The 41st Inter High Qualifiers for Chiba prefecture took place in Anesaki Industrial Park during the first year from the main storyline events. The event takes place in Ride 38 and Ride 39.
Known Participants
Ace • Ace Assistant • Sprinter • Climber • All-Rounder • Unknown
| Participants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kashiwa Higashi High School | ||||
| #𝟡𝟙 | #𝟡𝟚 | #𝟡𝟛 | ||
| Sohoku High School | ||||
| #𝟙𝟙𝟙 | #𝟙𝟙𝟚 | #𝟙𝟙𝟛 | ||
| Keiyou Makuhari School | ||||
| #?? | #?? | #?? | ||
Summary
The third-years do not inform the first-years about their participation in this race, but Imaizumi overhears second-year Koga talking about it and decides to tell Onoda, Naruko, and Sugimoto. Sugimoto chooses to stay behind in class, so the other three bike about 20-30km to where the qualifiers are being held. As there was no training that day, Onoda only brought his city bike to school, so the others draft him so he could keep up. The men's qualifiers are held on a 5km course, and the goal is 10 laps, making the race a total of 50km long.
When the first years arrive during the 8th lap, team Sohoku is trailing behind the two lead teams, Kashiwa Higashi and Makuhari Keiyou. However, after seeing the first-years (which doesn't surprise them at all and in fact expected them to show up), they pick up their pace. As the third-years pass by, Tadokoro tells Naruko to watch them, because they will beat the lead team with one minute to spare. Tadokoro pulls Makishima and Kinjou along in the slipstream created by his cycling, allowing them to easily pass the other teams. As promised, the third-years pull ahead of Kashiwa Higashi and Makuhari in one lap, creating a one minute lead. Seeing the third-years' accomplishments motivates Imaizumi and Naruko to train harder in order to beat them. When questioned why the first-years weren't invited to the qualifiers, Kinjou reveals that this way, scouts and competitors are lead to believe that Sohoku is a small, dying team. Kinjou considers the new members as 'secret weapons' of sorts, with no data for opponents to research on.