Comparisons Are Infuriating—How True That Saying Is

The Taihu Lake cycling race was divided into an elite category and an amateur category.

As the name implied, the elite category consisted of amateur grassroots cycling teams. A maximum of twenty-two teams could participate, with each team allowed to register up to five riders. Slots were first come, first served.

Since it was an unofficial race, professional teams and riders would not take part. It was more like a carnival for amateur cycling enthusiasts.

As for the prize money, it naturally was not much. The champions of both categories received only 8,888.

In fact, if they did the math carefully, as long as enough people registered, the organizers could even turn a profit by charging every participant an 88 registration fee.

When it came to penny-pinching, these business-minded capitalists really knew their stuff.

It looked like they were holding a cycling event for their own grand opening to build hype and draw crowds, a seemingly money-burning move. In reality, the event itself was also a business.

Even if it did not make money, with road cycling being so popular in China right now, it definitely would not lose money.

Huang Chong had set off early from the hostel with his teammates and ridden to the starting area, after which they began their group-riding training.

However, with so many people competing this time, plenty of riders had also come to scout the route and train along the lakeside road early in the morning.

Though this was called a lake circuit race, the actual race distance was only 100 kilometers—not even half a lap around the lake.

Taihu Lake was simply too large. One full lap was more than 300 kilometers, so there was no way the organizers could set such a long stage.

The Headwind Cycling Team had brought eight people in total. Five would compete in the elite category, while three female riders would compete in the amateur category.

But no one knew that Zhang Yi's focus in leading the team this time was actually entirely on Huang Chong alone.

The first fifty kilometers of group riding were unremarkable. They took turns pulling, keeping their average speed at around 33 kilometers per hour.

Both Huang Chong and Zhang Yi found it rather dull. At their level, this pace was nothing more than Zone 1 warm-up work, barely enough to raise their heart rates.

However, after fifty kilometers, Zhang Yi followed the plan he had made beforehand and said to everyone, "That's enough warming up. For the remaining half, give it everything you've got according to your actual race level. But safety comes first.

"We'll meet up at the finish.

"Huang Chong, Wang Qiang said you've improved a lot. Want to try following my pace?"

Huang Chong did not know what Zhang Yi was planning, but he had witnessed the latter's strength on the Western Zhejiang Sky Road. He knew full well that even a retired former professional rider was not someone amateur cyclists could compare themselves to.

Still, the first fifty kilometers had not done much for his training. Now that Zhang Yi had specifically invited him to follow, his interest was instantly piqued.

He had also wanted to use Zhang Yi to test his true level, so he immediately said, "Sure, Captain. I'll do my best to keep up with you!"

"Alright, then let's go!"

After speaking, Zhang Yi, who had been in warm-up mode, directly adjusted his gearing with the shifters, moving the chain from the small chainring to the big chainring.

Then, his two muscular thighs exploded with astonishing power, instantly pushing his cadence above 90.

The result went without saying. Riding Pogačar's machine, the V3RS, he immediately raised his cruising average speed above 40 kilometers per hour.

Huang Chong reacted quickly and immediately matched his pace, his heart rate shooting upward.

It was just that his bike was rather underwhelming. Though he could stay on Zhang Yi's wheel, it always felt a little unstable.

Of course, it was not purely the bike's fault. He had lost too much fat recently, while his chest, back, and glute muscles had yet to receive targeted strengthening. The more aerodynamic his riding posture became and the lower he dropped his upper body, the less confidence he had.

If his bike-handling ability had not already reached the professional level, he felt that he would not even dare to pedal at full power.

Looking at it that way, Li Zifan, that rich young mountain biker, had really helped him tremendously.

He looked at the data on his cycling computer, feeling somewhat excited.

Riding with no reservations, he was able to stick close behind Zhang Yi on flat ground with 270 watts of power, yet his speed was actually around 48 kilometers per hour. That was undoubtedly terrifyingly fast.

Of course, this speed could not be sustained. To maintain 48 kilometers per hour for an entire 100-kilometer race would be the equivalent of holding Zone 4 threshold, nearly Zone 5 anaerobic output, for more than two hours. That was simply impossible.

Even UCI WorldTour riders only averaged a little over 40 kilometers per hour over the full distance of each race.

Of course, that was because they had to ride for five or six hours over courses more than 200 kilometers long.

If UCI WorldTour riders were made to ride 100 kilometers of almost completely flat road with only a few dozen meters of elevation gain, finishing with an average speed above 50 kilometers per hour would be easy for them.

Zhang Yi maintaining 48 kilometers per hour while pulling the entire way was also the limit of what he could currently do.

Back when he was with the provincial team, at his peak, he could hold speeds above 50 for twenty minutes. But that was no longer possible now.

So when Huang Chong still managed to cling tightly to his wheel after he had held 48 for twenty minutes, Zhang Yi already had his answer.

This kid really is a genius!

Thus, he had no choice but to turn to Huang Chong and say, "Let's switch. You take the lead for a while and let this old man catch his breath!"

Huang Chong was momentarily stunned when he heard that.

He had already spent twenty minutes pushing at Zone 4 threshold and was on the verge of cracking.

If he did not take something to recover, he would soon be unable to keep up. Yet the captain was asking him to take a turn at the front now, catching him completely off guard.

Damn, I thought the captain could pull the entire stage and let me sit in his draft to my heart's content—

Looks like he can only hold around 300 watts for about twenty minutes too.

Cycling really is a sport that tests both endurance and intelligence. If you don't know how to save your own energy by sitting in and drafting within the peloton, burning yourself out too early will only mean making someone else's wedding dress.

For example, if we keep pushing at threshold for more than twenty kilometers like this, then we'll basically be finished for the next twenty-plus kilometers!

Huang Chong silently reflected, realizing that he had gained a new understanding of racing.

In a real professional race, no one would go all-out from the very beginning. The sections where riders sat in and conserved energy generally accounted for as much as three-quarters of the entire race. Only breakaway riders would give it everything they had.

But right now, he had no time to sit in, rest, and recover his energy.

The captain had voluntarily asked him to pull. He could not possibly make excuses that he could not do it and refuse to take even a single meter at the front.

That would be far too un-teamlike!

So Huang Chong could only take a Fast-acting Recovery Energy Bar from his storage space, swallow it, then, in a renewed state, grit his teeth and move ahead of Zhang Yi, beginning to pull him along.

However, it was obvious that at the same power output, pulling and drafting produced different speeds.

Drafting at 270 watts had allowed him to reach 48 kilometers per hour, but when he took the lead, he could only manage around 45.

After all, the wind resistance at the front was too great. Road cycling was inherently about racing into the wind, and reaching that speed was already incredibly impressive.

Zhang Yi stayed firmly in Huang Chong's slipstream. Looking at the data on his own cycling computer, he could naturally tell that their average speed had dropped compared to when he had been pulling.

But he had already spent twenty minutes riding at high intensity, and he was no longer at full strength.

Even at an average speed of 45, he needed to be close to Zone 4 threshold just to keep up.

But that was not the point. The point was that he had truly tested Huang Chong's cardiopulmonary capacity.

He himself could not endure more than twenty minutes of threshold riding, but Huang Chong had done it—and was still going.

This monster—

Zhang Yi watched Huang Chong, thin as a bamboo pole, maintain a cadence of nearly 100 in front of him, attacking wildly as though he were pedaling on flaming wheels. Yet all Zhang Yi felt was helplessness and bitterness.

Granted, Huang Chong's leg power still could not match his. Though the gap was no longer large, the difference in their cardiopulmonary talent made Zhang Yi understand that, when it came to the upper limit of growth in road cycling, he and Huang Chong were worlds apart.

Even without taking Huang Chong for professional fitness and medical testing, he could already be almost certain that Huang Chong could not only become a professional rider, but might even have a chance to reach UCI WorldTour level—

Comparisons really are infuriating. That saying couldn't be truer!

Zhang Yi silently sighed as he watched Huang Chong's back.

At the same time, he felt fortunate that he had actually encountered such a talented rider.

Even if, by an athlete's standards, Huang Chong was already a little old to be turning professional now!