With his new road racer Onoda quickly moves up from sixth into fourth place and makes up a five minute deficit. The captain sees Onoda's determination and decides to test his skills. He tells Onoda specifically what cadence he will need to go up the mountain if he is to catch Imaizumi and Naruko. As the recovery van matches Onoda's speed, they pass the other first years, minus Imaizumi and Naruko, and decide to let the second years coming from behind keep an eye on those three while they keep an eye on Onoda. An additional 3 minutes need to be made up if Onoda is to have any chance of catching them. Meanwhile Imaizumi and Naruko come upon an old man on the side of the road who is cheering for any cyclist that goes by. When the old man appears to fall the two stop. The old man thanks them for their help butthen warns them a third individual is coming up to make this race interesting. The two realize that the individual must be connected to the bicycle race club and get back on their bikes. As Mr. pierre watches the two continue they wonder if it is Onoda or some other individual that is gaining ground fast.
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