"What's your call? Do we ease the pace a bit so the domestiques can save their strength to lead you out on the final Nongla Mountain climb, or do we maintain speed and keep the breakaway's lead in check?"
With about 40 kilometers to the finish line, Huang Chong heard the call from his team director and couldn't help but feel a little resigned.
But he couldn't blame his current teammates or the director for being incompetent.
The fault really lay with the sports director, Aldag.
In setting the squads for the last two World Tour races of the season, that guy had sent all the top domestiques to Lombardy.
The lineup of domestiques he'd been given was just so-so in terms of overall strength.
If Aldag had sent Adrià over, allowing him and Aleotti to rotate, the situation would be much better than it was now.
