Not only was it the longest stage, but it also had a huge number of climbs.
According to the stage's elevation profile, this section included a total of four categorized climbs:
The first was a First Category Climb starting about 15 km out of Guiding County. It was a 17.3 km ascent with 1,000 meters of vertical gain and an average gradient of a staggering 5.9%.
The second, starting at the 68.5 km mark, was a 5.96 km-long second-category climb with a steep 5.4% average gradient.
The third stretched from the 79 km mark to 89.5 km—another 10.5 km-long, third-category climb with a 3% average gradient.
The last was another third-category climb starting at the 105 km mark, a continuous 6 km ascent with a 4.4% average gradient.
But in reality, after Huang Chong finished these four officially categorized climbs and descended to around the 140 km mark, he was immediately met with another surprisingly long, 40 km gradual ascent.
