Of course, that respect was a fleeting thought for Huang Chong, as a continuous stretch of climbs and descents still awaited him.
The Kazakhstan duo wasn't surprised that Arashiro Yukiya was able to keep up with them.
After all, he had competed in three Olympic Games. He was Japan's number one road cyclist and had long been a famous name in Asia.
They had anticipated that to secure the top two spots for their country, they would have to drop the Japanese rider on this final set of climbs and descents.
What they never expected, however, was that a completely unfamiliar Chinese rider was also sticking with them, forming what was now a four-man leading group.
This threw their original plan into disarray.
'On this final series of climbs and descents, should we launch another anaerobic attack?'
