The Tour of Guangxi had always designated the stage containing Nongla Mountain as the race's queen stage.
The reason was simple: this summit finish genuinely posed a challenge.
When the Tour of Guangxi first began, the climb up Nongla Mountain had not been as difficult as it had become over the past two years.
Before the pandemic, the final climb along the winding mountain road had ended at the archway of the Nongla scenic area.
But when the Tour of Guangxi resumed after the pandemic, the organizers extended the finish another 1.2 kilometers beyond the archway.
And that additional 1.2 kilometers of uphill road had substantially increased the difficulty.
Not only did it have an average gradient of 14.8 percent, it also made the final climb up Nongla Mountain longer, demanding more careful management of the riders' energy.
For Huang Chong, however, after competing in top-tier European races such as the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España that year, Nongla Mountain really did not present much of a challenge.
After all, in Europe's elite races, especially mountain stages in the Tour de France, a single stage could include two hors catégorie climbs.
Even after its extension, the climb up Nongla Mountain was only comparable to a category-one climb in Europe.
Still, as the defending champion looking to claim the overall leader's red jersey again, he had to give the most important stage his full attention.
After all, in competitive sport, nothing was more dangerous than complacency and popping the champagne at halftime.
If he started looking down on his opponents before the race was even decided, things probably would not end well for him.
Fortunately, that was not the kind of person he was.
Over the first four stages, he had seemed more intent