Freshman Sakamichi pedals 90 kilometers weekly to buy anime goods. While distraught with the closure of the school anime club, racer Imaizumi appears.
Imaizumi is stunned to see Sakamichi ride up a steep hill effortlessly. A race ensues as Imaizumi offers to join Sakamichi's new club if he loses.
Sakamichi falls behind Imaizumi and must race to catch up. Miki adjusts Sakamichi's seat to give him more power, leading to a climactic result.
Sakamichi bumps into a boy named Naruko in Akihabara. After a man in a car throws a cigarette butt at Sakamichi's bike, they decide to chase him.
Sakamichi and Naruko run into each other at school. Naruko encourages him to join the cycling club, but Sakamichi still has his heart set on anime.
Fresh from joining the cycling club, Sakamichi is thrilled to race Imaizumi and Naruko in the club's welcome race. He worries his bike is inadequeate.
Sakamichi handles his first road bike with ease. Falling behind, he tries desperately to catch up. Kinjo tells him he needs to do more.
As Sakamichi catches up, his physical and mental progress ignites Imaizumi and Naruko's will to perform better. Naruko starts to lose momentum uphill.
With only 500 meters remaining to the peak, Sakamichi races desperately to catch up to leader Imaizumi and claim the title of King of the Mountain.
After the welcome race, Sakamichi realizes his potential as an uphill racer. The next day he's paired with upperclassman Makishima for a one-on-one.
Sakamichi, Naruko and Imaizumi rush over to the Inter High preliminaries. Sohoku High is almost a minute behind the leaders, but a surprise awaits.
It's almost time for camp to begin, and Sakamichi and Manami take an irregular path to the venue. Once there, they face a daunting challenge.
Training sessions have begun, and Naruko and Imaizumi ride as hard as they can. Other schools' teams begin to gear up for the upcoming competition.
The slowest member of the team, Sakamichi wakes up early on the third day of training camp to train alone. He runs into Manami and proposes a race.
Sakamichi is getting excited for the Inter High but must find a way to survive the training camp first. Teshima and Aoyagi are up to something.
Teshima and Aoyagi challenge the freshmen, and reminisce about the time they met. Imaizumi and Naruko take a mental beating.
Sakamichi pulls ahead of Teshima after breaking through his defenses. The five racers give it their all as the battle's climax approaches.
Sakamichi catches up to the group and makes a desperate dash for the goal. It's his big chance to qualify for the Inter High.
The first-year students have made great strides at camp. Although his skills have improved, Sakamichi abandons his dream of going to the Inter High.
Over at Hakone Gakuen, "climbers" Kuroda and Manami race to determine who will participate in the Inter High. Manami has an ace up his sleeve.
On the day before the Inter High, Kinjo tells the first-years about the previous year's race and his rivalry with Hakone Gakuen's Fukutomi.
The Inter High is set to begin, and all of Japan's top schools are present. Sakamichi's teammates help him work through his initial nervousness.
It's the first day of the Inter High, and Sakamichi sets off! The sprinters take the lead, but Hakone Gakuen's Izumida makes a dramatic appearance.
As the top sprinters race on, Hakone Gakuen's Izumida makes a fierce dash to the front. He pursues Sohoku's Tadokoro and Naruko who are in the lead.
Izumida is surprised to see Tadokoro and Naruko closing in on him after using their special techniques. The first checkpoint approaches.
The sprinters return after the first checkpoint has been won. Makishima and Todo prepare for the mountains. Sakamichi is given a special role to play.
Sakamichi takes over as team leader to let Makishima focus on the mountain climb. Todo challenges his rival to a once-and-for-all tie-breaker.
Believing that Sakamichi will catch up, Makishima waits for three minutes. In last place, Sakamichi plans to kick it into high gear to reach his team.
Sakamichi makes a fierce run to reunite with his team. With Sohoku High's will and pride tested, Makishima pursues Hakone's Todo, who is in the lead.
With four kilometers left to the finish line, ace Kinjo and Imaizumi race on. Hakone Gakuen's ace Arakita closes the gap with a fierce sprint.
Kinjo and Fukutomi are neck-and-neck at finish line. Midosuji manages to charge ahead for the lead while Imaizumi follows recklessly behind.
Three athletes tie for first place on the first day of the Inter High. At the awards ceremony, Tadokoro collapses. A certain individual appears.
Sakamichi leads his team uphill on the lengthiest second day of competition. Emboldened to reach Kinjo and Imaizumi, he pedals his heart out.
Hakone Gakuen catches up to Sohoku and makes their disdain known. Their ace racer is interested in battling another team's member.
Makishima and Naruko have caught up, but Sohoku High continues to face trouble. Some good news gives them the strength to push forward even harder.
Shinkai cycles the fastest, but Midosuji gives it his best. Sohoku High regains a sense of unison with Sakamichi and Tadokoro’s amazing effort.
Sohoku is finally able to regroup but Midosuji's taunting makes Izumida lose his cool. Reigning Hakone loses their sense of unity with Shinkai's fall.
With Kyoto Fushimi in the lead, both Hakone Gakuen and Sohoku follow closely behind. A fierce battle for the finish line ensues.
Day 2 of the Inter High. Hakone Gakuen, Kyoto Fushimi, and Sohoku fight for the lead. The turbulent second half, and battle for final victory, begins.
Day 2 as the finish line nears. Imaizumi waits for the right moment to launch his ace after the turn, but Midosuji breaks away. Kinjou gives chase.
Nothing stands between Midosuji and the finish line. Kinjou and Fukutomi push their limits and put on speed, but Midosuji is determined to win.
Fukutomi took the gold on Day 2. The teams are priming themselves for Day 3. Kinjou, Tadokoro and Makishima recall their first years in high school.
The second night of the Inter High. Midosuji decides to skip the next day after losing the race. Sakamichi pursues him to ask a single question.
The last day. Nerves are taut, and Sakamichi’s team is pumped. Swaggering Machimiya from Hiroshima ruins the mood. Midosuji arrives, and Day 3 begins!
Day 3 of the Inter High. Sohoku and Hakone are cooperating to catch the ace riders. Hiroshima joins in, and soon a large pack is racing for the lead!
Sakamichi is caught in the rear group led by Machimiya, who uses his reserves to break away. Sakamichi tries to catch up with the rest of his team.
Arakita agrees to Sakamichi’s plea. The odd trio gives chase and catches Machimiya’s group. Ibitani suggests a race. Machimiya fires on all cylinders.
Machimiya lets his hatred for Hakone explode. Arakita sees his former self in Machimiya and recalls the time he quit baseball and met Fukutomi.
Arakita shows his mettle and catches up to the leaders after laying his past to rest. Everyone’s there to take on the final stage of the Inter High!
Arakita sacrifices himself for the team and the rest of the Hakone crew carry his torch. At full pelt, Sakamichi and co. lead their team to catch up.
Hakone Gakuen has the lead. Imaizumi and Naruko feel helpless watching their seniors’ efforts to catch up, but Sakamichi starts to realize something.
Hakone’s Shinkai speeds up to leave Sohoku behind. Tadokoro carries the team to catch Hakone and reach the hills. Something strange befalls Kinjou.
Kinjou injures his knee and the order changes. Sakamichi and co. chase the Hakone Gakuen team up the mountain path. Sprinter Naruko is in his element.
Naruko uses all his energy on the hills and collapses 15 km from the finish line. Imaizumi takes over and challenges Hakone’s Fukutomi for the lead.
Imaizumi finds his resolve as an ace and takes on Hakone Gakuen’s Fukutomi at full force. Surfacing from the rear, however, is Fushimi’s Midosuji.
Imaizumi and Fukutomi are in the lead with 10 km left. Right behind are Manami and Midosuji in lockstep. Sakamichi thinks of Makishima and speeds up.
Hard-pedaling team player Sakamichi catches the leaders, Midosuji and Manami. Caught up in Midosuji’s challenge, Sakamichi nips at their heels.
Sakamichi passes Manami and Midosuji to catch the leaders. Midosuji comes from behind, but Imaizumi won’t give up that easily. The battle is on!
Imaizumi and Midosuji go head to head with only 4 km left to go. They head into the only big drop of the race, but can they control their descent?
Manami overtakes Imaizumi, whose frame has been cracked in a struggle with Midosuji. Unable to chase him, Imaizumi leaves Sohoku’s fate to Sakamichi.
Sakamichi and Manami lead just 1 km from the finish line. Manami shifts gears to break away. Sakamichi carries Sohoku’s hopes as he charges forward.
Sakamichi sprints and Manami pushes himself to the limit to reach the peak. They’re all out for victory. The summer Inter High will soon be decided!
With the battle of the Inter High now over, Sakamichi, Imaizumi and Naruko look ahead to the cycling club’s new challenges without the third-years.
While Sakamichi is still in shock from Makishima’s departure from the club to move to England, the Hakone Gakuen team names a new captain.
Sakamichi’s victory at the Inter High puts him in the spotlight when Sohoku High enters the Minegayama Hill Climb, but he can’t shake his slump.
Ignited by the heat of Teshima’s passionate effort, Sakamichi gives it his all in pursuit of Ashikiba. Victory hangs in the balance.
Imaizumi worries about a drop in the team’s skill level after losing the third-years. A junior high school student joins the Sohoku team for practice.
Naruko heads to a track in Osaka for some amateur racing. He makes a bet with Midosuji, Kyoto Fushimi High School‘s top racer.
At Hakone Gakuen’s traditional event to send off its third-years, what starts as a fun ride turns into a serious race over the 120 km course.
The send-off race continues. After Izumida takes on Shinkai and shows how far he has come, Todo races against Manami in the mountains.
The cycling club gets a lot of new faces after the victory at the Inter High. Sakamichi is now a second-year but is uncomfortable in his new role.
The cycling club’s race to welcome the first-years has begun. Imaizumi urges Sugimoto on as he vies for the last spot among the regulars.
Sugimoto and his younger brother have caught up to the favored Kaburagi and Danchiku using synchronized riding as they close in on the finish line.
Kaburagi makes his debut at the Chiba Inter High qualifiers, but he gets nervous riding without Danchiku and is plagued by stomach pain.
After earning a spot at the Inter High, the Sohoku team begins a hellish 1000 km training. Sakamichi is late to join and meets Koga on the way there.
The race between Teshima and Koga to compete at the Inter High has begun. Koga is a powerful rider who carries the memory of a past race.
After losing to Teshima, Koga speaks his mind to the six members of the Inter High team. An unexpected pair turns up at the Sohoku training camp.
Sohoku aims for a repeat victory at the Inter High, but Hakone Gakuen and Kyoto Fushimi have other plans. Kaburagi meets a rider from Hakone Gakuen.
Midosuji adds Kishigami to the Kyoto Fushimi team just before the race kicks off. Meanwhile, the sixth member of the Hakone Gakuen team is revealed.
As the Inter High starts, each team looks to its sprinters to win the first stage. Hakone Gakuen’s Dobashi faces Sohoku’s Aoyagi and Kaburagi.
Aoyagi and Kaburagi are locked in a sprint battle with Dobashi, the “Road Monster.” Kaburagi pours it on with surprising speed.
With Dobashi breathing down his neck, Aoyagi pulls out a killer technique but can’t shake his opponent. Kaburagi comes up from behind.
Dobashi has drawn first blood for Hakone Gakuen, which makes its move from the pack. As they pull away, Sohoku tries to keep up the pace.
Sakamichi is marked by other teams and caught in the pack, unable to move up. As the race enters the mountains, Hakone Gakuen’s Manami pulls ahead.
Sakamichi breaks from the crowd and sings his favorite anime theme song as he bears down to help his team, but Kyoto Fushimi blocks his way.
In the mountain stage of the race Teshima challenges Manami, who had never paid much attention to him. But Teshima’s tenacity changes his mind.
Manami runs into trouble battling Teshima with the end of the stage ahead. One of them will be King of the Mountains on the first day of the race.
Day one of the Tochigi Inter High. Sohoku's Imaizumi and Naruko are in hot pursuit of their Hakone Gakuen rivals. The heated race for the goal begins.
Hakone Gakuen heads for the goal on the first day of the Inter High, but Naruko, Sohoku's all-rounder, shows what he's made of as he races up a climb.
Only 3.5km remain. As all eyes are on Sohoku and Hakone, Midosuji and Kishigami unexpectedly come up from behind.
The dead heat between Midosuji and Naruko continues. Kuroda, Ashikiba and Imaizumi follow close behind as the deciding moment approaches.
As Midosuji and Naruko approach the finish line, Ashikiba breaks away from his lead out man Kuroda and the three schools begin their final sprint.
The conclusion of the three-way battle marks the end of the first day of the Tochigi Inter High. Kaburagi faints in the aftermath of the race.
Team Sohoku decides to take on day two with a sense of optimism. Meanwhile, Kyoto Fushimi's Midosuji comes up with a game plan of his own.
Day two begins with Imaizumi and Naruko leading the way. Sakamichi and Teshima follow close behind, but something is amiss with Kaburagi.
Despite Teshima's instructions to keep moving forward and the fact that this is his final Inter High, Aoyagi decides to go back to help Kaburagi.
After realizing Kyoto Fushimi has cleared the pack, Aoyagi hands Kaburagi a note with song lyrics in a desperate attempt to motivate him.
The battle between Sakamichi and Yuto begins. Yuto is excited to compete with the "Mountain King" but is thrown by his domestique style.
Naruko tries to catch up with Hakone Gakuen despite Imaizumi's orders. Teshima reunites with Imaizumi and Sakamichi, but the trio fails to gain speed.
Kishigami's unseemly obsession with Izumida's muscles propels him into the lead. But things change after Izumida reaches for his uniform's zipper.
Despite an upbringing that taught him to hide his desires, Kishigami releases himself from his mental restrictions and goes all out against Izumida.
With 100 meters until the sprint line, Izumida closes in on Kishigami. He is reminded of last year's race when a plastic bottle appears in his way.
Naruko pushes on alone amid the pack of leaders while the rest lag behind. But Sakamichi believes in his teammates and keeps on pedaling.
Sakamichi tells his teammates about his desire to race against Manami one more time. On the day of the race, the racers head towards Mount Haruna.
Sakamichi has caught up with Hakone and is all set to finally have a showdown with Manami. Unfortunately, circumstances aren't what they seem to be.
Imaizumi's not satisfied with his performance but Sakamichi brings up his spirits. As they race towards the leaders, teammate Naruko meets disaster.
Midosuji hurls his teammate forward to claim the Mountain King title, hoping to bait the other teams into wasting their energy by competing for it.
Yuto remembers the time he challenged Ashikiba on a downhill and bit off more than he could chew. In the present, Ashikiba reveals the real plan.
It's the final stretch and Imaizumi's in the lead. But Midosuji and Yuto are closing in, each fueled by memories of someone important to them.
With only 20 meters until the finish line, Midosuji, Imaizumi and Yuto sprint as hard as they can and the second day reaches a thrilling conclusion.
On the second night of the Inter-High, Sakamichi runs into super-cool Hakone Gakuen alum Todo, who strangely mentions that he's chasing someone.
As the racers line up for the start of the Inter High's third and final day, each one remembers why they're there and what they hope to accomplish.
Sohoku must win on the third and final day of the tournament to defend its title. Sakamichi pedals as quickly as he can to catch up to Imaizumi.
Midosuji works with Ise from the Kumamoto team to form an elaborate strategy. Unaware of their plan, Naruko takes offense when Midosuji falls behind.
Teshima gets swallowed up by the large pack of riders, allowing Midosuji and his team to race ahead. A familiar face helps Teshima to break free.
Teshima and Aoyagi sprint hard in a bid to defeat Yamaguchi and Funatsu. Fighting through his knee pain, Aoyagi recalls when he first met Teshima.
The regrouped Sohoku riders must pick up the pace if they want to catch up to the race leaders. Kaburagi is deeply moved by Aoyagi's final effort.
As Dobashi pushes himself so hard he begins to lose consciousness, Manami recalls the time they were both chosen to compete in the tournament.
The Sohoku riders plan to rest on a flat stretch of road between climbs but are left behind when Hakone’s captain suddenly accelerates for a sprint.
In a bid to close the distance that Izumida gained, Teshima uses his remaining stamina to take the front position and accelerate his team's pace.
As Teshima and Ashikiba race to the King of the Mountains finish line, Teshima reflects on their time as schoolmates and their cycling struggles.
Teshima pedals as hard as he can in his race against Ashikiba, believing his effort to be his ultimate technique. The crowd begins to cheer him on.
Ashikiba recalls the time he had to move away, leaving him unable to encourage Teshima. In a dramatic final push, both riders cross the mountain line.
Shinkai suddenly sprints ahead of the pack, but Naruko immediately catches up to him. Kyoto Fushimi mounts a comeback, throwing the race into chaos.
Shinkai drops back in an attempt to stop Midosuji from reaching the race leaders, but the strenuous effort pushes his leg muscles to their limit.
Having challenged Manami to a one-on-one race to see who can reach the lead riders first, a confident Naruko decides to raise the stakes even further.
Seven kilometers from the finish line, Imaizumi encourages his team as they enter a downhill section. Kuroda and Manami soon approach from behind.
While leading Imaizumi and Sakamichi, Naruko takes drastic measures to reduce his weight so they can accelerate and catch up to Midosuji on the climb.
The Sohoku alumni arrive at the finish line with Arakita. Imaizumi and Midosuji engage in a head-to-head sprint in the final stretch of the race.
Riding at full speed on the descent, Imaizumi and Midosuji hurtle toward a large puddle and scramble to find the best way to get past it unscathed.
Now in the lead, the Sohoku riders bask in their impending victory — until Kuroda catches up to them with Manami, who suddenly races ahead.
Sakamichi unexpectedly encounters Manami at an aquarium and promises to race him in the Inter High. In the present, they battle for first place.
Kuroda reflects on his frustration at losing to Manami the previous year and how Arakita sparked his determination to reclaim their team's glory.
Waiting along the course, class representative Miyahara recalls how she wanted to help Manami cheer up after his loss at the previous year's race.
When Arakita declares that Sakamichi hasn’t overcome enough hardship to beat Manami, Kinjou reveals how Sakamichi dealt with a crushing loss.
Trailing behind Manami, Sakamichi struggles to close the seemingly unsurmountable gap — until he’s encouraged by an unexpected face in the crowd.
Neck and neck in the final stretch, Sakamichi and Manami hurtle toward the finish line amid the fervent cheers of the excited spectators.