He slept through the night until dawn. The next morning, his alarm rang, and Huang Chong got up at 4:30 a.m. sharp to wash up.
He then went to the kitchen, made a cup of unsweetened soy milk, and quickly fixed two sandwiches. He ate one, washing it down with the soy milk.
He stored the other sandwich in the system's storage space, along with five bottles of water he took from the fridge, two bananas, and his TCR race bike.
Finally, he grabbed Dewey's electric car keys from the shoe cabinet, left the house, and drove directly toward the museum in Lin'an District.
The drive from his place in Gongshu District to Lin'an District was quite far, passing through Yuhang along the way.
Fortunately, he had left early, well before the morning rush hour. Traffic was light, so the drive was smooth.
By the time he reached Lin'an District, found a parking spot near the museum, parked the car, and took out his TCR to ride to the meeting point, it was already around 5:50 a.m.
By then, the sky was already bright. Wang Qiang and the other two, as well as the rest of the Windward Team members, had all arrived.
There were both men and women, but the men clearly outnumbered the women, of whom there were only three.
Huang Chong gave the three female cyclists a quick glance and could tell right away they were no Riding Beauties or just for show.
Cycling kits are skintight. Once you put one on, your physique is on full display.
These three women were all well-built. Though none were particularly tall, their leg muscles were clearly defined. You could tell at a glance they weren't novice road cyclists.
"Morning, Huang Chong! Did you ride all the way from the city this morning too? I can't believe you have so much stamina!"
Wang Qiang greeted Huang Chong with a smile when he saw him arrive on time, but inwardly, he was astonished.
He'd thought that after expending so much energy pulling for them for 50 kilometers yesterday, Huang Chong would definitely be unable to join the Tour of Zhejiang Western Sky Road today.
But judging by his condition now, it was as if nothing had happened. Not only was he full of energy, but he was positively radiant. He had clearly recovered.
"Brother Huang, your constitution is seriously impressive!
Just look at you, I can tell you've already bounced back.
It's great to be young, recovering so fast. Not like us. After a few years sitting in an office, if we exercise hard one day, we pretty much have to spend the next day at home recuperating."
Liu Junjie was the joker of the trio.
Huang Chong played along, first greeting all the team members and introducing himself before replying humbly:
"Brother Liu, don't tease me. To be honest, I'm just forcing myself to be here.
I've already checked the route. Today's ride is going to be very difficult. Not only are there multiple climbing sections, but there's even an HC Level climb up to Taizi Peak.
I just hope I don't get dropped too early and left in the dust."
Having watched four editions of the Tour de France, Huang Chong was quite familiar with the rules for climbs.
According to the standards set by the UCI, climbs are divided into five categories: 4, 3, 2, 1, and the most difficult, HC Level.
HC stands for *hors catégorie*, French for "beyond categorization," which indicates its immense difficulty.
By a rough, unofficial definition, an HC Level climb must have a vertical elevation gain of at least 1,500 meters. Taizi Peak just barely exceeded this standard, at 1,557 meters.
"It won't be that bad, man. We won't be climbing Taizi Peak that fast. With your strength, you shouldn't have a problem keeping up," Chen Guangming added with a smile.
After some brief pleasantries, the captain of the Windward Team, Zhang Yi, arrived. He was right on time, riding Pogačar's Tour de France-winning bike, a Colnago V3RS.
He first scanned all the members present. Including Huang Chong, there were 17 in total.
This was the entire current roster of the Windward Team.
They weren't like other cycling groups in Hangcheng that might have tens or even hundreds of members, some forming massive teams.
Zhang Yi had always been strict about recruiting new members, adhering to a "quality over quantity" philosophy.
As a retired Professional Cyclist, he had brought many of his habits from his time on the provincial team to the new team he'd built.
This was why the team could never really grow in size—the standards were just too high.
"You must be Huang Chong," he began. "Wang Qiang told me about your abilities on WeChat yesterday. I was impressed.
For today, just do your best to keep up with us for one loop. If you can't, no worries. Just ride at your own pace, follow the navigation, and try to finish the route.
We're starting and finishing here, so no matter when you get back, we'll wait for you for lunch."
Huang Chong listened to Zhang Yi's words and had nothing to add.
His first impression of the captain wasn't bad. He had a strong, square-jawed face, stood about five-foot-nine, and looked to be in his thirties or older.
But his physique was far more powerful than Huang Chong's.
Not only did he have a V-tapered upper body, but his legs were also incredibly thick and powerful, looking solid and explosive.
From a road cycling perspective, a build like that meant he obviously wasn't a GC Cyclist on a professional team. He was built more like a sprinter for one-day classics, hilly races, and flat stages.
However, the captain hadn't mentioned a word about him joining the team, obviously wanting to see his performance first.
If his abilities didn't meet the captain's standards, his chance to join the team would probably go up in smoke.
Huang Chong just nodded. He didn't ask about any team standards or criteria. 'All I can do is ride as hard as I can,' he thought. He simply smiled and replied:
"Okay, Captain Zhang!"
After his brief exchange with Huang Chong, Zhang Yi turned his gaze to the other members and began the briefing:
"Alright everyone, I want to emphasize three points for today's ride.
First, this Tour of Zhejiang Western Sky Road isn't completely finished yet. When we hit construction zones, everyone must dismount and walk your bikes through.
Second, when riding on public roads, obey all traffic laws. We ride on the right shoulder for the entire route. Don't interfere with traffic, and don't take up the whole lane. This is for our own safety.
So, other than when you're rotating at the front, there should be no riding two-abreast at any time.
Third, and last, on the descents, everyone must control their speed. Don't try to push the limits on the corners.
This is a team training ride, so finishing safely is the main goal. I want to see your climbing abilities, not your descending skills.
You're all adults, so I'll leave it at that before you accuse me of nagging.
In short, you are responsible for your own safety.
This isn't a race. The roads aren't closed, so you must ride safely.
Is everyone clear on that?"
Wang Qiang and the others had no objections and replied in unison:
"Loud and clear, Captain!"
"Good. Let's roll out. Follow the route I sent you. We're heading west toward Taizi Peak. Once we're over the summit, it's a long downhill from there."
...
As soon as Zhang Yi finished speaking, the large procession of road cyclists set off toward Taizi Peak.
Huang Chong had never ridden this route in his past life, and since he was a newcomer who hadn't even officially joined the team, he naturally hung back at the rear of the group to get a feel for things.
Leaving Lin'an District, the initial section was very flat, practically a Daping Road, so the riders at the front set a blistering pace, cruising at an astonishing 35 km/h.
Since Huang Chong was riding in the draft, with someone ahead breaking the wind, and because he now had an FTP Power of 202W, keeping up was no problem at all.
But once the flat road ended and the climb began, the difficulty instantly ramped up.
The cruising speed, which had been around 35 km/h, immediately began to plummet.
Yet, just as many riders in the group were starting to suffer on the climb, Huang Chong, at the very back, felt an inexplicable surge of excitement and thought to himself:
'This feeling... it's so familiar!'
No one knew that, compared to cruising on the flats, he had preferred climbing in both of his lives.