19-Year-Old Huang Wei-Cheng's Cramp Diary: Survival Guide for a Tour de Taiwan Rookie

My Legs Say No, But My Heart Says Keep Going

Among all the Taiwanese riders in the race, 19-year-old Huang Wei-Cheng may have endured the most painful stage.

On Stage 3 in Kaohsiung, 146.44 kilometers into the route, his thighs began to cramp. For the average person, the natural response to cramping is to stop and stretch. But in a professional bike race, stopping means being dropped by the peloton—and once dropped, you’re left to fight the wind resistance alone, and the gap only grows wider.

So Huang Wei-Cheng chose to: keep riding through the pain.

The Physiology of Cramping

Why do cramps happen? The scientific community still has no definitive answer, but the main theories include:

For 19-year-old Huang Wei-Cheng, the most likely cause is “muscle fatigue”—the intensity of the Tour de Taiwan far exceeded the load of his daily training, and his thigh muscles began to protest after more than 100 kilometers.

Can You Still Ride While Cramping?

Technically yes, but it’s extremely painful. When cramping, the muscle contracts involuntarily, and every pedal stroke feels like an electric shock. Riders typically:

1. Lower their cadence (spin slower)
2. Shift to a smaller gear (use an easier gear)
3. Change their riding position (adjust how the muscles are used)
4. Extend one leg out to stretch (stretching while riding—extremely difficult)
5. Silently pray (this is the most common strategy)

The Hero of 39th Place

In the end, Huang Wei-Cheng finished in 39th place, the best-performing Taiwanese rider of that stage.

Does 39th place sound unimpressive? But consider:

• He’s only 19 years old
• This is his first Tour de Taiwan
• He finished while cramping
• He successfully stayed with the main peloton

This 39th place is packed with substance.

A Rookie’s Path of Growth

The Tour de Taiwan was an invaluable learning experience for Huang Wei-Cheng. What he learned in these five days may be more than half a year of training:

Things learned:

• The pace of international racing is faster than imagined
• The timing and amount of nutrition intake need to be more precise
• Preventing cramps is more important than treating them
• The mental toughness to persevere through difficulty
• How to protect your position within the peloton

Things to strengthen:

• Base endurance (after all, he’s only 19 and his body is still developing)
• Nutrition and fueling strategy
• Pacing ability for long-distance riding
• Experience competing against international riders

A Future at 19

Huang Wei-Cheng is the youngest Taiwanese rider in the 2026 Tour de Taiwan. If he continues to develop, the road ahead is long:

From 19 to his professional peak, he has at least 7-8 years of room to grow. That’s enough time for a cramping rookie to become a veteran who no longer cramps.

Advice for Young Riders

If you’re also a young person just starting to take cycling seriously:

1. Don’t fear pain: Every professional rider’s journey is filled with suffering
2. But handle pain smartly: Know your body’s limits; don’t push through to the point of injury
3. Experience takes time to accumulate: Huang Wei-Cheng’s first Tour de Taiwan wasn’t perfect, but it laid the foundation for the future
4. Enjoy the process: Standing on the starting line of the Tour de Taiwan at 19 is already an achievement in itself

Every champion was once a rookie. Every rookie has the potential to become a champion.

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