"This is obviously a move to spare no effort in the first four climbs, wearing down the riders of other teams for Huang Chong—"
The team directors of the other teams present, of course, understood the point Steve was making on the live broadcast even more clearly.
But understanding it was one thing; could any team actually stop or disrupt the Bora Team's plan?
That was an answer no one would know until the final climb up Mammoshain.
Back in the race, the ones suffering the most from Bora Team's furious pace-setting were likely the three breakaway riders.
Before the climbs began, their lead had been about six minutes.
But by the time they descended from the first major climb, their time gap had shrunk to just under three minutes.
And after the first passage over the Feldberg, they would have to immediately climb Mammoshain twice in a row, at the 91km and 107km marks—
For the breakaway riders, the difficulty of such climbs was undoubtedly brutal.
