10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 8

Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 8

Onoda catches up. Naruko shows off his sprint-climbing style. Imaizumi aims for King of the Mountains, but Onoda won't make it easy for him.

Onoda makes the catch up to Imaizumi and Naruko, and Naruko pretty much nailed his impression of him earlier in the day. They notice he's now on a road bike, and the club coach has jumped in the follow van, sticking Makishima in the fold-out seat in the back. Everyone's happy to see the little guy rejoin his friends, and Miki is a little touched as well.

As a sprinter, Naruko has been doing pretty well on the incline, but now he wants to show the fruits of his mountain training, by pulling away out of the saddle and in the drops. Imaizumi changes his cadence and quickly catches him. Onoda puts his head down, and matches them too, with a big smile on his face. Imaizumi tells Naruko that Onoda is at his happiest when he's climbing. Makishima is still a little pessimistic about his chances in getting to the top of the mountain first, and Tadokoro blocks his view saying he doesn't have to watch if he wants to keep saying things like that.

They're all climbing pretty well together, but the last 4 km of the climb is an 18% grade, and Naruko starts going backward. Imaizumi pushes onward, while Onoda is sad for Naruko, and wants to keep him company. Naruko tells him that everyone has something they're good at in a bike race, so he better watch out after the peak. This reassures Onoda, and Naruko gives him a tip on beating Imaizumi to the top. I guess we won't find out what that is until we get there.

Meanwhile, Imaizumi has been trying to stay disciplined and keep his heart rate down so he doesn't blow up, but having Onoda behind him, with the chance of catching him again, makes him excited and want to push harder. Onoda tries to figure out what to do to catch, and figures there's only one thing left: raise his cadence another 30 rpm. On an 18% grade, he's doing 150 rpm! With less than a thousand meters to the top, they're together again. But will Naruko's trick help Onoda win the mountain sprint line? Nice way to put a cliffhanger in there.

This week's cycling porn features gear and gears:

If you're riding an Italian bike, you got to have Italian components, so we see Campagnolo cranks, chain rings, gruppo (set of gears), and the iconic thumb shifter on Naruko's Pinarello. That climbing style in the drops reminds me very much of Cadel Evans. It's a good idea to practice this rocking style just to give your different leg muscle groups a rest on a long climb, and then sit back down for some high cadence work. For Onoda, we see why commuters need to roll up their right pant leg. Can't say much for Imaizumi's style, other than it's very smooth and efficient. I thought I saw a little mistake in the animation for when Imaizumi caught Naruko: he shifted into a smaller cog (heavier gear), and then raised his cadence. If he was really being efficient, he should have shifted into that smaller cog, and kept his leg speed the same. Unless he meant to do that to catch quicker, which meant burning a match on a long climb. Well, you can't always play it safe, and sometimes you just want to put the hammer down.