When Zhang Yi extended an offer after he'd only managed to keep pace for half the route, not even finishing the entire course, Huang Chong wasn't exactly ecstatic.
But he was still quite happy to have his abilities be so directly acknowledged.
In any case, he had finally taken the first step he'd failed to complete in his past life: officially joining a road cycling team.
"Thank you for your faith in me, Captain Zhang. I'll train hard to catch up to the other members' level as quickly as possible. I won't let the team down!"
Huang Chong replied sincerely, then added,
"But I've only heard a few things about the team from Brother Wang. Captain, is there anything in particular I should know after joining?"
Zhang Yi smiled, gave a dismissive wave, and began to explain,
"Our team is just a casual group we put together ourselves. We aren't officially registered or anything; we don't even have an office.
The WeChat group is our only headquarters. Let me add you as a friend and pull you into the group chat.
From now on, I'll post notices in the group for amateur races, training schedules, and things like that to keep everyone informed.
Aside from race days, which can be unpredictable, I generally schedule team activities and internal training sessions on weekends.
After all, most of us have 9-to-5s; we're not official Professional Cyclists and we all have to work during the week.
So for daily training on weekdays, everyone has to be disciplined and train on their own after work.
If you have to work overtime on the weekend, you can just let me know in the group chat beforehand, and that'll count as an excused absence.
However, once you've confirmed you're participating in a team activity or training session, you must arrive at the meeting point on time.
Our team is a bit stricter when it comes to punctuality. We can't have one person's actions making the whole group wait. That's not fair to anyone.
If you really run into a special situation, like getting stuck in traffic or something, and can't make it to the start point on time, then just follow the planned route and gradually catch up.
In short, we're a non-profit team, so there's a great deal of freedom.
Wang Qiang and the others trusted me, which is why they let me establish this group under the team's name in the first place.
Of course, for races in the Yangtze River Delta Region, including the Tour of Zhejiang and so on, I'll help you register as long as you have the time to participate, but you'll have to cover the registration fees yourself.
If you manage to place well, say, get on the podium, any prize money is naturally yours to keep."
After hearing all the requirements for the team, Huang Chong found them to be just as simple and straightforward as he'd imagined.
As for the emphasis on punctuality, that was likely a rule based on Zhang Yi's personal habits.
But this was actually pretty good. Although the Windward Team wasn't as formal as a professional team and couldn't pay its riders, the current model was actually quite similar to some small club teams in Europe.
For instance, Jonas Vingegaard, who was currently tearing up the Tour de France and putting the pressure on Pogačar, had also trained at a local cycling club in his native Denmark before joining a professional team. Back then, he didn't have a salary and had to support himself by working at a fish factory while maintaining his training regimen.
This was how he got the nickname "the Fish-Gutter" from Chinese fans.
'Heh, I wonder what all the big-shot Pros in China will call me after I win the Tour de France?'
'Maybe 'the Bike Mechanic?'
'But that nickname is a far cry from 'the Fish-Gutter,' both in how catchy and how imposing it sounds!'
Huang Chong sighed to himself, then took his phone out of his system space, added Zhang Yi on WeChat, and was promptly pulled into the team's group chat.
"I understand, Captain. I guarantee I'll be on time for all team activities!"
"Mm, the only scheduled training for this weekend is today's ride on the Zhejiang Western Sky Road. Everyone is on their own for tomorrow."
Zhang Yi continued,
"But you can also ask in the group which members live closest to you. You could do your daily training together on weekdays.
Riding with teammates is ultimately better than training alone. After all, you can push each other and you'll have a better point of comparison."
Huang Chong nodded. He had originally met Wang Qiang and the other two on his daily rides. The three of them probably didn't live far from him, so he could just join them for daily training.
Just as he and Zhang Yi finished discussing him joining the team, Wang Qiang's group of four finally reached the viewing platform at the summit.
The jokester of the group, Liu Junjie, stopped his bike and, with a pained expression, began panting like an exhausted bull as he griped to Huang Chong,
"Huang Chong, you're a big fraud! You were intentionally sandbagging with us.
Did you plan it from the start? Lull us into a false sense of security, then drop us hard on the mountain stage just to show off in front of everyone?
Captain, this kid is a dishonest character. I think his integrity is questionable. I recommend we don't recruit him."
Everyone knew he was joking. What sounded like a serious critique of Huang Chong was, in fact, an indirect acknowledgment of his strength.
After all, dropping them on a climb involved no luck whatsoever; it was all down to raw leg power.
This wasn't a flat-road sprint, which is more dependent on your form on any given day—whether you can explode with an astonishing peak power output for ten-odd seconds, or even just a few.
Mountain climbing grinds down your patience and tests your perseverance. It's a contest of lasting endurance and a strong will.
And in just half a route, on a single mountain, Huang Chong had proven his talent and strength in front of the entire Windward Team.
"Kid, your climbing is seriously impressive. You actually dropped us. Should I call you exceptionally talented, or were you really holding back on us and not being honest about your abilities?"
Wang Qiang, a relatively steady person, couldn't help but give Huang Chong a wry smile.
As a veteran cyclist with many years of experience, being dropped by a rookie was, needless to say, a bit embarrassing.
"By the way, what happened after you and the Captain attacked on that 12% grade?
We lost sight of you after you went around that U-turn. Who made it to the summit finish line first?"
Compared to Liu Junjie and Wang Qiang, who wanted to directly question Huang Chong about his strength, Chen Guangming was more concerned with who had actually crossed the summit finish line first.
If Huang Chong had even beaten their captain, then it would only be natural that the rest of them had been dropped.
But the result didn't exceed his expectations. Huang Chong just gave a wry smile and replied,
"Please stop teasing me, guys. I really wasn't hiding my strength from you.
I'm just a bit better at climbing than I am at cruising on the flats.
On flat sections, my average speed really is only what you saw yesterday. But with the same power output of around 200W, I seem to be able to use it more effectively on climbs.
As for who reached the finish line first between me and the Captain, do you even have to ask? It was the Captain, of course.
In fact, right after that last U-turn, I hit my limit. The Captain dropped me completely after that!"
Hearing him say this, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
'Thank goodness. The kid's just a bit stronger than us; he's not at the level where he could even crush our captain, a former Professional Cyclist.'
'Otherwise, they'd really have to wonder if they were recruiting a new member or inviting a villain to come and wreck their party.'
But just as they all breathed a sigh of relief, Zhang Yi, who was standing to the side, chimed in with a smile,
"Huang Chong is being too modest.
The truth is, I couldn't pull away from you during the entire climb. It was only after we reached the summit, on that final, nearly flat, gentle slope, that I managed to open up a gap of ten-odd seconds.
I was on the provincial team before, and my background is in track cycling. I only switched to outdoor road cycling as a sprinter later on, so my specialty is the flats.
So in terms of pure climbing ability, your strength isn't that far off from mine!"
The moment Zhang Yi said this, the calm that had just settled in the hearts of Wang Qiang and the other three was shattered by massive waves of shock.
'Holy cow, the kid's climbing ability is actually that strong?'
'Just a hair weaker than the Captain?'
'What kind of natural-born climbing monster is this guy?!'