Just Routine Training—Did He Really Need to Push the Average Speed That High?

"Old Huang, you struck it rich! Treat us—you have to treat us!"

"Never expected Zhou Ming to be such a good sport. Unlike those official competitions, where the championship prize money looks tempting but is all pre-tax!"

"So tell me, once we're back in the city, where are you taking me to spend?"

Unlike Zhou Ming and the others, who turned back and returned the way they had come, Huang Chong and Du Wei continued on from the finish line. They planned to make a full circuit around Qiandao Lake, return to their hotel, and then head back to Hangzhou.

Though it was already getting late and the midsummer sun was beginning to blaze fiercely, compared to another 50 kilometers of rolling climbs on the return trip, Du Wei would rather endure a longer ride.

There was no other reason. Beyond the finish line, it was all flat road. That was his comfort zone.

Hearing Du Wei stir things up, Huang Chong knew his friend was joking. Otherwise, with Du Wei's spending habits, if he really cut loose, one meal could wipe out all of Huang Chong's prize money.

He still remembered when they had graduated from university the month before last. Du Wei had generously treated their six roommates to a geoduck feast, and they had blown more than thirty thousand yuan...

"Old Du, your information was completely wrong. Good thing I didn't take you seriously. How was Zhou Ming's riding level anywhere near as bad as you claimed?

"You said his flat-road cruising average could barely reach 30, but did you know that his average over this 50-kilometer climb was nearly 30?

"You really are something. You took someone's data from last year as their actual level. You think everyone's like you? Seven or eight months passed, and you're still stuck in the same place!"

Du Wei's round face could not help turning red at Huang Chong's jab.

He really had used himself as the benchmark when describing Zhou Ming's level.

From last year's Around Qiandao Lake until now, although he had ridden from time to time, none of it had been systematic training, and his power had barely improved.

In fact, because he had gained weight, his climbing ability was even worse than last year's. That was why Zhou Ming had caught him off guard and dropped him so completely.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know Zhou Ming would actually take cycling seriously and even hire a team to train him?

"I thought a young master like him would be about the same as me—just riding for fun.

"But didn't you win?

"Anyway, as long as one of us beat him, we saved face. Don't sweat the details!"

Du Wei's carefree personality left Huang Chong both amused and exasperated, but after thinking about it, he had a point.

The two of them were close to begin with. Since they had entered the race together, their honor and disgrace were shared.

Zhou Ming losing to Huang Chong was still a massive defeat.

"By the way, something's not right with your current strength.

"I saw the cycling jerseys those lieutenants of Zhou Ming's were wearing. They're all team members from the various road bike brand stores in Hangzhou, and they're not weak. They're basically among the best amateur riders.

"Above them are professional riders. So you really took them all down?

"Doesn't that mean you've already touched the threshold of being a professional rider?

"Your improvement is way too fast. Come clean—how did you do it?

"Did you, like Sun Wukong, sneak off and eat Lord Lao's immortal pills?"

Though Du Wei spoke as if he were joking, he genuinely admired Huang Chong deep down, to the point where he practically wanted to prostrate himself in awe.

No one knew better than him how disciplined Huang Chong had been in life ever since deciding to become a professional rider.

More than once, Du Wei had tried tempting him with delicious food, only to fail every time.

Huang Chong had not touched a single bite of high-calorie food, nor had he drunk a single sip of any beverage containing sucrose.

For all three meals a day, he ate only low-fat food and drank plain water. He was practically a worldly Buddha cultivating among ordinary people.

Although Huang Chong could not explain his situation to Du Wei in detail, after some thought, he still gave the most scientific answer he could.

"Old Du, if you want to improve your climbing ability, keep your weight under control. Nothing harms climbing more than obesity."

Although Du Wei had long guessed that was the reason, instinctively, he had no desire to experience the self-torture of fat loss, which required abstinence and restraint.

After all, Huang Chong's lifestyle lately was no different from becoming a monk in Du Wei's eyes. He gave a haughty snort.

"Impossible. Losing weight is impossible. Worst case, I'll never ride climbs again. I'll only ride flat roads!"

After returning to Hangzhou, Huang Chong continued balancing work and training.

However, when he arranged to resume their usual cycling training with Wang Qiang and the other two, the moment they saw him, they were dumbfounded.

"Damn, Brother Huang, it's only been a week. What happened to you? Don't tell me you went to a cosmetic surgery clinic for liposuction just to lose weight?"

Liu Junjie was genuinely shocked. When Huang Chong had weighed 75 kilograms before, he had still been slightly chubby. Now, with the brutal boost of two Fat-Burning Muscle-Preserving Pills, his weight had dropped to 62.5 kilograms. He had shrunk by far more than just a little.

It could be said that aside from normal muscle, nearly all the fat in his body had been burned away.

Once he completed the third stage of his fat-loss goal and reached 60 kilograms, he really would be as skinny as a bamboo pole.

"Brother, this way of losing weight isn't right. If I'm not mistaken, the reason you want to lose fat so quickly is to improve your power-to-weight ratio, right?"

Wang Qiang was also worried by the changes in Huang Chong's physique. Frowning, he reminded him, "Even if your weight goes down, the cost is that you'll lose muscle too. You suddenly got this skinny—how has your power changed? Can you still maintain your previous 200W output?"

Although Huang Chong was nearly as skinny as a monkey, especially in his upper body, which looked frighteningly gaunt without chest and back muscles to support it, his legs and abs were actually solid.

It was just that Wang Qiang and the other two had focused all their attention on his upper body.

He smiled and replied, "Thanks for your concern, Brother Liu, Brother Wang. I just wanted to see what it would be like to cut down to 60 kilograms. Looking at it now, 65 kilograms is probably more suitable for my height.

"But don't worry. My power hasn't dropped. I can still maintain my previous speed. In fact, after losing weight, my power-to-weight ratio really did increase a lot!

"At the same 200W, my average used to be only 32 or 33, but now I can average around 35."

Hearing that, Wang Qiang and the other two could not help exchanging looks, then could only shake their heads helplessly.

Indeed, with the same 200W output, a rider weighing 60 kilograms and one weighing 70 kilograms would have completely different speeds.

The 60-kilogram rider would definitely be much faster, since both gravity and wind resistance would affect him less.

On climbs, the advantage would be even more obvious.

Only on descents would heavier riders have a speed advantage.

But road cycling had no stages that competed solely on descents. That was the exclusive territory of mountain bike downhill racing.

"Words alone aren't enough. Let's first see how you're really doing. Honestly, Huang Chong, you've gone a little too extreme. Health should come first. We aren't professional riders—there's no need to put yourself through this."

Chen Guangming was a simple, unpretentious man, both in appearance and in the way he spoke.

But people like that often made the sincerity in human relationships easiest to feel.

Huang Chong could sense the most straightforward goodwill from him.

Still, he knew that he was actually perfectly healthy. And he really did plan to restore his weight to 65 kilograms after completing the system's fat-loss task. By then, he would also do targeted upper-body muscle training to build his chest and back muscles and improve his sprinting explosiveness.

He nodded and did not explain much. He simply smiled at Chen Guangming with the same sincerity and replied, "All right, Brother Chen. I'll take good care of myself!"

Afterward, they exchanged a few more pleasantries and said no more. As usual, they began their daily training on the greenway.

But when Huang Chong took the lead, merely maintaining a normal Zone 2 aerobic pace, his average speed shot straight up to 37 KM/H.

Wang Qiang and the other two, drafting close behind him, were instantly stunned by the pace.

Because that was already the kind of average speed they only used when competing in cycling races.

Even while drafting, their heart rates climbed rapidly, immediately reaching the upper limit of Zone 3 endurance and coming infinitely close to breaking into the Zone 4 threshold.

So after following Huang Chong for a while, all three of them came to the exact same thought without saying a word:

This was just routine training. Did this guy really need to push the average speed that high?