Chapter Summaries

Huang Chong conserved his energy through the early chaos and pursued the Longjiang Team’s riders after Wang Bao could no longer lead him. As the race entered its final lap, only five riders remained in contention for the championship.

• Huang Chong joined the early breakaway after mistaking the Longjiang Team teenager for a first-team rider, then settled behind Wang Bao to conserve energy.
• On the fourth and fifth laps, Huang Chong recognized that the Longjiang Team’s attacks were helping their youth rider and chose not to chase them.
• The Longjiang Team won the youth-group race, taking both first and second place.
• On the sixth lap, Wang Bao faltered after leading Huang Chong for 110 kilometers, so Huang Chong gave him a drink and continued alone.
• Huang Chong caught the Longjiang Team trio, Liu Yunyou, and the remaining lead riders, and five riders entered the seventh lap with the championship undecided.

Huang Chong endured the Longjiang Team’s repeated attacks before countering on the final short climb and opening a gap. With two laps remaining, he settled into a 340-watt ultra-long solo breakaway.

• The Longjiang Team’s three riders repeatedly attacked and changed pace, but Liu Yunyou and Huang Chong stayed with them through the seventh lap.
• The Longjiang Team launched another attack on a short climb, and Liu Yunyou responded while Huang Chong followed behind him.
• Near the summit, Liu Yunyou faltered, so Huang Chong passed him and used an explosive effort to catch and overtake the Longjiang Team rider.
• Huang Chong powered down the descent, took a fast corner, and opened a gap of several dozen meters.
• Huang Chong returned to seated pedaling and began a solo breakaway at around 340 watts with two laps left.

Huang Chong maintained a solo breakaway through the final two laps of the Mount Mao road race while the Longjiang Team riders chased in rotation. He won the race and secured his second gold medal, leaving the Longjiang riders to finish second and third.

• Huang Chong began the eighth lap alone as the Zhejiang Team called out updates and encouraged him from the roadside.
• Coaches and team staff praised Huang Chong’s decisive attack, power, cornering, and potential as a future top-level rider.
• The three Longjiang Team riders regrouped and took turns chasing, but Huang Chong continued to increase his lead.
• At the end of the eighth lap, Zhou Zitong told Huang Chong that his advantage had grown to a minute and a half, and Huang Chong eased his power for the final lap.
• Huang Chong crossed the finish line first in 4:23:52, while the Longjiang Team riders finished second and third in 4:26:14 and 4:27:10.

After Huang Chong won both the road race and ITT titles, three Continental teams pursued him, and he leaned toward joining Hengxiang. Chen Junyi considered staying with him professionally, but her father urged her to leave road cycling for a more prominent sport.

• Zhejiang Team celebrated as Huang Chong crossed the finish line first, and Xie Kun praised him for winning both national titles.
• Managers from Huaxing Cycling Team, Li-Ning Star, and Hengxiang Continental Team approached Huang Chong about joining their teams.
• Huang Chong told Chen Junyi he preferred Hengxiang because its Shanghai headquarters were close to his home and provincial team, and he trusted her advice.
• Chen Junyi returned to Hangzhou after the championships and discussed her future work plans with her father, Chen Mingyuan.
• Chen Mingyuan discouraged Chen Junyi from staying in road cycling and urged her to transfer to the basketball or football group.

Chen Junyi persuaded Chen Mingyuan to let her continue working in road cycling for two years, arguing that Huang Chong’s rapid progress could help promote the sport. After seeing a photo of Chen Junyi and Huang Chong together, her parents questioned their closeness, and Chen Junyi calmly said that if they developed feelings, they could simply build a life together.

• Chen Junyi challenged her father’s ranking of sports and argued that road cycling deserved support because it inspired people to exercise and had growing popularity.
• Chen Mingyuan warned that road cycling might not provide Chen Junyi with a secure future, but she described Huang Chong’s rapid improvement and invitations from top continental teams.
• Chen Junyi promised to leave road cycling if Huang Chong failed to reach UCI WorldTour level within two years, and Chen Mingyuan reluctantly accepted her plan.
• Zhang Wanqing asked to see Huang Chong, and Chen Junyi showed her a photo of them wearing gold medals after the provincial games.
• Chen Mingyuan noticed Chen Junyi was wearing Huang Chong’s medal, and she explained that he had lent it to her because she deserved half the credit for his win.
• Zhang Wanqing asked whether Chen Junyi stayed in road cycling because she was dating Huang Chong, and Chen Junyi said that if they developed feelings, they could marry and raise a family just as her parents had.

Chen Junyi returned to the training base after telling her parents she intended to see where things might go with Huang Chong. Huang Chong chose the Hengxiang Continental Team, and when he signed the transfer contract, he discovered Chen Junyi would join him as his data analyst and nutritionist.

• Chen Mingyuan and Zhang Wanqing discussed Chen Junyi's possible relationship with Huang Chong, and Chen Mingyuan said they should let her choose for herself.
• Chen Junyi returned to the training base and focused on helping Huang Chong complete his transfer to a Continental team.
• Huang Chong told Zhang Guowei he preferred the Hengxiang Continental Team, and Zhang agreed to arrange the contract negotiations.
• At the celebration banquet, Huang Chong signed applications for his national championship prize money and Elite Athlete status, while Chen Junyi was pleased to hear he felt sad about parting from her.
• Three days later, Huang Chong reviewed the transfer contract and learned he would return to the provincial team for major international events when required.
• Huang Chong saw Chen Junyi listed as transferring with him as a data analyst and nutritionist, and Zhang Guowei confirmed she would join the Hengxiang Team.

Huang Chong officially joined a Chinese intercontinental team while Chen Junyi joined to collect his performance data and build a road-cycling training model. After training, attending Du Wei’s engagement banquet, and buying Chen Junyi an entry-level road bike, Huang Chong rode home for Spring Festival and unlocked a new system medal.

• Huang Chong signed his transfer contract and learned that Chen Junyi had joined the intercontinental team to study his athletic data and develop a training model.
• Huang Chong continued training, attended Du Wei and Wu Fang’s engagement banquet, and prepared for the Spring Festival break.
• Huang Chong bought Chen Junyi an entry-level road bike and cycling gear before purchasing gifts for his parents.
• Huang Chong rode about 260 kilometers from Hangzhou to Xianyun County and completed the ride at an average speed of around 40 km/h.
• The system awarded Huang Chong the Beginner Professional Rider Honor Medal, improved his weakest stats, and gave him recovery supplies and a pill to help manage holiday food for seven days.

Huang Chong returned to his hometown for Spring Festival, reunited with his family, and showed his younger cousins the enormous gap between his cycling ability and theirs. After his parents expressed their support for his career, he left to return to Hangzhou more determined to reach the top of professional cycling.

• Huang Chong checked his improved cycling stats and received training supplies and a purification pill from the system.
• Huang Chong arrived home after riding 260 kilometers from Hangzhou, where Huang Lingshan and Liang Xiaomei mistook his journey for a sign that he was broke.
• Huang Chong reassured his parents about his income, gave Huang Lingshan a flagship phone, and brought home clothes and nutritional supplements.
• Huang Chong rode with his younger cousins on the local mountain roads, leaving them far behind and completing a difficult climb in thirty-seven minutes.
• Huang Chong's parents supported his cycling career as he prepared to return to Hangzhou, strengthening his resolve to become a top professional rider.

Huang Chong returned to Hangzhou after the New Year, visited Zhang Yi and Zhang Guowei, and prepared to report to the team in Shanghai for a demanding racing season. He visited Chen Junyi’s parents before traveling with her to headquarters, where their relationship remained unspoken and uncertain.

• Huang Chong rode 260 kilometers back to Hangzhou, visited Du Wei, and gave New Year’s greetings to Zhang Yi, who refused his offer of a championship gold medal.
• Huang Chong visited Zhang Guowei, who warned him about the heavy race calendar, national-team selection, and the pressure of being targeted as the reigning national champion.
• Huang Chong told Zhang Guowei he would train hard and face the season’s challenges, then prepared to leave Hangzhou for Shanghai.
• Huang Chong visited Chen Junyi’s parents with New Year gifts and presented himself as a grateful athlete visiting his coach, while Chen Mingyuan and Zhang Wanqing speculated about their daughter’s feelings.
• Chen Junyi drove Huang Chong to the team headquarters in Shanghai, and Huang Chong stayed unusually quiet after meeting her parents.

Huang Chong joined the Hengxiang Team and learned that his packed racing calendar could lead to a chance at the Asian Championships and Olympic qualification. At the Mangshi training camp, his exceptional climbing left even his teammates behind, while Chen Junyi struggled to keep up.

• Chen Junyi reassured Huang Chong about her father, and Huang Chong explained that Zhang Guowei had warned him other riders might target him this season.
• Coach Li welcomed Huang Chong and Chen Junyi to the Hengxiang Team and gave Huang Chong the year's race schedule, including domestic league rounds, UCI stage races, and major international events.
• Coach Li told Huang Chong that he and Little Ma were expected to improve enough to earn national-team selection and compete at the Asian Championships, where a top-two finish could help secure Olympic qualification.
• Huang Chong promised to follow Coach Li's training plan and traveled with the team to Mangshi, Yunnan, for pre-race training.
• Huang Chong began training with the team, and Chen Junyi rode alongside them but found the climbs far more demanding than her previous workouts.
• Coach Li encouraged Chen Junyi and said Huang Chong's climbing ability surpassed every rider on the team, predicting that European teams would soon notice him.

Huang Chong began the domestic league’s first race in Mangshi as a lieutenant tasked with helping sprinter Xiao Ma, and his team’s tactics carried them into the leading group. As the eleven remaining riders launched their final sprint, the winner was still undecided.

• Huang Chong entered the 2023 season with an FTP of 365W after intensive training in Mangshi.
• Coach Li assigned Xiao Ma as Hengxiang Team’s leader for the 92.5-kilometer city circuit race and told the others to protect him.
• The race began amid a large crowd, and Huang Chong’s rivals watched him closely because of his previous championship wins.
• The Peacock Lake circuits split the field, leaving twelve riders in the lead group while Hengxiang’s other four lieutenants were dropped.
• Huang Chong repeatedly led Xiao Ma through the rolling terrain, and Xiao Ma reached the final 200 meters with the leading riders.
• Eleven riders accelerated toward the finish line, with the race winner not yet determined.

Huang Chong led Little Ma to victory in the opening road race with a perfectly timed lead-out, then won the 41-kilometer individual time trial by a wide margin. Coach Han realized Huang Chong had held back for much of the time trial and decided he had found an exceptional national-team prospect.

• Huang Chong launched a sprint 200 meters from the finish, drawing the other riders into an early effort while Little Ma drafted behind him.
• Huang Chong moved aside near the finish, and Little Ma surged past the pack to win the stage ahead of Wang Ruidong and Liu Chenglu.
• Coach Li and Chen Junyi celebrated Hengxiang's victory and praised Huang Chong's teamwork.
• Huang Chong started last in the 41-kilometer time trial and held a narrow lead over Xue Ming at the timing points.
• Huang Chong increased his effort in the final 10 kilometers and finished in 52:55:37, more than a minute ahead of Xue Ming.
• Coach Han realized Huang Chong had conserved strength for much of the time trial and was delighted by his potential.

Coach Han confirmed that Huang Chong had the potential to become an international-level rider, while Coach Li prepared Hengxiang Team for the final road race. On the race’s last lap, Huang Chong surprised the other contenders by attacking before the climb where they expected him to make his move.

• Coach Han reviewed Huang Chong’s background and ITT performance, deciding to wait for the road race before meeting him.
• Coach Li assigned Huang Chong as Hengxiang Team’s leader for the road race and told him to attack on the final circuit’s climbs.
• Hengxiang Team finished seventh in the TTT, and Coach Li decided Huang Chong would no longer compete in the team’s time trials.
• Huang Chong stayed with the contenders as the early breakaway was caught, then rode with the leading group through the climbing laps.
• On the final lap, Huang Chong noticed the riders were conserving energy for his expected attack and launched an early attack on the third-to-last climb.

Huang Chong repeatedly attacked on the climbs, exhausted his rivals, and broke away on the final ascent. He descended alone and won the race in Yunmen Village, celebrating with a salute to the spectators.

• Huang Chong attacked on the first climb, but the other riders caught him on the descent.
• Huang Chong attacked again on the long penultimate climb, dropping two riders while Liu Zhicheng and four others held on.
• Huang Chong launched a third attack on the steep final climb and left the remaining riders behind; Liu Zhicheng stopped chasing and rode for second place.
• Huang Chong descended the mountain at extreme speed and extended his lead over Liu Zhicheng to a minute.
• Huang Chong crossed the finish line alone and saluted the cheering spectators.

After Huang Chong’s victories at the Mangshi Stage, national road cycling head coach Director Han selected him for the national team ahead of the Asian Championships. Coach Li told Huang Chong he had been ordered to compete in the new professional league, and Huang accepted the schedule and committed to training and racing hard.

• Huang Chong won the peloton race, and Hengxiang Team received the men’s Best Team award after taking three gold medals.
• Director Han visited Coach Li and asked to bring Huang Chong onto the national team for the Asian Championships.
• Director Han instructed Coach Li to enter Huang Chong in the professional league’s first three rounds so he could race against foreign riders.
• Coach Li explained the national team selection and professional league assignment to Huang Chong and told him to adjust his race plans.
• Huang Chong reviewed the professional league schedule, accepted the assignment, and promised Coach Li he would give his best in training and competition.

Huang Chong received notice that he had made the national team's preliminary roster and traveled with Hengxiang Team to Henan for the professional league. Coach Li assigned him and Peng Yuantang a dual-leader strategy for the Jiyuan stage, and the chapter ended as Peng Yuantang built a breakaway lead that Huang Chong was poised to chase down.

• Chen Junyi gave Huang Chong the national team's preliminary roster document and told him Coach Li had entered him in the professional league.
• Huang Chong and Hengxiang Team traveled to Jiyuan and inspected the hilly, rain-prone course at Nanshan Forest Park.
• Coach Li assigned Huang Chong and Peng Yuantang as dual leaders, planning for Peng Yuantang to break away early and Huang Chong to bridge across on a climb before they worked together.
• Peng Yuantang attacked after the neutralized section, dropped the other breakaway riders, and entered Nanshan Forest Park alone.
• Coach Li told Peng Yuantang that he had gained nearly a minute and a half on the peloton, giving Huang Chong an opportunity to catch him during the second lap.

Huang Chong attacked on the final climb, caught Peng Yuantang, and worked with him to hold off the chasing riders and win the Jiyuan Stage. Huang Chong finished first and claimed three jerseys, while Peng Yuantang took the King of the Mountains jersey and Niu Yikui finished third.

• Huang Chong slowed the chasing group to help Peng Yuantang recover, but the other teams recognized his tactic and accelerated after Peng Yuantang.
• Peng Yuantang attacked the final climb alone, and Huang Chong later launched his own attack, dropped Niu Yikui, and cut the gap to his teammate.
• Huang Chong descended through the rain, caught Peng Yuantang, and helped him recover before they took turns riding toward the finish.
• Huang Chong and Peng Yuantang maintained their lead and crossed the finish line with Huang Chong half a wheel ahead.
• Niu Yikui won the sprint for third, while Huang Chong received the red, white, and green jerseys and Peng Yuantang took the polka-dot jersey.

Huang Chong defended his overall lead through the Luoning and Puyang stages, proving he could win a difficult finish but losing the flat-stage sprint to a specialist. He retained the red jersey and then joined the national team delegation flying to Thailand for the Asian Road Cycling Championships.

• Huang Chong's teammates praised his climbing and physique as the team bus carried them to Luoning County for the second professional league stage.
• Huang Chong followed Coach Li's instructions and stayed with the peloton for the first two laps while Peng Yuantang contested the climb points and protected him as his domestique.
• On the final climb, Huang Chong and Peng Yuantang stayed with the leading riders, and Huang Chong sprinted past Niu Yikui to win the Luoning stage and defend his overall lead.
• Huang Chong finished behind the sprint group at the flat Puyang stage, which SHNYRKOALIAKSRI won, and retained the red jersey without losing time.
• Huang Chong and Little Ma joined the national team's specialized training, then flew with other riders to Rayong Province, Thailand, for the Asian Road Cycling Championships.

Huang Chong prepared for his first race in China’s national team jersey at the Asian Road Cycling Championships, where a top-two finish would earn Olympic qualification. After Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Fedorov dominated the time trial, Huang Chong began the men’s road race with his teammates and stayed with the Kazakh riders as the toughest terrain approached.

• Chen Junyi warned Huang Chong about Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Fedorov and Japan’s Shinya Arashiro and Yuma Koishi.
• Yevgeniy Fedorov won the 46-kilometer time trial, while China’s Xue Ming finished eighth.
• Huang Chong studied the road race course and identified the rolling climbs around kilometer 100 as the likely deciding section.
• Sun Jiajun took second place in the women’s road race and secured an Olympic qualification slot for China.
• Huang Chong and his teammates started the men’s road race, and Kazakhstan immediately drove the pace at the front.
• Kazakhstan split the peloton between kilometers 50 and 65, but Huang Chong and his four teammates remained together behind them as the hardest section began.

Huang Chong survived the punishing climbs and stayed with Kazakhstan’s Gaierbo and Yevgeny after they dropped Japan’s Shinya Arashiro. With fifty kilometers remaining, he faced the two WorldTour riders alone, unsure whether he could withstand their repeated attacks and claim an Olympic qualifying spot.

• Kazakhstan raised the pace across the rolling climbs, and Little Ma and Xue Ming were eventually dropped while Huang Chong remained near the front.
• Kazakhstan’s domestique Dmitry attacked on the steep climb at 92 km, leaving only eight riders from six countries to reach the descent together.
• Huang Chong ate his recovery bar during the descent, then followed Gaierbo and Yevgeny’s thousand-watt attack on the 11.5% climb alongside Shinya Arashiro.
• Gaierbo and Yevgeny kept attacking over the rolling climbs until Shinya Arashiro was dropped, leaving Huang Chong alone with the two Kazakhstan riders.
• Huang Chong entered the final fifty kilometers with Gaierbo and Yevgeny as Coach Han and Chen Junyi watched the race anxiously.