"Oh my God, Brother Bao got overtaken right before the finish line—"
"What the hell? I remember each rider started three minutes apart, right? Doesn't that mean that guy's finishing time was at least three minutes faster than Brother Bao's?"
"I placed third overall and was more than twenty seconds slower than Brother Bao. That guy's probably three and a half minutes ahead of me!"
At the Hangzhou team's area, coach Liu Jialiang felt a complicated mix of emotions after watching the Men's Group A ITT.
It wasn't as though his athletes had performed poorly.
Other than Huang Chong, who had taken a distant lead, second, third, and fourth place had all been claimed by his riders.
But calling their results good did not seem right either, because the gold medalist's time completely crushed his athletes'—
From second place through twentieth, the gaps between riders had originally been measured in seconds.
Yet that first-place rider had not only measured his lead in minutes, but had been ahead by a full three minutes!!
It was hard to know what to say.
"All right, this ITT event was still a hugely rewarding experience for our Wenhai Cycling Team."
After pondering for a long time and picking up Wang Bao, the last rider to finish, Liu Jialiang ultimately chose to comfort his athletes and continued, "Although we failed to win the gold medal, which is somewhat regrettable, being able to encounter such a powerful opponent is also a good thing for you. Remember, only when strong opponents exist do you have a goal to strive toward and chase. So stop pulling those long faces. As athletes, having a good mindset is extremely important. You must have the humility to acknowledge your own shortcomings, but also the generosity to congratulate others. Besides, the