Big Brother Will Draft for You

Improved cardiopulmonary capacity meant improved endurance.

Whether it was Pogačar or Vingegaard, as the only two Grand Tour riders with a truly dominant edge over the rest at the Tour de France, both possessed cardiopulmonary capacity far beyond what ordinary people could hope to match.

But theirs was innate, while Huang Chong had to rely on the system's help.

And one pill had merely helped him cross the beginner's wall. He still had to keep completing the system's various targets and missions before he could close the gap between himself and the world's top riders.

Huang Chong was full of anticipation for that, but he also remained rational and clear-headed. Even with a system cheat, he figured only the improvements during the beginner phase would come this quickly.

Once his level truly reached the professional tier, further progress probably would not come at this breakneck pace.

However, aside from completing the system's requirements, he would not fall short on the training volume he set for himself every day.

Using the Beginner Optimization Points awarded by the system to improve his Functional Threshold Power was certainly a great method, but maintaining daily training could also increase his leg power.

Even if it could not compare to the speed of cheating his way stronger, long-distance riding could greatly improve his understanding of how to distribute his stamina, as well as his familiarity with and ability to handle different road conditions.

Cycling was never something you could win while lying down. In the end, you had to rely on your two legs to turn two wheels and carve a broad road through the mountains.

That was also why the system had listed a separate attribute on his personal panel: Terrain Prediction. It clearly did not want him to simply coast to victory.

"Old Huang, weren't you eating fat-loss meals? Did you secretly stuff yourself with a carb bomb behind my back?

"You've only been out for a little while, and you've already ridden this far?

"Where did you get all that energy? I had to chase you down for ages!"

A string of familiar yelps rang out behind Huang Chong. It was obviously Du Wei.

But Huang Chong quickly noticed that while he could hold his speed steady at 25 and keep his heart rate around Zone 2, Du Wei looked just like Huang Chong had yesterday, his face strained pale.

Of course, Du Wei had left later and had probably been pedaling like mad to catch up, which took a lot out of him.

Du Wei was also dressed in standard cycling gear, but the brands he wore were obviously much better than Huang Chong's.

A textbook Specialized fanatic, he rode a TARMAC SL7 S-WORKS. His helmet, cycling shoes, glasses, jersey, and even his water bottle were all standard equipment for the UCI WorldTour Quick-Step team.

He had not bought them from a Specialized flagship store, of course. As the owner of a bike shop, he had channels to get them at lower prices, but with everything being top-spec, the total still cost a fortune.

But Huang Chong knew perfectly well that no matter how good the equipment was, it was wasted on weak legs.

The tiny weight reductions offered by premium brands had no effect whatsoever on an amateur rider's power output.

Especially since Du Wei was about the same height and weight as him—both nearly 180 centimeters tall and around 75 kilograms. Rather than spend thousands or tens of thousands chasing a few dozen or hundred grams of weight savings from every bike component, he would be better off honestly dropping his own weight first.

Of course, that only applied to himself and ordinary riders. Du Wei was rich, just like Zhou Ming. They did not need to care about value for money when buying top-tier gear. It was all just toys to them.

"Why are you out riding too? Aren't you watching tonight's Tour de France stage?"

It was currently the Tour de France season. Based on his memories, Huang Chong knew that after Pogačar first lost to Vingegaard on Stage 11, Stage 12 would no longer be a showdown between the two of them, but it would still be an incredibly exciting stage.

That was because Ineos Grenadiers rider Thomas Pidcock would launch a breakaway and attack on the descent during that stage. He would then claim what was, so far, the only Tour de France stage victory of his career atop Alpe d'Huez, becoming famous in a single battle.

In road cycling races, riders could attack on flats and climbs, but they generally did not dare attack on descents. The speeds downhill were simply too high. One tiny mistake, and beyond the roadside lay cliffs with drops of all kinds. Flying off meant certain death.

Yet Pidcock, that gifted rider, relied on his exceptional mountain bike handling skills to attack on the descent. Not only did he reach an astonishing top speed of 105 km/h, he also clawed back more than a minute on EF Education breakaway rider Boris during the descent before ultimately taking the win and stunning the entire world.

"I'm not watching. It's another mountain stage today. If things really turn out the way you said, and Pogačar not only fails to pull it back but lets Vingegaard extend his lead even further, I'll feel awful.

"But if I don't watch the livestream and Pogačar suddenly bursts into action and turns the tables on Vingegaard, wouldn't that be a pleasant surprise?

"Besides, after the Tour de France ends, doesn't Zhou Ming's cycling group have an event? He invited me ages ago, so it wouldn't be right not to go.

"There's still some time before then, so I might as well come out and keep my riding condition up!"

After catching up to Huang Chong, Du Wei rode alongside him, slowing to an average speed of around 25.

Though he was still panting heavily, his face visibly relaxed once the pace dropped.

"You really know how to comfort yourself, Old Du."

Huang Chong sighed helplessly. His classmate was practically like a gambler, always clinging to all kinds of absurd lucky hopes.

Of course, fans' affection for their idols—that willing, unconditional faith—was not exactly rational. Huang Chong did not follow celebrities, but he could understand it.

Maybe that was why there were so many fandom circles in the sports world.

"This isn't self-comfort. It's mysticism, brother.

"Like when I watch the NBA. Whenever my team is behind in the fourth quarter, I turn off the livestream and wait until the game ends before checking the final score. More often than not, they manage to come back and win.

"Tell me, how do you explain the mystery behind that?"

Huang Chong was utterly speechless.

Good lord, he had even dragged mysticism into it!

After a brief silence, Huang Chong replied in a reflective tone.

"Old Du, I can't explain why that happens, but if you like your idol or your team, don't you want to see them fight their way back step by step when they're behind?

"Isn't that the most captivating part of competitive sports?"

Du Wei froze for a moment, but soon answered in a firm tone.

"No. Compared to the process of coming back, I care more about the result.

"Only victory is the greatest comfort for fans.

"The comeback itself is certainly precious, but what if they fail to pull it off? That would just double the pain. Better not to watch at all!"

Huang Chong: "..."

After a while, seeing that Huang Chong remained silent, Du Wei asked again.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Doesn't what I said make sense?"

"It does make sense. And because it makes sense, I have nothing to say!"

"Tch. People just have different personalities. I know you have a certain masochistic streak. No matter what happens, you always need to know every last detail.

"Especially when facing failure. It just drives you mad, makes you want to figure out the exact reason behind it.

"I'm not as twisted as you. I only care about the successful part, so you lunatics can go enjoy the pain of failure!"

Du Wei snorted, then suddenly accelerated with both legs, increasing his power and riding ahead of Huang Chong. Then he declared grandly, "Little Huang, keep up. Big Brother's going to draft for you!"

Huang Chong was still thinking over Du Wei's earlier words. Though Du Wei had exaggerated his phrasing somewhat, he did understand Huang Chong's personality well and had described his traits rather accurately.

It was just that Huang Chong did not have any masochistic tendencies, nor was he enjoying pain. He simply could not accept repeating the same failure.

After all, if he kept stumbling over the same problem, Huang Chong would feel like an idiot with no desire to improve.

Just as Du Wei finished speaking, before Huang Chong could answer, another system notification appeared.

[Detected someone voluntarily drafting for the host. Please follow the other party's pace for at least 10 km. Reward: 2 Beginner Optimization Points, Fast-acting Recovery Energy Bar x1.]