After Huang Chong crossed the finish line in first place, the race continued.
But whatever happened afterward had nothing to do with him.
Overall, today's race had been extremely difficult.
Not because of the race itself, but because of the terrible weather after the start of winter.
The rain had poured without stopping, while erratic crosswinds blew wildly. Even for him, his average speed upon finishing had only been around 42 km/h, and his finishing time had reached 1:54:28.
"Director Zhang, congratulations! Your people really are capable. This young rider named Huang Chong has limitless potential!"
After the race ended and the last rider crossed the line, Liu Jialiang came over with a smile to congratulate Zhang Guowei after comforting his own athletes.
Among his athletes, Wang Bao and Zhou Zitong had not disappointed him, finishing second and third as usual. That was an expected result.
Zhang Guowei looked at Huang Chong, who was receiving his awards on the podium, and smiled as he waved his hand.
Although there was a huge difference in their administrative ranks, they were close in private and could be considered old acquaintances.
Zhang Guowei wore a calm expression, as if taking it all in stride, but there was still a trace of uncontrollable pride in his voice as he replied, "That kid is indeed exceptionally gifted. He was born to ride road bikes!"
After saying that, he added, "But Old Liu, the athletes you brought this time also performed well—far beyond my expectations.
"Especially Wang Bao and Zhou Zitong in the Men's A division. I looked at their finishing results, and they've basically reached the standard of first-class athletes.
"After the race, have them train intensively for a while. They absolutely can't slack off during this period.
"Ten days from now, the team will