10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 9

Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 9

King of the Mountains, but not really. Imaizumi and Naruko show they're the top two of the incoming class. Onoda impresses everyone.

Naruko's trick worked. He told Onoda to wait until Imaizumi stands up on the pedals, and then give your gears two clicks. That'll give you sudden acceleration. But I don't think Naruko showed Onoda how to get out of the saddle himself, otherwise the crew in the van wouldn't have been so surprised to see him get up and outkick Imaizumi to the Mountain sprint line. Let me tell you, getting out of the saddle on a road bike the first time is scary. Everything on the bike is very responsive and twitchy, so you already need good balance and excellent control going slow on it. Going fast and in a straight line is no problem for beginners, but just turning while making a sharp right turn is hard if you haven't practiced.

But Onoda is a beginner, no matter how much balance, leg speed, and control he has. So, while he may have gotten to the top of the mountain first, he doesn't have the stamina, fitness, or short recovery time necessary to finish the race. He collapses, totally spent, like how a good sprinter or time trialist is supposed to, leaving everything on the road. Unfortunately, the road had 30 km to go. Tadokoro the sprinter reaches Onoda first, telling him the mountain prize doesn't count unless he finishes. He's right, of course, but the others know he's done. Kinjou picks him up and tells him he's done well, but his race is finished. Onoda realizes that he's fallen and he's more worried about the bike than himself. Typical cyclist.

Coach Pierre comes over to hand Onoda a dry jersey to change into, the polka dot King of the Mountains jersey, naturally. He reminds him, that he made it to the top of this mountain faster than anyone else today. Naruko finally makes it to the top, and passes them by, looking to catch Imaizumi on the descent.

In the van, down the hill, they catch up to Imaizumi and Naruko on the rollers before the finish. Naruko did make the catch on the descent, and now there's no chit chat with Onoda stuck in the van. Kinjou, sitting next to Onoda now, tells him to watch, and if he want to join his friends, just pedal more, and become stronger. Imaizumi beats Naruko to the line, and they collapse on the ground. Onoda sees how spent they are, just as much as he was earlier. We also see the seniors break up into their niches, with Tadokoro attending to Naruko, the sprinters, Kinjou checking on Imaizumi, the all-rounders, and Makishima standing next to Onoda, the climbers. Makishima tells him he knows how he feels, like they left him in the mountains, because he's a climber too. He repeats what Kinjou said, ride more, because the more you pedal, the stronger you become. He'll join his friends at the finish line soon enough.

This week's cycling porn is just some great moments of road racing:

Bumping shoulders because you're rocking on the bike, scrambling after a bike down a slope after a crash, standing next to a burly Frenchman after he's helped you put on a special jersey (Bernard Hinault is still burly, right?), and bikes and riders all over the place at the end of a race. Imaizumi needs to be cleaner rider, or he's going to cause a lot of crashes in a race with more people in it. Finally, yes, this is how most climbers think of the big sprinters and track specialists. Monsters and beasts!