Since this stage had been climbing from start to finish, and it was also the last stage held in southern Spain, under the blazing summer sun and a cloudless sky, the heat was unbearable. As a result, the peloton's pace was remarkably slow.
At present, Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale and Movistar Team were naturally Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe's two biggest rivals.
After all, O'Connor and Mas were the climbing leaders ranked just behind Huang Chong in the general classification.
But Mas's racing style and riding ability were very obvious. He completely lacked the ability to launch a long-range solo breakaway, which meant he could only rely on conservative tactics.
Therefore, even though their leader was third overall, Movistar Team had no intention of coming forward to help set the pace in the peloton.
As for O'Connor, he certainly possessed strong breakaway attacking ability, but handling long, steep climbs was a fatal weakness for him. Since today's stage was dominated by long, steep ascents, they did not want to take control of the peloton either.
Riding close behind his teammates, Huang Chong was naturally quite dissatisfied with the conservative tactics of those two teams.
Damn it, I'm the one leading the general classification right now!
Yet these guys were content to hide behind everyone else, drafting for free while wasting his domestiques' energy.
So he decisively put in a few harder pedal strokes, rode to the front on the climb, and said to Adria, who was controlling the pace, "Adria, you can slow the tempo down a little and conserve as much energy as possible.
"Since Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale and Movistar Team aren't willing to take turns in the peloton, there's no need for us to help them chase the breakaway.
"Let the breakaway stretch its advantage as much as possible first."
Adria, who