About fifteen minutes after Wang Qiang and the other three reached the summit, the three female cyclists who had been dropped at the foot of the mountain finally conquered the majestic, 1557-meter-high Taizi Peak.
But looking down from the summit, on the winding mountain road that snaked like a long serpent, there were still eight more riders, intermittently spaced out, struggling immensely toward the peak.
Without a doubt, they were members of the Windward Team who had been dropped even earlier.
Faced with the steep mountain, their formation was completely shattered, making it impossible to maintain the complete paceline they had at the beginning on the long, gentle slopes.
Huang Chong glanced over casually before shifting his attention back to the system's text, then recited silently in his mind:
'End climb!'
[Congratulations! You have completed a 20km continuous climbing ride. Based on a comprehensive assessment, the difficulty of this climb is rated at the highest level: HC Level climb.]
[You have exceeded the mission's required distance. The reward is doubled.]
[Reward obtained: 20 Basic Optimization Value points, Heart Rate Threshold Enhancer x1]
...
'Hiss— This climbing mission actually awarded me 20 Optimization Value points?'
After seeing the text prompt, Huang Chong thought the howling wind at the summit had made him misread it, and he immediately rubbed his eyes.
He then confirmed that the reward value was correct. It really was 20 points.
'I have to say, this reward is incredible. It's a good thing I gritted my teeth and held on until the end.'
'Otherwise, if I had ended the mission at the foot of the mountain, it would have been calculated based on the difficulty of a Category 3 climb, and I would have lost out big time.'
He knew that according to the system's current reward structure for Basic Optimization Value, the initial reward for every mission was 2 points.
It doubled according to the climb category, meaning a Category 4 climb was worth 2 Basic Optimization Value points, and a Category 3 climb was 4 points.
As for an HC Level climb, that was equivalent to five times the difficulty, so it was naturally worth 10 points.
At the same time, he had also doubled the final distance, which was why he ultimately received 20 Basic Optimization Value points.
He didn't hesitate for a moment, decisively reciting in his mind once more:
'Add all my Basic Optimization Value points to my FTP Power!'
[Points added successfully! Your FTP Power has increased by 22 points. Current value: 224W. Power-to-Weight Ratio increased to 3.11.]
...
Seeing his Power-to-Weight Ratio break 3.0 so quickly, Huang Chong felt a wave of satisfaction and couldn't help but think to himself:
'Next time I ride with Dewey, we'll see what that kid has to say.'
As far as he knew, Dewey's FTP Power was only around 180W.
Although the other guy could stand up on the pedals to rapidly increase his power output for a short time, sprinting itself was extremely draining.
If they were to do laps around West Lake again, say four or five laps, with his 40W advantage in FTP Power, he could probably drop Dewey hard in less than two laps. By then, Dewey wouldn't even be able to catch his draft.
'224W, a 3.11 Power-to-Weight Ratio... I'm still a long way from the entry standard for a Professional Cyclist. Looks like I still have to train hard and complete more system missions!'
Even though he had increased his power by over 60W in just over three days—not even four—Huang Chong still wasn't satisfied.
Because he wanted to be a Professional Cyclist, his power needed to be at least 300W, and that was assuming an ideal weight of 60kg.
But in truth, he knew very well that if he really controlled his weight at 60kg, even with legs capable of 300W, he would only be a pure Climber, not a GC Cyclist.
After all, in this day and age, the definition of a GC Cyclist in professional road cycling had been completely overturned by that monster, Pogačar.
You not only needed climbing ability in a league of its own, but you also had to possess top-tier sprinting skills.
This was also why, even though Vingegaard could be called one of the "peerless duo" alongside Pogačar at the Tour de France...
...when it came to their respective historical results and personal achievements, Vingegaard was completely incomparable to Pogačar.
After all, before Huang Chong's rebirth, Pogačar's championship wins had already exceeded 100, while Vingegaard had less than half of that.
And that was a result of Vingegaard not participating in one-day races, focusing only on stage races.
One had to understand that the difficulty of winning a one-day race—like the five Monuments, the Ardennes Triple Crown, or the World Championships—was far greater than winning a stage in a stage race.
Therefore, Huang Chong's ultimate goal was to use an all-around GC Cyclist like Pogačar as a template and have the system continuously optimize his own weaknesses.
He even wanted the system to optimize his ITT (individual time trial) ability to the point where he could surpass Ganna and Evenepoel, making himself a completely well-rounded cyclist with absolutely no weaknesses.
'Damn, why does this Heart Rate Threshold Enhancer taste so metallic? It's like drinking fresh blood! This is way worse than the Abdominal Muscle Enhancer!'
After spending his Optimization Value points, Huang Chong also went ahead and drank the newly acquired potion.
He almost spat it right back out.
The supplementary medicines rewarded by the system all came in unbranded soft packets, looking exactly like the Energy Gel packaging sold on the market.
So even if others saw him "doping," they would just think he was eating an Energy Gel and wouldn't have any further suspicions.
However, compared to the excellent, fruity flavors of the Training Recovery Energy Gel and the Rapid Recovery Energy Bar, the taste of these supplementary medicines used to enhance his physical functions was clearly much worse.
Of course, it wasn't that Huang Chong couldn't handle these strange tastes.
As long as it could help optimize his weaknesses, he would definitely pinch his nose and force himself to swallow it, even if the medicine stank.
After all, how could one achieve greatness without enduring a little hardship?
Just as he finished the Heart Rate Threshold Enhancer and had been resting at the summit for about half an hour, with the sun now a great furnace threatening to scorch everyone, the team members who had been dropped early on finally all made it up Taizi Peak.
A climb of just a few dozen kilometers had created a gap of nearly half an hour between them. This just went to show how much a climb could reveal the difference in ability between cyclists.
That's why in professional road cycling, the saying "He who conquers the climbs conquers the world" might not be an absolute truth, but it's certainly no empty boast.
At the very least, for a Tour de France champion, the highest honor in road cycling, it's impossible to win the title without being able to conquer those high mountains.
"Alright, since everyone has reached the summit, let's get going again."
"From Taizi Peak, it's all downhill until we get back to Lin'an District. There won't be many more climbs."
"Even if there are, they'll just be very short, gentle slopes. Everyone must stay in formation."
"Let me add one more thing: on the descent, everyone must prioritize safety. Don't go chasing extreme cornering speeds."
After Zhang Yi finished speaking, he organized all the cyclists to get back on their bikes and start the descent.
On the way back, however, Huang Chong had no intention of staying at the rear of the group.
He had already tested his true abilities on the first half of the ride. Not only was he not the weakest, he was actually one of the best in terms of overall performance.
So, without much thought, he decided to ride behind Wang Qiang and the others.
But just as he started descending with the group, the system's text quietly appeared before his eyes again:
[Host detected on a long descent. Please maintain an average speed of at least 25 km/h and safely navigate at least 10 U-turns.]
...