Steve's excited voice continued over the broadcast, but Huang Chong was so exhausted that he could barely keep his bike steady.
Only he knew how he had won this stage.
It had been a victory squeezed out through sheer survival tactics.
If Vingegaard had not dragged him along in a frantic chase after Pogačar all the way from Mary Mountain, or if his own team leader, Primož Roglič, had not held things back behind them after Pertus Pass, forcing Vingegaard and Pogačar to take turns desperately pulling at the front—
He would never have been able to preserve that last bit of energy for the final 150-meter sprint.
More importantly, the race organizers who had designed this stage's route had rendered a tremendous service with the final three kilometers before the finish.
That genius terrain design had given Huang Chong a two-kilometer long descent to catch his breath before he completely cracked, providing the final missing piece that allowed him to win again.
In short, being able to claim another stage victory on Stage 11 meant that timing, terrain, and teamwork—every factor needed for victory—had all been on his side.
If it had come down purely to raw strength, simply finishing alongside those two Martians would probably have been his limit.
He definitely would not have had any extra energy left to contest a finishing sprint against those two monsters.
As for Pogačar only crossing the line in third during the sprint, that naturally was not a reflection of his true ability.
After a brutal 40-kilometer breakaway, his team's supplies had failed to reach him the entire time.
He had drained his strength too early, which was why Huang Chong and Vingegaard had caught him, then overtaken him together on the gentle rise before the finish.
"Too strong!!! Huang Chong's