- Yuu POV –
I shift up two gears and power forward with my legs, shifting up more gears as I get faster so I can gain more speed on this decent. Behind me I can hear Kumiko furiously shifting through gears but it's already too late, I've got my momentum up and I'm holding it through the bens and dips in the road. With most of the corners being sweeping bends so far, it's hard to tell how far ahead I am but all I can do is keep up this pace. If I can maintain this, Kumiko may not be able to make up too much time on flats and I can maintain this lead going into the uphill section.
I continue putting power through and remain focused on the road ahead, looking to see any potential hazards or tighter corners. It's nice that the roads at this time aren't too busy going up towards the school or leaving from it so I can move across the lane through the corners.
I haven't been able to hear the van engine in quite a while which can only be a good thing if it is still following behind Kumiko, that means I have a good lead heading into the flats.
The road begins to level out which means the turnaround point is coming up and the climb back up will begin not long after. Seeing as I have quite a good distance, Kumiko may not be able to make up much ground through the flatter section. She is definitely more of a sprinter in her riding style and is able to power through flatter sections when she needs to but unluckily for her, this race is more in my domain.
- Fukutomi POV -
That was certainly unexpected. Akiyama sprinted off not long after leaving the school and on a downhill section. She must know that she has the upper hand in these kinds of areas but could she really keep up this pace for the whole race? Could her plan be as simple as trying to gain as much lead as possible before the mountain or is she planning something else?
"Hey! Aki-chan just broke away right at the start of the race! What could she be planning?" shouts Toudou from the back of the van.
"Shut up Toudou! Don't go yelling right in my ear!" Arakita replies fiercely.
I look back at Murakami and it's clear she is trying to catch back up to Akiyama but she isn't getting the same amount of speed on the straights or around the corners. She must not have the same amount of confidence or skill as Akiyama in this area. Whilst both riders are still unknowns to everyone, it could be right to assume that Akiyama is the ace out of the two with a stunt like that but it's still hard to be sure until we see who finishes first.
Akiyama disappeared from sight a while back now and the downhill section is ending. The road will flatten out as we reach Yumoto and we may be able to see how far ahead Akiyama is compared to Murakami.
The downhill ends and Murakami seems to be maintaining her speed quite well and is keeping up a pace to chase Akiyama down. She doesn't seem disheartened at the fact that Akiyama is still out of sight along the flatter sections as she is maintaining a high pace.
The uphill will be a challenge for both riders and where the winner will be decided. The climb is steep and winds all the way back up to the school and there is never a flatter point to let you rest. It's a challenge for most riders for this reason alone.
The flatter section ends and Murakami turns off back towards the school where the climb suddenly starts. Her pace drops off fairly quickly but she seems determined to keep it up at a good pace. Whilst she certainly isn't slow, it's quite slower compared to her speed along the flats. It looks like she is more of a sprinter than anything else. Depending on how well Akiyama is going, she could be minutes ahead of us now but because she broke away at the start, I can't assess her ability as a rider from this race.
There's less than 10km to go now and Akiyama is nowhere in sight along the winding road upwards. It's not even that Murakami is slow, it's now just a question of how strong Akiyama is as a rider.
- Yuu POV -
This is it, the final stretch back to the school and the end of the race. From what I know as the distance and what my GARMIN is saying, there is less than three kilometres left and I haven't seen Kumiko on any of the bends and I'm sure as hell not going to take it easy now. It's all about staying ahead once you're ahead and never giving up before you cross the finish line because anything can happen before then. Too many times you see professional cyclists celebrating before they pass the finish line, only to be passed in the few centimetres beforehand by someone else and loosing that position. Or you'll see them losing by milliseconds because they didn't work that little bit harder to cross in first position.
I keep my cadence up and the road slowly become more and more recognisable as the school gets closer so know I definitely know that there is only a little bit to go. I stand up on my pedals and push harder to gain speed on the final section of the course, a classic sprint finish on an uphill section. I mean, this is a race after all, you can't finish half-heartedly.
Here it is, the final bend. I push my speed up more by powering my legs downward. The school comes into view and the stretch back to the carpark opens up in front of me. The first and second years are standing around the entrance to see the last of the races finishing. From here I can hear them yelling as I ride over the crest and power towards the finish line. It's actually a little surprising to see so many of them still here for a two man race.
I change up another gear and push down harder on the pedals to get a higher cadence for the final 50 metres to the finish line. My breathing intensity increases and my heart begins to pound harder in this sprint finish. Keep going, keep going, push harder and harder until you are across and don't weaken until then.
My front wheel enters into the carpark and the race is all over for me. I feel so much more relaxed now that the race is over. Still at speed I roll through the carpark and shift to a lower gear to recover until Kumiko finishes. My lungs continue to suck in air and my heart is working hard to get this oxygen to my tired muscles. I hope Kumiko's doing alright and hopefully nothing has happened along the way. Then again if something had, the van would have caught up to me and the other club members here wouldn't be cheering as much as they are.
I slow down my pace and head back towards the entrance after rolling around for a little bit. I gradually slow down and stop on one side of the track to wait whilst the other club members are still waiting for Kumiko to finish. I grab out my drink bottle and rest my arms casually across my handle bars whilst I drink.
"Good job Akiyama-senpai" one of the younger students standing next to me says. He has a relatively small and thin frame but a broad smile.
"Yeah, it was a good race" two of the first year students nervously comments. Aren't they just the cutest? I smile politely back to them to which they seem to blush slightly. Seriously though, some first years are just the cutest.
"Thank-you very much" I reply, maintaining the warm smile. The other students around me seem to be talking and chatting to each other while sneaking glances at me. Yay for the butterflies in my stomach to come back, now I'm the one feeling nervous and a little self-conscious. If Kumiko could hurry up and finish soon, that would be a good help. I feel back about leaving her alone so early on in the race but that's just how it was. I was in the zone and wanted to win, I'm sure she wanted to as well but I guess it was just lucky that the course played to her weaker points.
A few minutes pass before the faint hum of an engine becomes louder and a familiar cyclist rolls into the carpark and finishes the race. She continues through past the crowd and rolls around the carpark to help her legs recover. After a minute or so she heads towards me and slows to a stop. The van has pulled off to the side and the third years are filing out of the doors.
"Kumiko! Good job!" I shout over to her and she rolls over and takes a swig out of her drink bottle.
"Thanks, but did you have to go off so early? You left me by myself!" She playfully responds whilst acting upset, "plus you left me with the other third years just starting at me for ages! It was super embarrassing!" She says in a hushed tone close to my ear. I can't help but giggle, I give her a massive hug
"Naww I'm sorry about that Kumiko, I just got a bit into the zone, you know?" I reply, breaking away from the hug.
"I know, but it still doesn't change the fact that I was super embarrassed. You don't understand how self-conscious you can get about your back when someone stares at it for ages!" She exclaims with a cheeky grin. Now all the third years are talking and making their way over towards us with the captain in front. Honestly though, it's hard to tell if he is pleased or displeased at the result, his face doesn't give away clues. Maybe Kumiko or I did something wrong that we didn't know about. I look over to her and she meets my gaze with a worried look on her face. She seems to have stopped herself from saying something once she realised the third years are walking over.
"Congratulations Akiyama-san on placing first, that was also a good ride, Murakami-san" Fukutomi says to both of us, he looks at us with the same hard face as always. The other third years gather around us and I suddenly feel much smaller standing with my bike being shrouded by the incredibly strong third years. Even just Fukutomi's presence is immense and that being added with the other talented third years gives them all an awesome presence.
"Thank you Fukutomi-san"
"Are you by any chance a sprinter Murakami-san?" Shinkai asks Kumiko, breaking the short silence.
"Umm, I guess I'm a bit more of a sprinter" She replies awkwardly. She has always been more of a sprinter, she can be pretty quick. Fukutomi doesn't seem to be very interested about this development, perhaps he already came to that conclusion himself about Kumiko's abilities. Shinkai's comment may have just solidified that conclusion.
Fukutomi then addresses all of the students, congratulating them and dismissing them all to go home for the day. Following the third year's actions, we head back in towards the clubroom to collect out things and go home.
I pack my school bag into my backpack and haul it onto my back and wait for Kumiko to finish packing hers. Which doesn't take much longer
"Ready to head home?" I ask her. She turns to face me and smiles
"Yep, all ready to go!" She replies. We head back to the door of the clubroom to get our bikes that are waiting on the stand outside and leave along with all of the other students.