This chapter opens with a description of the protagonist's character. The protagonist is a high school student who is a road racer and a member of his school's cycling club. He is introduced as a "clumbly high-schooler" who "loses sight of everything" once he is set on something. He has a crush on a girl who works in a cycle shop in Europe. She is interested in "itto" and "chemistry" and has known the protagonist for some time. One day, during practice, the protagonist sees his old enemy, "the cannibal" , attack him. He asks the protagonist if he means the "tour de france" and the protagonist replies that he has heard about it, but this is the first time he has actually seen it. He wants to know more about the race, so he tells the protagonist to "come on, every one" and to "get back to studying". The protagonist responds that he wants to see more of the race. He says that he didn't come to study, but that he came to watch the race because he wanted to "see more" of it. When he sees that the protagonist is up against the cannibal, he exclaims that he is doing great and that he should enter the world of racing too.