Although every stage of this race in South Australia had a fair amount of climbing, the first four stages all had flat-road finishes.
This was clearly a race that favored the sprinters.
And in their lineup, the lead sprinters were the local Australian rider, Sam Welsford, and the Dutch rider, Danny van Boppel.
So, Huang Chong's role in this race was self-evident.
Three days before the start of the race, after giving a passionate speech to the seven riders about to depart for Australia to begin the new season, Rolf Aldag made a point to speak privately with the youngest of them, Huang Chong:
"Huang, the World Tour is very difficult.
You were the champion of the Tour of Guangxi last year, and you never once fell behind during two and a half months of winter training. I'm sure you're well-prepared, but the season is long.
