Four seasons in, this one stops being about whether Onoda can climb and starts being about whether Teshima deserves the captain's jersey he asked for. Glory Line runs out the second Inter-High to its last meter, and the show's whole thesis lands on the second-year nobody, the guy who was never the prodigy, who wins by refusing to burn out on schedule while Aoyagi reads him like a book without saying a word. Imaizumi and Naruko finally stop being rivals bolted to the same bike, Midousuji is still the most upsetting thing on two wheels, and Manami is still waiting up the mountain with that smile. And yes, Onoda still hums Love Hime to find his cadence, still the kid who rode a mamachari to Akihabara. The last stretch quietly hands the bike to the next first-year, which is the cruelest, best thing this franchise does over and over.

Sohoku High's cycling team stands at a crossroads. Last year the club took the national Inter-High title, but the upperclassmen who carried it have since graduated. Under captain Teshima and vice-captain Aoyagi, a new generation that includes Onoda, Imaizumi and Naruko leans on one another to earn a return trip to the Inter-High and a shot at a second straight championship. Waiting at the race are Hakone Academy, former champions set on winning their crown back, and Kyoto Fushimi, home of the monstrous racer Midousuji. Sprinters, climbers and aces all bring their own hopes to the course as the rival schools battle for the finish line. This fourth season of the sports drama runs for 25 episodes.