member of Red Bull Bora Team naturally greeted him with thunderous applause.
Standing at the front of the crowd to welcome him was none other than the team CEO, Ralph Denk.
For a rookie in his very first year on the UCI WorldTour to win the general classification yellow jersey for the team so early—and never take it off afterward—Denk honestly felt as though he were dreaming.
After all, Red Bull Bora Team had originally brought in Primož Roglič this year to challenge for the Tour de France title.
But at this point in the race, to put it bluntly, he had gradually realized that not only did Roglič have no hope of winning overall, even finishing in the top three of the general classification would likely be difficult.
The first week alone had shown that Roglič could not even match Evenepoel, who was riding the Tour de France for the first time this year, much less challenge Pogačar and Vingegaard.
The era belonging to this veteran rider had truly come to an end.
Huang Chong, on the other hand, absolutely had a chance to fight for a place on the final podium.
The reason was that, even though Huang Chong had entered this Tour de France as a domestique, his performances had become increasingly astonishing ever since he took the yellow jersey.
Especially on Stage 4 of the first week, during the final 5 km climb of Col du Galibier.
This had been the moment for all the general classification riders to show their strength. When Pogačar attacked with around 800 meters remaining, Huang Chong clung tightly to Vingegaard, yet his own team leader Roglič was dropped head-on.
Anyone who had watched the race could tell