Joeschmo's Gears and Grounds: Rinkai! — Episode 8

The new professional cyclists adjust to racing with veterans. Miko works to find her way of winning races.

Episode 8 — “The Way of Life in Keirin”

Hmm.

The Rinkai! episode showed two points about professional cycling that appear complicated to spectators. First, an individual race often has several “races” within it. We also see this dynamic in golf and tennis tournaments. You might think each contestant only tries to win the game or race in front of them, but that’s not true. Additionally, the placings count toward points for the end of a season’s championships. So, gaining the spotlight and trying to win all the time, which Miko thought she had to do, looks like success, but it’s not everything to work for in a race. That’s even more true for new pros who don’t have years of experience and fitness to consistently beat the veterans.

Second, how can you win consistent placings when you’re not yet strong enough to win by leading from the front for the whole race? This was Miko’s dilemma as a former idol. Now, in individual races, this is not a problem for sprinters. And that’s especially the case for the Individual Pursuit event. But in a field of sprinters, how can you stand out? Well, you can win! That helps a lot! Better yet, Rinkai! shows us how to use the drafting tactic to dramatically win at the last moment. Unfortunately for Miko’s goal to win enough points to race in the Rookie Finals, she thinks “wheel-sucking” is cheating and hiding from the spotlight. Miko is wrong, though. Cycling, even sprinting on a track, is an endurance sport. A pro cyclist’s job is to conserve energy until she has to spend it.

Rinkai! is an anime original story that also has an original manga releasing at the same time. The manga follows Tsutsuji and Remu, the current sprinting world champions, in their first year as professional track cyclists seven years ago. So, we can only guess at the broad strokes of the season’s plot before the finale. It’s clear the Rookie Finals and how the Tackle Channel girls struggle to qualify for the race will be the setting. This episode was Miko’s turn. Who’s next? The preview hints at Sachi’s story through her keirin schedule.

Heh.

Izumi is a rookie pro racer! But she hasn’t won a race yet after a month. What did Izumi expect? Nana won her first race but obviously was ready to graduate from the Keirin Cyclist Academy early. Izumi beat Nana in their graduation race in the last Rinkai! episode, but that was after Nana was on a fourteen-hour flight, as she rode on a borrowed bike and in a borrowed kit. It was nice for Izumi to win, but she had extenuating circumstances. Izumi needs a “real” victory.

Fun! The candy-eating world champion visits the Kasuga Cycling Death Star. Tsutsuji should have advice for Izumi on how to win races, right? Ha! Coach Kouraku tells us how terrible Tsutsuji was in her first professional year. Then, she became her coach, and the rest is history! Read the Rinkai! Azalea manga for details. Tsutsuji’s first victory came after everyone in front of her crashed! Oho. Tsutsuji noticed that her coach had left an entire shelf section for Izumi’s future trophies.

That was quick. Izumi won her first race! Aw. Izumi and her friends can hang out at the train station before separating again for their respective racetracks. They’re really focusing on getting to the Rookie Finals and how difficult it will be to win enough to qualify. I like how they wear Office Lady uniforms when they travel. Miko wonders if Izumi has been using her customer service prediction superpower yet. Not consistently yet. Miko explains how she’s not strong enough yet to handle the tactics of the race depending on a cyclist’s position in the pack.

Here’s a wrinkle: The rookies from last year’s class, L13, complain about how well the recent L14 graduates perform. Remember — the Rookie Final is open to the new racers of the last two years. Aoi Shizuoka, the ace of L13, is the only one in the rookie’s top ten, and she’s not happy about it. The L13 girls are starting to shun the more successful L14 girls! Drama!

Here we go. Miko’s backstory as an idol performer influences her racing decisions. She wants to stand in the spotlight on the center stage. The keirin world is smaller than Miko thinks because even Miyako Mukoumachi knows the neo-pro. Duh. They’re racing each other next, so the cyclists do their homework on opponents. Miyako tells Miko she only needs to gain experience. But Miyako advises her to start thinking about tactics during a race and recommends talking to another pro. The queen of drafting! Rinkai! uses the loan word “marking” for the concept. But Miko wants to win in style… Oops. Don’t insult the queen of second place! Tsubaki Matsuyama has season-long plans for how she races.

The pros are always wary of new riders because they aren’t familiar with their riding habits yet. It’s dangerous! The likelihood of crashing increases if you can’t predict what your fellow cyclists will do. Miko is stubborn about “relying on her own strength,” but no cyclist wins or rides like that. Also, Rinkai! spotlights the gambling aspect. Even more vital for keirin riders, winning (1st), placing (2nd), or showing (3rd) to land on the podium pays out for the bettors. The track takes a cut of the betting action, so the more bets, the more money! And that’s who pays the cyclists. Getting onto the podium also puts your name out to the media more often. That’s a starring role, Miko! Hoho. The truth comes out. Tsubaki was a fan of Miko’s idol career!