Then, as the first lap concluded, the peloton had shrunk the original 5-minute, 40-second gap down to 3 minutes and 40 seconds.
This meant that after just the first lap, the lead group's advantage had been cut by a full two minutes.
Perhaps because the finish was still too far off, or perhaps because they deliberately wanted to avoid closing the gap on the breakaway group and disrupting their tactics, the Slovenia Team, who was controlling the pace, maintained a speed similar to the Foss Group's throughout the entire second lap.
The 3-minute, 40-second gap, far from shrinking, had actually widened by about 20 seconds as they entered the third lap, growing to around 4 minutes.
Huang Chong did a quick mental calculation. 'There are still over 130 kilometers to the finish. It's not a good idea to keep coasting at the back of the pack anymore.' He upped his power, steadily working his way toward the front of the group.
