November 19, 2022, Provincial Games road cycling event venue.
The weather today was exceptionally harsh, with drifting fog, slanting rain, and biting wind.
Rainy days after the start of winter brought low temperatures and high humidity, making the race much more difficult.
The event was also scheduled for the morning, running from 7:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
The first day consisted entirely of ITT events—individual time trials—in the following order: Girls' B Group, Boys' B Group, Girls' A Group, and Boys' A Group.
Huang Chong was in the final Boys' A Group, riding a full 30 kilometers. He was also the last to start, meaning he would essentially be the finale at noon.
The B Group riders competed first, and they were all high school students. There was no need for him to stand out in the cold and watch them race.
The Girls' A Group had pretty young women to look at, of course, but he had no interest in that.
So, he waited until the Boys' A Group began at 11:00 before leaving the local hotel for the venue. He started warming up on the trainer while watching the live results of the riders in his group.
Chen Junyi naturally stayed with him the entire time. At one point, she went to speak with Zhang Guowei, the top official in charge of the road cycling event. After a brief discussion, she obtained his permission to follow Huang Chong by car for the entire race after he started and report his times over the radio.
There were no other riders starting after Huang Chong anyway. He was the final competitor on the first day, so there was no concern about disrupting anyone else.
"Director Zhang specially approved me to follow you in the car. I'll report the split times