Back in the game, I'm still the big devil

"Road cycling, at the end of the day, is a sport of physical distribution."

After becoming the "big devil" of the Tour de France, Roy shared his years of competition experience with the younger generation.

"You only have one bullet, and you have to find the right time to fire it out."

This metaphor is fresh and vivid.

The young contestants sitting in the audience were fascinated by hearing Roy's "experience".

"If you are facing an HC-level uphill, I can tell you right now that your physical strength is only enough for you to launch an 'attack'."

"If you can't get rid of your opponent in this 'attack', then you have lost the only chance to break through the siege."

"Your extensive training before the game, your meticulous preparation...your ambition, all your desires, will all come to naught because of this untimely attack."

Roy faced the young faces off the stage. He was once like these faces, full of vitality but ignorant of the heights of the sky and the earth.

But in his years as a "rabbit", he gained this valuable experience with countless defeats, and it has been repeatedly proved in subsequent Grand Tours:

—You only have one precious bullet.

Now, Roy, on the La Roz Mountain Road, decisively fired this "bullet".

He burst out with incredible speed from George's "blind spot" and struggled to maintain it.

George and his Renault team-mates all saw Roy's "explosion", but they had no time to react.

A bicycle that climbs slowly on a slope has a certain time lag in acceleration.

George couldn't keep up with Roy the moment he saw him charge forward, and couldn't keep up after that.

The three Renault drivers look at each other.

George looked at one of his companions—this is also an excellent climber in the team. He has the nickname "Rabbit Killer" and specializes in catching "rabbits".

But now the climber also shook his head regretfully, saying he couldn't "catch" Roy.

The only thing the Renault team can do now is to unite the three of them to ensure that George climbs up this terrifying ramp at his own pace and at the fastest speed.

The overall time gap between George and Roy is shrinking a little bit—the only hope left for George now is to keep the time gap within 50 seconds on the La Roz Mountain Road, so that he can keep his yellow jersey.

Tomorrow's 18th stage is slightly less difficult. With its strong strength, the Renault team should be able to keep their victory and continue the race to the 20th stage time trial.

George looked up, and he could see Roy's figure on the zigzagging mountain road.

The distance between Roy and George is shrinking.

George was overjoyed and rushed forward with all his might.

But there was a notice from the coaching staff on the radio:

Although the physical distance between Roy and him is shrinking, in fact, Roy is even more ahead.

Because Roy has already ridden on the "Devil" track with a slope of 24%.

On this kind of track, cycling is not as fast as walking.

But Roy gritted his teeth, endured the pain in his thigh muscles, and tried hard to maintain his pedaling frequency.

This is the most painful stage.

He felt that his physical energy was close to exhaustion, and he unconsciously began to ride in a "zigzag" shape on the road, trying to reduce the actual slope of the ride.

Beside him, there were many car fans and spectators who came to watch the game. They cheered loudly in Roy's ears, but Roy couldn't hear anything.

Sweat rolled down his forehead and stained his eyelashes, almost blinding him.

His chest heaves violently, his throat feels astringent and bitter—cycling has changed from healthy aerobic exercise to painful anaerobic exercise.

Roy is masochistic.

Riding on this mountain trail, he had no chance to appreciate the magnificent peaks and vast valleys of the Alps.

What he is doing is fighting with himself, challenging his limits, and asking himself:

"Roy, after regaining a young body, how far can you go?"

"Roy, wake up, isn't this exactly what you dreamed of—"

He opened his mouth, breathing rapidly.

His pedaling was getting weaker and weaker.

He felt that he was going to be overwhelmed.

"Roy, hold on, Roy!"

Assistant coach Pierre yells on the other end of the headset.

"The real-time gap has been reduced to 17 seconds, Roy, if you persist for a while, you will be able to get the 'virtual yellow jersey'."

"Virtual yellow jersey" means that Roy's real-time results have surpassed the current yellow jersey.He has already put on an "imaginary" yellow shirt.

Roy looked back at George's position: the opponent's state comforted him, but it didn't help Roy improve his own state.

Unexpectedly, with just this glance, Roy suddenly saw the white jersey behind Renault's "little train".

Roy was shocked, and he seemed to wake up suddenly.

It was Arthur - Roy hadn't noticed Arthur at all during his entanglement with Renault.

But now, Arthur was catching up with astonishing speed.

Roy felt his eyes light up:

Yes, here we come!He finally had an opponent!

Roy reached out to wipe his sweat, and the sweat rained down on the mountain road.

But Roy's eyes were already clear, he raised his neck and looked up, and his eyes were on the end of the ramp - which is also the end of this stage.

Arthur's long slope ability must not be underestimated—Roy thought to himself: In addition to winning the yellow jersey in this stage, more importantly, he also has to compete with Arthur for the title of "King of Long Slopes"— —In their last life, the two of them had never been able to distinguish the outcome of the contest.

"Roy, Roy..."

Pierre was too excited to speak on the radio.

"You have, you have..."

Roy's real-time score has surpassed George and won the "virtual yellow jersey". As long as he maintains this advantage to the finish line, he will wear the yellow jersey to continue the next stage of the game.

"Calm down, Roy still has strength, he can still charge—"

Victor's voice was relatively steady, and it was hard to hear that he was actually shaking.

Yes, Roy can still rush.

He didn't even zigzag anymore, he propped up his body and started to rock the cart vigorously.

He didn't pay attention to the competition with the Renault team at all. The race he wanted to win the most at the moment was actually: whether Arthur or Roy was the real "King of Long Slopes".

——This is the most important thing!

Arthur's speed was very fast - the young man gradually surpassed the players of the Renault team and challenged Roy's position.

Arthur also seemed to be in great pain. He raised his goggles, ripped the neckline, and gritted his teeth to catch up.

But Arthur obviously has a goal, he doesn't need to stare at the finish line, he just needs to stare at Roy.

Evenly matched opponents can achieve each other, allowing them to burst out their maximum energy.

Finally, with the finish line in sight, Roy turned his head and looked at Arthur who was 300 meters behind him——

He will win the championship of this stage without any suspense;

He will also wear a yellow jersey.

But Roy was still rushing towards Roy and didn't dare to relax in the slightest - he knew that Arthur was still behind him.

Until the end point, this contest is not over.

The moment he crossed the finish line, Roy finally let go of the handlebar and stretched out his hands to point to the sky.

He was thanking God for giving him such an opponent as Arthur.

When Roy crossed the finish line, he didn't notice at all that there was a large group of security guards around the finish line, surrounded by an "spectator".

This "spectator" is not tall, with a handsome face.He applauded Roy very excitedly when he crossed the line.

After Roy crossed the line, when he was panting on his mount, the media reporters rushed over and handed over the microphone impatiently.

"Roy, winning the championship in front of the French president, how do you feel about such an honor?"

Roy: What does the President of France... have to do with me?

"The French President will meet you later, what do you want to communicate with him?"

At this moment, Roy suddenly raised his body: By the way, Arthur, it is time for Arthur to cross the line.

He supported the bicycle faucet with both hands, raised his heavy right leg and kicked lightly.

"Sorry, step aside, I'm going to pick up someone—"

The reporters had no choice but to make way for Roy.

Roy pedaled his bike, passed in front of the French President, and once again didn't recognize him at all, but waited at the finish line by himself.

Arthur was more than 40 seconds behind Roy and was crossing the finish line.

Roy held out his hand to him, and Arthur smiled at him, and with a slight swing of the dragon's head, he came towards Roy.

Arthur and Roy finally shook hands.

Roy had a feeling that Arthur wanted to hug him.

And he also had an impulse in his heart, he also wanted to hug Arthur.

Without Arthur, he would definitely not be able to ride such a result today.

But that's the bad thing about Roy: he's always got some idol baggage.He always remembers that he and Arthur are "opponents" belonging to different teams, and they are ruthlessly fighting for the championship and jersey.

Unexpectedly, Arthur suddenly opened his arms and hugged Roy fiercely.

Flashes flickered around them: this scene of sympathy and mutual respect between opponents is bound to become a classic shot in the history of the Tour de France.

"You said, the title of 'King of Changpo' will fall on the head of the two of us?"

During the hug, Roy whispered in Arthur's ear.

Arthur suddenly let out a long laugh, let go of Roy, and patted him on the shoulder coolly.

"It's nothing to win or lose for a while. If you have the ability, you and I will fight for the 'King of Changpo' for a lifetime!"

"Okay, it's a deal."

Roy also patted Roy's shoulder with his backhand, and then turned around.

The "audience" who has been ignored by Roy just now

Roy heard the spectator asking, "So today is the stage for young drivers, right?"

A Tour de France official standing beside him replied: "Yes, Mr. President."

Roy: ...?

When he turned around, he happened to meet that person face to face.

The youngest French president in history immediately blinked at Roy, and stretched out his hand to Roy——

"Congratulations, Roy!"

"Congratulations to you for winning the first overall score at this stage with your outstanding fighting spirit and extraordinary technical level."

"Roy, congratulations, you have put on the yellow jersey."

The author has something to say: It is a tradition for the French president to watch a certain stage of the Tour de France.Xiao Ma has been there every year since he took office, and 2020 is no exception-but because he has been wearing a mask and is standing next to the finish line, the runners who cross the line really don't pay much attention to him.