An Uninvited Guest Arrives, Ordering a Bike and Issuing a Challenge

For someone like Zhang Yi, who had a family to support, it was perfectly normal to have personal considerations.

It was already difficult for him to view road cycling from the same purely simple perspective he had as an athlete—results, honor, and so on.

Once a man took on the dual roles of husband and father, his considerations would inevitably become tied to practical interests.

After all, a person's energy was limited. If he was truly going to spend time running a cycling team, he naturally had to consider the family's livelihood as well.

Fortunately, his wife had also been an athlete. Though both of them had retired, she now had a stable job. Because of her previous achievements, she had transitioned from an athlete to an assistant coach within the provincial team system and had begun training newcomers.

This greatly eased Zhang Yi's financial pressure.

Even so, as a man, he still had to consider the growth potential of his own career.

Or, to put it bluntly, if he really wanted to invest a great deal of effort in Huang Chong and train him, could Huang Chong offer him a corresponding return in the future?

That was what Zhang Yi was instinctively considering.

As things stood, Huang Chong certainly could not bring him any commercial value, but Zhang Yi saw long-term potential in him.

Huang Chong unquestionably possessed a natural advantage that ordinary people could scarcely hope to reach. As a former professional road cyclist, Zhang Yi would not misjudge that.

Seeing her husband sitting in the living room, frowning thoughtfully as he stared blankly at his phone, Chen Li knew something must have happened and asked, "What's wrong, Old Zhang? You look so distracted. Did something go wrong at work?"

Zhang Yi looked at his virtuous wife and immediately smiled again, but shook his head. "It's not work-related."

"Then what is it?"

Seeing his wife continue to press him, Zhang Yi thought for a moment. He had no intention of hiding it from her, so he told her all about Huang Chong.

Chen Li knew about her husband's wishes and ambitions. Both of them had come from athletic backgrounds, and from childhood to adulthood, they had spent more time on their specialty than on anything else.

If they truly had to completely leave behind the field they knew so well, that feeling of reluctance and loss would be quite painful.

So she understood that her husband's wish was to establish a road cycling training organization focused on discovering and developing new talent.

After hearing him out, she thought carefully. Rather than making the decision for him, she asked with a serious expression, "Old Zhang, are you sure this young man named Huang Chong is really that talented?"

Zhang Yi understood what she meant. After hesitating briefly, he still nodded. "I'm fairly sure. You can tell from his data. Combined with his performance last week, that kind of heart rate change can't be achieved through hard work alone. It can only be talent."

"Don't say fairly sure. Be certain," Chen Li said.

"Training an athlete is no small matter. It has to be scientific and rigorous.

"From what you just told me, you've only ridden with him once, right? What concrete conclusion can you draw from a single set of heart rate data?

"Rather than hesitating here, why not find an opportunity to personally test Huang Chong's true level again? You could also take him for a specialized athlete medical examination.

"If he really is as gifted as you say, then in my opinion, whether he stays to bring honor to your own team isn't important at all.

"Leaving aside whether you can even keep him, road cycling isn't particularly valued in China at the professional level right now, is it?

"Do you really think having him win a pile of domestic amateur races will help you attract countless students and achieve much publicity?

"You might as well be more straightforward and follow what you truly want. First, properly guide him into the sport.

"If he can truly reach the threshold of a professional rider, then use your own connections to recommend him to the provincial team for training. He'll never be able to erase that favor.

"As for how much return you might receive in the future, why think so far ahead now?

"As they say, the last ten miles are the hardest part of a hundred-mile journey. You have to set out first. Once you're on the road, then you can talk!"

After hearing his wife's words, Zhang Yi felt ashamed, but at the same time, everything suddenly became clear.

That was right. If Huang Chong's actual level was not that impressive, then no matter how thoroughly Zhang Yi planned things out, it would only be pure wishful thinking.

But if Huang Chong truly had talent, then after Zhang Yi helped him enter the provincial team and eventually reach the UCI WorldTour to become a world-class rider, there was no way Huang Chong would forget the man who had first guided him.

By then, forget founding a road cycling club—even provincial officials would probably invite him back to become a coach and help discover more professional talent.

"Honey, hearing you put it that way really cleared things up for me. Thanks. I know what to do now."

Zhang Yi smiled and let out a relieved breath, gently squeezing his wife's palm. Then, without further hesitation, he sent Huang Chong a WeChat message inviting him out for a ride.

After returning home, Huang Chong followed his usual routine: showering, making a fat-loss meal, and eating. By the time he finished, it was nearly ten o'clock.

Before going to bed, he checked his phone and discovered that team captain Zhang Yi had sent him several messages.

The general content was this:

Wang Qiang had just told Zhang Yi about Huang Chong's tremendous progress over the past week. The team would be participating next week in a cycling tour race around Taihu Lake organized by a company in Suzhou, and Zhang Yi asked whether Huang Chong wanted to take part.

If he did, the team could give him one of its slots.

Zhang Yi also asked whether he had time this weekend to go with the team to Taihu Lake for reconnaissance and training in advance.

After seeing the messages, Huang Chong replied almost without thinking.

"Captain, please make sure to bring me along for the race. I'm signing up. Also, I can go with the team to Taihu Lake for training this weekend!"

After receiving the reply, Zhang Yi exchanged a glance with his wife beside him and said with a smile, "It's settled. The moment that kid heard there was a cycling race, he got fired up like he'd been injected with adrenaline. I've already arranged for him to train at Taihu Lake this weekend. We'll see what he's really capable of then.

"Flat stages happen to be my specialty, so it'll be easier to directly assess his true level."

"Mm, go without worry. Suzhou isn't far anyway. I'll take our daughter to my parents' place and have them look after her temporarily."

Chen Li was an exceptionally understanding woman. She never interfered with her husband's life or interests. Even if she had to work overtime on weekends, she would arrange everything properly.

However, compared with how smoothly things were going on their side, Huang Chong had been working at the shop while maintaining his daily training. He had finally waited for the weekend to arrive again and was about to pack for Suzhou when an uninvited guest came to Du Wei's shop.

Zhou Ming had come to order another bike. As the newly crowned Tour de France champion, Vingegaard's race bike—the Cervelo S5—was naturally not something he would miss adding to his collection.

But after finishing the order arrangements with Du Wei, he found Huang Chong, who was preparing to pack his luggage for Suzhou, and issued him another racing challenge. He said directly, "Huang Chong, I lost to you by one bike length in our last race, and it really bothered me. So I want to race you again tomorrow morning on a flat stage. Do you have time?"