I Want to Be a Professional Rider

"Sure enough, it worked!!"

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Huang Chong felt his entire body. As the faint tingling faded, he felt as though he had been recharged and knew his body had been strengthened.

The change in his leg strength was especially noticeable.

He could tell that compared to when he had left the shop just now, he had become significantly stronger!

An increase of 10W in average power was relatively easy during the beginner stage, but no matter how easy it was, it could not compare to directly adding points!

"Bro, you went way too hard just now. You've only ridden a few kilometers, and you're already done, huh?"

"Here's some advice. Beginners like you should keep your heart rate in Zone 2 for aerobic training. That's how you optimize and build endurance. Going too hard is more trouble than it's worth!"

"That's right. Daily training isn't a race. There's no need to go all out and sprint that fiercely!"

Just after Huang Chong finished allocating his Optimization Points, the three cyclists who had been talking about him caught up.

Seeing that he had stopped by the roadside to rest after riding only 10KM and was still panting heavily, they kindly gave him a whole pile of advice.

Before Huang Chong could say anything, the system displayed new text:

[It has been detected that someone has advised the host to perform Zone 2 aerobic training. Please complete 30 minutes of Zone 2 aerobic training. Reward: 2 Beginner Optimization Points, Heart-Lung Strengthening Pill*1]

[Heart-Lung Strengthening Pill: After consumption, it can strengthen cardiopulmonary function, extend cycling endurance, suppress rapid increases in heart rate threshold, increase lung capacity within a reasonable range, and reduce the host's risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease and hypertension.]

"This works too?"

Huang Chong was somewhat dumbfounded when he saw the new mission.

Damn it, this system was just like some troll. It took seriously whatever anyone said!

Still, the advice from those three cyclists was sincere, scientific, and reasonable.

Besides weak thighs and an inability to sustain power for long periods, large heart-rate fluctuations were common symptoms for beginners.

Without long-term Zone 2 aerobic training, it really was difficult to keep one's heart rate stable.

Under a normal training routine, a beginner would need at least one or two months of long-distance riding to stabilize their overall heart rate.

"Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll go do some Zone 2 aerobic training now. Let's ride together sometime!"

Huang Chong waved at the three of them. They had helped him trigger a system mission, so naturally he had to thank them verbally.

"No problem, bro. We come to the greenway for casual rides after work every day. But if you want to keep up with our intensity, you'll need to train more, hahaha!"

One of the three answered in a hearty voice. Soon afterward, their figures gradually disappeared from Huang Chong's sight.

"These guys really say whatever's on their minds!"

Huang Chong shook his head with a smile.

He was actually quite broad-minded. When people offered reasonable advice, he did not feel offended.

As long as they were not like Zhou Ming, who had come purely to mock him, he could accept it calmly.

"Thirty minutes of Zone 2 training? That's actually a little hard for me to control right now!"

Huang Chong turned his attention back to the system mission and roughly calculated his heart-rate zone in his head.

According to the rough method for calculating heart-rate zones:

220 - age (22) = 198, which was his maximum heart rate.

Zone 2 aerobic training was 60–70% of his maximum heart rate, meaning his heart rate needed to stay between 119 and 139 beats per minute.

To keep his heart rate within that range, Huang Chong could basically only ride back slowly.

So, it had taken him twenty-four minutes to ride 10KM after leaving the bike shop, but the return trip took him more than fifty full minutes. Only then did the system display:

[Congratulations! You have completed 30 minutes of Zone 2 aerobic training.]

[Rewards are being issued: You have obtained 2 Beginner Optimization Points and Heart-Lung Strengthening Pill*1.]

"You can really ride, Old Huang. I thought you'd be back in half an hour at most. Didn't expect you to be out for an hour and a half."

At Flying Bike Shop, Du Wei, who lived in a food desert and had only ordered fried chicken and Coca-Cola for dinner at eight in the evening, saw Huang Chong pushing his road bike back in and casually tossed him an ice-cold Coca-Cola.

However, after catching it, Huang Chong handed it back. He then took his cycling bottle to the shop's water dispenser to fill it and replied directly:

"I won't be drinking high-calorie carbonated drinks like this anymore. I'm going to lose weight!"

"Hiss—what kind of crazy mood are you in? What, are you trying to train as fast as possible so you can have it out with that Zhou guy?"

Du Wei teased him while eating fried chicken.

"If you ask me, this kind of thing should be taken slowly. Why deny yourself your appetite over a moment of anger?

There's plenty of time ahead. Why rush?"

Plenty of time ahead?

Huang Chong did not think much of those words.

It was already the middle of 2022. Pogačar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel, who had burst onto the scene and was about to win the Vuelta a España overall title, were about to become three dominant forces advancing side by side.

Now that he had bound himself to the system, how could he improve himself at a leisurely pace and miss the golden years of battling alongside these top geniuses?

A thousand years was too long; seize the day!

"What the hell is Zhou worth? At his level, I wouldn't even need a week of training to crush him. Would I need to lose weight specifically for him?"

"Uh—bro, it's not good to brag that wildly."

Du Wei exchanged a smile with the shop's professional mechanic. They both knew Zhou Ming's ability very well.

At Huang Chong's level, he wanted to drop a rich kid who averaged around 30 after only one week of training?

That was pure fantasy!

Du Wei asked:

"Then tell me. If it's not because you want to beat Zhou Ming, why are you in such a rush to lose weight?"

Huang Chong had finished drinking water. He took out a Training Recovery Energy Gel from the system storage space, preparing to test its effects, and said frankly:

"Because I've decided that I'm going to become a professional rider, and lowering my weight is one of the fastest ways to improve my power-to-weight ratio right now!"

Du Wei froze on the spot, even forgetting to eat the fried chicken drumstick in his hand.

"You're serious?"

His face was filled with shock.

Especially when he saw Huang Chong's confident expression, which did not look like a joke at all.

"Of course I'm serious!"

Huang Chong answered decisively. He tore open the energy gel's packaging and sucked it into his mouth, finding that it tasted like some kind of fruit-flavored jelly. It was actually quite tasty.

"But this—this is completely unrealistic, bro. Becoming a professional rider is too complicated. It requires systematic training. Every aspect has to keep up. We're already this old. How much room do we have left to improve?"

Seeing how firm his tone was, Du Wei could only smile bitterly.

He even felt a faint sense of guilt. After all, he had been the one who got Tang Chong into the pit of road cycling in the first place.

But all he had wanted was to ride with a good friend and spend time together doing something they loved!

He had never expected that Huang Chong, who had not been riding for long and was already no longer young, would actually dream of becoming a professional rider.

But after thinking about it carefully, Du Wei felt that he had worried too much.

Because in his eyes, Huang Chong would need to be reincarnated and start training from childhood for that to even be remotely possible.

As for this life, no matter how hard Huang Chong trained, he probably would not even make it onto a domestic continental team. At that point, he would naturally back down in the face of difficulty!

Huang Chong knew Du Wei could not understand him, and he could not share the fact that he had been reborn with cheats. So, he did not intend to say much to Du Wei about becoming a professional rider.

A simple explanation was enough. If they dug deeper, it would never end.

He replied bluntly:

"Heaven rewards diligence. I'll train first. Besides, joining a club or professional team isn't that simple. You have to prove yourself with race results. If you haven't stood on a few podiums, no one will pay attention to your bike computer data alone!"

As someone who had been through it before, Huang Chong knew the rules of the cycling world very well.

Teams had always scouted outstanding riders during races, rather than riders bringing their everyday training data to interview with some team.

Hearing Huang Chong's answer, Du Wei suddenly realized that his classmate had already figured out the channels and methods for becoming a professional rider. At least he was not blindly fumbling around, and Du Wei inexplicably felt relieved.

As his closest friend from university, they had once been roommates. Their personalities suited each other well, and they had long been able to understand many things without saying them aloud.

So, out of the most sincere concern, Du Wei had only worried that Huang Chong was acting like an impulsive hothead and would get battered bloody on the road of fantasy because of a momentary impulse!

But now it seemed that Huang Chong was not the reckless, passionate fool Du Wei had imagined. He had a reasonable plan.

"Since you've already decided, your brother will support you. The salary I pay you is enough for your daily expenses anyway. You just need to manage your training time yourself!"

After sorting things out in his mind, Du Wei continued eating his fried chicken and added:

"But if you want to become a professional rider, shouldn't you upgrade your bike?

A few days ago, the shop took in a pair of entry-level domestic 50mm deep-section carbon wheels. They're ninety percent new. Install them and use them yourself. Hurry up and replace those crappy Giant aluminum wheels that came with your bike. What kind of trashy iron donkeys are those?

Consider this a little practical support from your brother. No need to thank me!"

When Tang Chong heard that Du Wei wanted to give him a pair of carbon-fiber wheels, his eyes immediately lit up, and he sprang up from the sofa.

As expected of a good brother. He had indeed been thinking of upgrading his low-profile aluminum wheels to carbon wheels.

But those things were not cheap. Even decent entry-level domestic ones cost five or six thousand, which was enough for a month of his salary. He had not expected Du Wei to support him directly.

"Great kindness needs no thanks, Old Du. When I become a champion someday, I'll repay you!"

Tang Chong knew Du Wei's personality. He was not someone who liked to beat around the bush, so Tang Chong went to get the secondhand wheelset that had originally been intended for sale, preparing to install it on his bike.

But just as he hung his bike on the repair stand, the system displayed another string of new text.