2013-2014, 38 episodes:
AniDB
Weakling anime fan Sakamichi Onoda finds there's nobody else
interested in forming an anime club at his new high school, so ends up
joining the bicycle racing club instead. Seems he's got a hidden
talent for cycling that even he didn't know about.
Yes, it's the sports anime template, but it manages to maintain
interest. The principal character seems remarkably dim considering the
number of things he's apparently never thought of doing on a bicycle
(such cunning advanced techniques as "adjusting the saddle"), but the
huge cast (readily distinguished from each other, something many shows
don't manage) manages to keep things moving; they're readily
distinguished, both in appearance and in personality, and many of them
manage to be interesting people even when their characters are just
lightly sketched.
I'm no fan of competitive cycling in the real world, but even I found
something here to enjoy. If some of the things people get up to here
would be grounds for immediate disqualification in any real race, they
do at least tie into the basic theme of psychology over all; one of
the rival teams is led by someone who specialises in psychological
dominance and other dirty tricks.
The episodes cover Sakamichi's introduction to bike racing up to the
point of his first big school championship, the Interhigh, and cut off
in mid-race, shortly before the end of the second day of the
three-day event. As one might expect, another series is coming.
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