Time ticked by, second by second.
As everyone present focused their attention on the clock, it felt as though the rhythm of the entire world had suddenly slowed.
Yet Huang Chong, speeding into the wind out on the road, had no idea that everyone was watching him.
He simply stayed focused, pushing steadily toward the finish line at his own pace.
To be honest, he had not truly pushed himself to the limit in this race.
The reason was that the results of the two strongest opponents in this ITT event had already come in.
He could now control his speed according to their numbers.
And although Liu Yunyou, the Hong Kong rider who had started behind him, had also put up an excellent performance, his average speed after the first two time checkpoints was only around 46 km/h.
So he no longer posed much of a threat to Huang Chong's chances of winning.
As long as Huang Chong maintained his 10-second advantage over the Longjiang Team rider and crossed the finish line, he would secure the national title in this ITT event.
But to be safe, Huang Chong did not want to merely hold on to such a slim lead.
What if, after he crossed the line, the Hong Kong rider suddenly got fired up and launched an all-out standing sprint to overturn the result—
He would have nowhere to cry.
Before a race was over, anything was possible. That was an eternal truth.
Popping champagne early was just asking for divine punishment.
So, with only 2 km remaining, Huang Chong faced the final short incline—a roughly 3 percent slope only a few dozen meters long—and chose not to keep advancing steadily.
He decisively rose from the saddle, cranked the pedals, and unleashed his anaerobic burst to drive his