The greatest challenge for riders racing in the rain was safety.
More than half an hour after they set off from Yizhou, the rain slanting down from the sky showed no sign of stopping.
And in Guangxi, rainy weather came with a hazy mist that reduced visibility to almost nothing, posing a tremendous challenge for everyone wearing cycling glasses.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe had a very clear objective for this stage: help their leader win the stage, or even secure the overall title at this Tour of Guangxi outright.
Naturally, they could no longer hand over control of the peloton as readily as they had over the previous four days.
Notably, because Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe had not needed to contest the bunch sprints over the past few days, they also had the most complete roster remaining.
All seven riders had stayed in the race from start to finish.
Riding in the rain still put Huang Chong under considerable pressure.
The slick road greatly increased the difficulty of handling his bike.
To concentrate better and maintain a safe distance from the other riders at all times, he gave it some thought, then removed his cycling glasses and tucked them into the helmet on his head.
There was no glaring sunlight when riding in the rain. Although taking off his glasses left the strong wind stinging his eyes, it kept
raindrops from collecting on the lenses, giving him a clearer view.
Of course, the rain affected every rider, not just him.
The breakaway hopefuls in particular struggled today. Between the relentless rain and the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe riders controlling the front of the peloton, who had no intention of letting them go easily, several rounds of attacks failed to stick.
Only after roughly an hour of riding, when they had all but cleared the rainy area