BANG!
The referee's starting pistol fired.
As a wisp of smoke drifted through the air, the third day of the National Road Cycling Championships officially began, right on time at 9:00 AM.
The pack of riders shot forward.
The weather had been holding steady for the past few days, with a warm sun hanging in a vast, cloudless sky.
Since it was deep winter, daylight hours were limited. With both the Men's Elite and Men's Youth road races scheduled for today, the event organizers decided not to run them separately.
Both groups started at the same time under the archway at the starting line, making the field look particularly large with over forty riders in total.
However, the Youth group race was only 100km, finishing early after five laps around the scenic area, while the Elite group had to complete 180km, which required nine laps.
After the start, Huang Chong stuck close behind Wang Bao. They settled into the main group, and he began his Zone 2 aerobic ride.
