On both sides of the climb, local residents of Belgium—men and women, young and old—had come out to watch the race. They screamed wildly at the pack of riders, making the already crowded road feel even tighter.
But Huang Chong found the atmosphere, with everyone getting involved, to be quite thrilling.
As a Professional Cyclist, having fans watching live naturally gave him a stronger desire to perform and more motivation.
After he passed the second climb, the summit immediately gave way to another stretch of cobblestones: Holleweg.
This caused the group, which had struggled to reach the summit, to fracture once again.
Huang Chong glanced to his side and saw that among his teammates, only Van Boppel was still holding tight to his wheel. The others, though not dropped completely, had been swept to the back of the long, stretched-out peloton, as if carried away by a mudslide.
