Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 180: Overly Formal "Exchange Competition" (1w4)

For the Japanese side, the track at Yesen and the adaptability of the racehorses did cause a lot of trouble at the beginning.

But Kitahara and other trainers were not rookies either. After some twists and turns, they managed to sort out training and competition ideas suitable for Oguruma and the others in the morning.

The first step is to unify the British units such as lang, yards, and miles into the more familiar "meters", and then slightly adjust the opening, middle, and final stages. This practice match can be seen as a variation of the "Japan Cup" or "Japan Derby".

The first stage is a gentle slope that lasts for 400 meters.

中盘分为400米到700米的持续上坡、700米到900米的高地弯道、900米到1300米的弯道下坡。

The final line is a little special.

The final straight line of a track in Japan is often between 200 and 400 meters long. Due to the particularity of the Yesen track, the final straight line of this race is as long as 1100 meters.

The last 30 meters are also special.

For ease of calculation, Japan's race schedules are all integers. For example, the length of the "Japan Cup" and "Japan Derby" are both 2400 meters.

Because the Epsom track is calculated entirely according to the English distance, the derby held here is 23 meters longer.

In order to facilitate training, Kitahara and others decided to round off this part and train the "30-meter slope sprint" separately.

After this arrangement, acceleration on a gentle slope, uphill training, cornering, straight-line sprinting, etc. can all be arranged according to previous training experience.

When the instruments and equipment arrived by air in the afternoon, the further collected data confirmed that the previous analysis was correct, and the training for the "Yesen Exchange Competition" was truly launched.

"Not enough! Not enough! Not enough power!"

On that day, standing 700 meters from the starting point of the track, Kitahara shouted at the horse racing ladies rushing up from below: "No matter how different the soil and pasture conditions are, it's still uphill!"

"Don't let your guard down! Just like you normally do when climbing a hill, you can't let your guard down now!"

"You guys did a great job, but you're not strong enough. You need to show your strength to sprint to the finish line. If you can't get to the front on this slope, there's no point in talking about the future!"

"Harder, harder, harder!"

What we are doing now is "mid-course uphill training". According to the training principle, when facing unfamiliar race schedules and tracks, the fastest way to improve in the short term is "segmented training."

This is like dealing with an unexpected exam, where unified review is obviously not enough.

However, if you know the "question scope" and "scoring weight", and repeatedly practice some points that can "score", you can often significantly improve the final score.

"Mid-game uphill" is such a stage.

Although there is a slope in the opening stage, due to the relatively long distance and small slope, it will actually have little impact on Uma Musume in actual combat.

The start of an actual fight often does not involve full speed, as more energy is put into fighting for position. The full concentration during the fight allows you to pay close attention to the opponent's status and respond quickly to any abnormalities.

The slope of the middle game is different. The distance is short and the slope is steep, which requires more strength and distracts your energy. If you don't train several suitable uphill paths in advance, it is easy to have problems in your performance during the game.

More importantly, after the uphill run in the middle game, there is a 600-meter-long "big bend", where the competition for position will be more intense than in the early game.

Not to mention how to continue running after the competition, if you fail to grab a good position before entering the corner, you will undoubtedly spend a lot of extra energy later.

Faced with such a "scoring point", Kitahara is much stricter than before.

He not only raised some requirements for Oguri Mao and the others, but also made some requirements for Oguri Roman, Te Bie Zhou and the others who were running and studying with them.

This training is not only for Oguruma and her classmates who are going to participate in the "Yesen Exchange Competition", but also for Special Week, Good Opera, Zhongshan Festival, and Dream Journey, which are still in elementary school. After Kitahara asked them about their ideas, he also arranged for them to be included in the training.

For these children, the intensity requirements certainly cannot be as strict as those for Oguruma and the others, so the former have already rushed up the slope, while Zhou and the others have only run halfway.

"Don't bend over, hunch your chest, or stick your butt out!"

After Oguruma and the others rushed past him, Kitahara instinctively pressed the stopwatch, and without rushing to check, he shouted to the horse racing girls who had not yet run over:
“When going uphill, remember not to bend over, as that will put unnecessary pressure on your back!”

"Hold your chest high, raise your head, and tuck your hips in. Focus on controlling your body. Don't look left and right. Oguri Roman, Golden Journey, think about what the seniors you usually see do!"

"Hold your butt, hold your butt! Don't run with your butt sticking out! I'm talking to you, and you're still looking around!"

"Good opera, don't laugh! You're taking too big a step!"

"Going uphill is different from walking on flat ground. There is no essential difference in efficiency between long strides and short strides, but long strides are too energy-consuming."

"Slow down your steps, both of you!"

“There are also Zhongshan Celebration and Dream Journey. There are also problems with your steps.”

"Don't just use the forefoot to step on the ground, relax your ankles, don't put too much pressure on your ankles, and make sure your heels touch the ground with every step, so that you can use the power of your entire foot."

"Speed ​​is not important, what is important is the action. If the action is right, the speed will naturally increase."

"If you don't do this properly, your muscles will cramp. Don't mention I didn't warn you!"

Even though the transformation to the traditional style has not yet begun, children like Zhou are still not far behind Oguruma and the others. This shows that their talents are indeed outstanding.

But talent alone is not enough, they all had their own training methods in the past.

For example, Tejiao Zhou trains with his mother, Good Opera tries to train himself, and Zhongshan Celebration should train with Golden Journey and Jinlang Longli.

But they are obviously lacking in many details.

If this kind of situation happened to Oguruma and the others during training, Kitahara would definitely correct them more harshly, but when facing these children, he was still much gentler.

"No, it seems that you are usually only used to running on flat ground."

When the little ones ran to the top of the slope panting, Kitahara looked at the stopwatch and the record board and shook his head.

"It's still too much for you to continue running on the slope. Let's do this."

He looked at Miyamura Kyoko who was standing beside him. "As for the data, Kyoko, you don't have to keep an eye on it. It should be fine to sort it out after the training."

"After these little ones have rested, you can take them to the ramp over there to do some more basic exercises."

Pointing to the other side of the track, he ordered:

"'Uphill Repeats', half the intensity of Oguruma and the others' usual training, jogging in place for half a minute in a high running position, and then running uphill for half a minute."

"They were constantly reminded of the need to 'push their hips up the hill.'"

"Repeat 5 times in one set, do 5 sets."

"Then there is the high-frequency step exercise with a cadence of 180 beats per minute, which is the same as standing still for half a minute, going uphill for half a minute, 5 times a set, and repeated 5 sets."

"Finally, do the 60-second 'heel touchdown' exercise. Repeat 60 sets of 5 seconds each, 5 times."

"Is everything alright, Kyoko?"

Kyoko Miyamura quickly nodded to Kitahara's arrangement. Having been with the team for so long, even though she had always been in charge of medical affairs, she was very familiar with the routine training.

The series of training just now was the regular uphill training method. There was no need to keep an eye on the equipment. It would be no problem for her to be in charge of a horse racing girl of Zhou's age.

After the training, auxiliary tasks such as helping to deliver towels and water were handed over to smaller guys such as Golden Master, Golden Ship, All the Way, and Big Shock.

Although these little horse racing girls are usually very naughty, it is probably due to their nature. They become much more well-behaved once they arrive at the racetrack.

They did not show any impatience when doing the little things. Instead, most of them showed smiling or curious expressions, and they were all busy and happy.

And they were a little emotional during this special week.

"...Wow, I didn't feel it yesterday. Uncle Kitahara is so strict during training..."

After taking the energy drink from the Golden Master, he walked to the side of the track and drank a few sips. Then, looking at seniors like Oguruma who had just taken a short rest and were back to training, Tebi Zhou sighed softly:

"Besides, seniors like Oguruma have really good stamina."

"We probably only ran uphill two or three times, right? It was so tiring, and they barely even seemed to be breathing hard."

As Te Bie Zhou said, the training that day had not started for too long, and the entire "mid-course uphill special training" was only carried out a few times.

The group of horse racing girls who haven't yet become their true characters are already out of breath, while Oguruma and the others are obviously doing it with ease.

“Severe? No, no, no, this level of intensity is only suitable for a king like me who is destined to shine brightly in the future, ha—hahahaha!”

Unlike Special Week, Good Opera burst out laughing upon hearing this.

"It doesn't matter if we are a little tired. We just haven't completed our original character yet. As long as we try our best to keep up, the rewards in the future will not let us down!"

"I was worried about not being able to find someone to teach me how to train. The soft and muscular methods in school are just too boring."

"Instead of doing the kind of training that's like radio gymnastics, it's better to use the training method I learned myself."

"Hey, Xiaote, let's find time to skip school together later?"

"Uncle and the others should be training every day. We can skip school and train with them at Central Tresen College!"

"Shh! Cough cough cough...Running away from school?! How can this be possible?!"

Te Bie Zhou was drinking water when he choked. "If I'm caught like this, I'll be punished to write a self-criticism, and maybe even expelled from school..."

"If I get fired, my mother will be very sad, and Uncle Kitahara will also be very disappointed..."

"So it's better not to be discovered."

Good Opera looked nonchalant. She naturally put one hand on Te Bie Zhou's shoulder, patted her chest with the other hand, and then said seductively:
"Don't you think what you learn in elementary school is boring?"

"Don't you think the training here is exciting?"

"Don't worry, I have plenty of experience with skipping school. It's a little troublesome to not be able to find the way back home after skipping school, but there won't be any other problems!"

"There's nothing wrong with this!"

Especially Zhou felt that he seemed to have made some careless choices in his friendships in some sense.

However, the words of the good opera made the eyes of the two horse racing girls nearby light up.

"Oh? Good opera. You actually know how to play hooky?"

Touching his chin, Meng Zhilu's eyes sparkled with impulse, "Then we can talk when we have time."

"I do know how to get home after skipping school, but the trouble is that my elder sister always finds out, which is a headache..."

"If the elder sister finds out, I'll be hung up and spanked. It's really troublesome."

Nodding in agreement, Zhongshan Qingqing stroked his chin and pondered, "I usually roll the dice three times before skipping school."

"If all the numbers are 6, it means there is a high chance that you will not be caught by Big Sister for skipping school this time."

"But I don't know why. I think there are no loopholes in my thinking. How can Big Sister catch me accurately every time?"

After spending these few days together, these horse racing girls from elementary school have become familiar with each other.

After hearing what Dream Journey and Zhongshan Celebration said, Te Bie Zhou subconsciously walked a few steps to the side, covering his face with his hands, with an expression that said, "I don't know these weird horse racing girls" and "Don't treat me as a weird horse racing girl."

Good Opera joined the "chin-stroking" movement, and then showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"Celebration, I thought of a possibility."

She looked at the Zhongshan Festival, "Could it be because the dice you used to confirm whether you could successfully skip school were the ones loaded with lead?"

Zhongshan Qingqing was stunned for a moment, then he suddenly realized what was going on, and Meng Zhilv had the same expression.

"I see, this must be the reason why we were caught by the elder sister!" they both said in unison.

"...I say, have you guys forgotten that I'm here? You're talking about how to skip school so openly?"

After listening for a long time, Miyamura Kyoko finally couldn't help it and said angrily and amusedly:
"It's wrong to skip school. Even if you feel that what you learn is boring, that's not a reason for you to skip school."

"What's more, just because you don't feel the effect of some knowledge now doesn't mean it won't be useful in the future."

"You are now exposed to professional competition training methods earlier than your peers, and it is understandable because of your outstanding talent."

"But if you neglect the learning of basic knowledge, you may not be able to achieve outstanding results in the future."

Unlike Kitahara's straightforward teaching, Miyamura Kyoko's tone was obviously much more tactful.

Te Bie Zhou, who already agreed with these statements, suddenly nodded his head vigorously, looking as if he agreed.

Although they looked a little bit disapproving of the opera, they didn't show it because of Kyoko's kind attitude.

These children are very young and their emotions are written on their faces. Kyoko Miyamura can easily see what they are thinking.

After thinking about it, she decided to comfort them for a while before taking them to the side for training.

Although she is not a trainer, she can clearly see how talented Zhou and the others are by following Kitahara and the others.

The more this was the case, the more she didn't want them to ignore some seemingly unimportant but very basic things.

"I think you should also know that the five seniors who are always in service have different academic performance on weekdays."

Pointing at Oguruma and the others who were practicing repeatedly on the uphill section of the track, Miyamura Kyoko looked at the children like Tokujo and said patiently:
"Aldan and Xiaohaiwan have the best grades. Aldan is also the study committee member of the class."

"With their achievements, they can better choose the most advantageous tactics in the game, especially Aldan."

"You have to know that the outcome of a match does not depend on yourself, but also on your opponent's situation. But if you can't even bring out your full strength, how can you talk about victory?"

"Xiaoyu's grades are also very good, although she can't always rank among the top students in her grade like Aldan and Xiaohaiwan."

"But in training, her understanding of various running methods and tactics is the most balanced."

"That gives her more tactical options."

"Inari and Oguri's grades are not particularly outstanding. One gets anxious when she encounters something she doesn't understand, and the other falls asleep when she encounters particularly complex theories."

"But they never said they would give up studying."

Miyamura Kyoko's tone has become a little serious. "Normally, whether it's after class or before exams, they will take the initiative to find Xiao Haiwan and others for tutoring."

"The time and energy they spend on learning knowledge is no less than that on training."

"Let me just tell you about something that happened in the past two days."

Pointing to Oguruma and Inariichi, who had just finished running uphill and were returning to the starting point after a brief rest, Miyamura Kyoko continued:
"When I come to Europe to compete, the language barrier is actually a very troublesome problem."

"You will understand when you play in the game in the future that the commentary, the cheers of the audience, and some words that your opponents say will all become part of the game information."

"With this information, we can make more detailed adjustments to the game."

"As I said before, Xiaohaiwan, Aldan, and Xiaoyu have good grades and are good at English. They don't have any problems with daily conversations."

"Oguri and Inari's English is, well... not very good."

“But they didn’t give up.”

"Brother Beiyuan said that English is also very important and it would be best if we could learn it. So that day they asked President Luduo for help and borrowed a few English dictionaries."

"Well, it's a little strange to learn English with a dictionary, but..."

Looking at Tokugawa and the others who already had thoughtful expressions, Miyamura Kyoko smiled and said, "This also shows that they have not ignored a lot of seemingly unimportant knowledge, right?"

This temporary teaching did play a significant role. At least the horse racing girls here no longer mentioned skipping school and the subsequent training became more serious.

As time passed and it was approaching noon, the training for both the training match and the elementary school came to an end.

The whole morning's training was focused on "mid-course uphill", and a lot of data was obtained.

As usual, after the formal training, Oguruma and her teammates did a 10-minute jog to cool down, while Kitahara and other trainers began to analyze the data without stopping.

Yongshi's current analysis is basically done digitally. In layman's terms, it uses various programs to calculate the conditions of horse girls, racetracks, training, etc.

Most of these programs are still conventional tools.

For example, Matlab, which is commonly used in mathematics and statistics, or Airpak for aerodynamics.

A small part of it is a modified "Uma Musume Special" program with a brand new and glorious design.

For example, the analyzer program combined with the "wind tunnel equipment" and Yongshi's chief technician has created several special programs.

On Kitahara and his friends’ computer desktops, there are cartoon avatars of “Oguruma” and her friends. That is a one-to-one basic modeling program.

As long as you input the data of each training and game, you can get a very accurate analysis. The only drawback is that the interface is very rough and there is no way to link them.

Through this series of calculation tools, trainers such as Kitahara, holding laptops, tablets and other devices, frowned at the same time.

"The results...are obviously lower than before."

Looking away from the results on the tablet, Kitahara rubbed his temple with one hand and sighed, "The results on your side should be the same, right?"

"The performance levels in all aspects are about 2% lower than usual."

Yuhara quickly gave a statistic, then frowned even more tightly, "Let's not talk about the impact of ability level on actual competition results for now."

"If this level of decline is the case, the current girls should be about 2400% slower on average in the 0.9m compared to the Japanese girls."

"Assuming the finishing time is 2 minutes and a half, 150 seconds, they are 1.35 seconds slower than 'myself' and more than 8 lengths behind."

"This is without considering the strength of the opponent. In addition, whether it is the Japan Cup or the Japan Derby, the champions in recent years have basically been within 2 minutes and 30 seconds."

"If that's the case..."

"There's no rush for this algorithm for now. It's true that Xiaoyu and the others are slower than usual."

After interrupting Yusuhara, Komiya-san immediately changed the direction of his thoughts.

"But we don't have data from Tony Bianca and the others yet, so the results of the races obtained from a one-way comparison are not very meaningful for reference."

"Instead of thinking in that direction, we should think about how to let Xiaoyu and the others perform at their normal level."

"…Isn't that what I was about to say…"

Being interrupted, Yuhara didn't show any impatience. He just murmured something with a bit of amusement and shook his head.

Komiya-san didn't notice his words and continued:
"Brother Yusuhara just mentioned the average level, but I think you and your brothers should have noticed that there is also a decline in levels. The situation of Oguri and Inari is not that obvious."

"We were right. With a lot of experience in clay track events, we will be better able to handle the European track."

"Local competitions for Oguri and Inari are mostly on mud tracks, so maybe we can refer to their situations and give special training to Tama, Aldan, and Kobayashi as much as possible."

"Oguri and Inari also need it. There is a difference between mud and European grass. Otherwise, their level would not have dropped."

“It’s just that if I wanted to train specifically for the entire track, it would take quite a while.”

"I'm afraid it's too late to improve our adaptability to ground conditions..."

Having said that, her brows furrowed even deeper, and she subconsciously looked at Kitahara.

"Brother, do you have any way to take care of both?"

Kitahara also discovered something about what Yusuhara and Komiyama were talking about.

For Oguruma and the others, the aspects that they need to adapt to in this "Yesen Exchange Competition" are not only the schedule, but also the track itself.

The grass used in most of Japan's stadiums is a native grass species called "Equine", commonly known as "noshiba".

Correspondingly, lawns grown with "grass seeds" imported from abroad, generally from France, are commonly known as "foreign grass".

The characteristics of "Yangzhi" are that it has deeper roots and grows more vigorously. It feels softer when the racehorses step on it. If they want to run at a higher speed, they need better endurance and strength.

This grass has good water retention properties. Under the same drainage conditions, the "foreign grass field" can easily form "sticky land" or even "rotten land".

"Sticky ground" and "bad ground" have greater suction on the soles of the feet, and accordingly, the demand for endurance and strength is also higher.

Therefore, from the perspective of the ground situation, the "adaptability of foreign grass" mentioned by Komiyayama essentially requires the improvement of basic capabilities to be completely resolved.

Conventional methods are difficult to solve in the short term.

Fortunately, Kitahara has some less conventional methods.

"I'm afraid it's not possible to take both into account through training. Adaptability is the most difficult thing to improve. It is a comprehensive reflection of various basic abilities."

After shaking his head to deny Komiya-san's idea, Kitahara quickly smiled and said, "But there is one thing that can slightly alleviate the influence of 'Yoshi'."

"Guanghui, please explain it to me." As he said this, he looked at the new Guanghui standing aside.

After this horse racing girl transitioned from being a full-time racer to a technical trainee, she spent most of her time quietly adjusting the various equipment of Oguruma and the others.

Normally, she would not bring up her ideas during exchanges with her trainers, but would often communicate with Kitahara in private.

But when Kitahara mentioned it, she was slightly stunned.

"Ah? Are you talking about the soles and horseshoes we talked about before?"

Subconsciously, she responded in the direction of her own expertise.

"Sole and horseshoe?"

Komiyayama and Yusuhara were stunned for a moment, but Kitahara nodded, "Yeah, that's what I talked to you about last time after you talked about improving the 'decisive suit'."

"I originally planned to collect more data before the European expedition, and also let you try to make some test products."

"It just so happens that I can try out the effect this time."

"That's it... okay then."

Xin Xin Guanghui nodded, searched for a while on his laptop, and quickly called up several "pictures" in the software 3ds MAX.

Those "pictures" are located on the main interface of the program and look like some simple "3D static animation screenshots".

The "screenshot" clearly shows a pair of "shoes" and a pair of "horseshoes".

There are various lines on the "shoes" and "horseshoes".

On the left side of the main interface, there are various small frame interfaces displayed, with various meaningless letters and numbers marked in them.

"These are the 'European' track running shoes I designed and developed for Oguruma and the others. Currently, there are only the types for G1 and below."

"It's not that I don't want to design a 'definition suit' style, that involves some of the rules of the 'Three Goddesses'."

"If the design is not based on those rules, the shoes and horseshoes will have no blessing effect at all. And it is very complicated to reflect the rules with data and technology, so I have to spend time to think about how to make adjustments based on the previous design."

After briefly explaining the content on the screen, she enlarged the interface and adjusted the "running shoes" and "horseshoes" to face outwards.

After zooming in, even if Kitahara and others didn't understand what the technology was, they could clearly see that the "sole" and "horseshoe" on the screen had dense "tooth-like undulations". Pointing at those "tooth-like undulations", Xin Xin Guanghui smiled and said:

"Last time when I designed the running shoes for the 'decisive suit', Mr. Kitahara discussed with me that expeditions might also require special running shoes, and specifically asked me to try to sort out an idea."

"It just so happens that one of my roommates specializes in studying soil conditions. She has corresponding specimens and data on soil conditions at all stadiums in Japan under different conditions."

"I specifically asked her for advice, and she tried to simulate the European venues using the code I provided, and together we designed these 'expedition running shoes and horseshoes'."

"We all know that one of the important reasons why heavy ground or muddy ground is difficult to run is that when the soil is too wet, its stickiness will increase significantly."

"Simply put, the stickiness of dry soil is made up of the attraction of the soil molecules themselves."

"The surface of soil particles is uneven, and you can think of it as having many 'small suction cups' that are invisible to the naked eye, just like squid tentacles."

As she spoke, she made one hand hollow and bulging, making the shape of a suction cup.

"Or something like the suction cups we usually stick on the wall to hang things."

"After water seepage, soil particles, water, and soil particles attract each other, and soil particles are separated by water molecules. The cohesion between soil particles becomes smaller, and the contact area with other objects increases, and the corresponding viscosity becomes greater."

"These are difficult to understand. Let's take the suction cup example again. The hook suction cup we usually use will stick to the glass more firmly if we put a little water in the middle, right?"

Kitahara and Yusuhara usually don't pay much attention to such details of life, but they can also think of the situation that Guanghui described.

As a girl, Xiao Gongshan has to hang a lot of things on a daily basis, and often uses "suction cup hooks", so she understood it all at once.

"In that case, if you make the soles of your shoes and horseshoes uneven, it will be difficult for the dirt to stick to them, just like a suction cup."

She pointed at the computer screen in Guanghui's hand with some excitement, "So that's why there are so many tooth-like protrusions on the soles and horseshoes, right?"

"That's the general idea, but there are still a few details to be said for the specifics."

He nodded and shook his head. When it came to his professional field, Xin Xin Guanghui was obviously more serious than his usual good-natured image.

"First of all, this tooth-like structure is actually my enlarged representation. In the real finished product, the 'teeth' on the bottom are not visible at all."

"Because the suction cups on the surface of the soil particles are also invisible, there is no point in making the 'teeth' too big."

"In addition, soil viscosity is affected not only by physical structure but also by chemical factors."

She pointed at the screen again, this time at the label next to the home screen.

"The type of exchangeable cations also affects viscosity. Simply put, the more free potassium and calcium ions there are, the stronger the viscosity, and the more calcium and magnesium ions there are, the weaker the viscosity."

"So we should try to make the entire shoe, including the bottom, sides, upper, and horseshoe, made of stable materials."

"For horseshoes, they must be made of alloy, and for shoes, they must be made of composite materials."

Having said this, she suddenly looked a little embarrassed.

"In this case, although the shoes made according to this idea can theoretically improve the adaptability of 'Yangzhi' and muddy ground."

"I have tried to make only one pair of samples with the team's budget, and the parameters are fine."

"If I have to say, the production process needs to be customized, and so do many materials."

"And with the strength of Oguruma and the others, even the sturdiest running shoes can be replaced very quickly, so the cost of such shoes is still quite high."

Kitahara has some understanding of the general situation of "special expedition shoes".

If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools. The same is true for Uma Musume competition.

Moreover, if the technological advantage is not utilized early, there may be no chance to take advantage of it later.

It seems like in another world's Olympics, there was once technology called "shark suit".

As the name suggests, this "clothing" imitates the unique rough folds of shark skin, which can significantly reduce resistance in the water and thus improve performance.

The disadvantage is the same as what I feel about the new and brilliant clothes: it is very expensive, costing $7000 per piece of clothing, and it is disposable.

Having this kind of "high technology" can naturally improve performance, but because the Olympic Committee believes that such "high technology is too cheating" and "unfair to other athletes", this technology has been banned.

In this world's horse girl competitions, there are not so many restrictions on clothing and running shoes. The main regulations focus on "G1 events must wear the corresponding winning uniforms" and "there are certain requirements for the quality and weight of running shoes."

Since there is no ban and he can come up with the corresponding technology, Kitahara believes there is no problem.

He has always been generous with his investment in training and competitions. As long as it can improve his performance, he believes that spending money is not a disadvantage.

One of the purposes of letting Shining Glory speak out now was to resolve the doubts that Yusuhara and Komiyama had before. After the former's explanation, the two of them quickly showed a look of relief and began to ask about the relevant details.

Another purpose is to see if the cost of the shoes can be "passed on".

"How about it, Brother Kurokawa, Brother Satomi, this morning's training is basically part of the normal time in Eisei."

Looking at the two men outside the runway, Kitahara smiled and said, "I can show you the rest when we return to Japan."

"If you two think my training is good, would you consider sponsoring it?"

This "European trip" was not made public, and not many people in Japan knew that Kitahara and his party had come to Europe.

Even at the Central Academy, there might be students and trainers who simply thought that the Eternal Team had gone for some special training and did not know the truth.

But such an arrangement would certainly not be hidden from well-informed people, and Kurokawa Masato and the man next to him were such people.

The man next to him is Satomi Osamu, the eldest son of the head of the Satomi family.

In this timeline, the heir to the consortium is much younger and appears to be in his early 30s.

Unlike the relatively gentle Kurokawa Masato, Satomi Osamu has a rather rough appearance and temperament. He is very tall and seems to exercise regularly, and his muscles are obviously bulging under his suit.

The two men arrived in Europe yesterday, and came with all kinds of Eternal equipment.

Kitahara only understood the details after meeting the two people. It turned out that after the two people learned that Yongshi had come to Europe to adapt in advance, they quickly discussed to "travel" together.

They happened to learn through their respective channels that a batch of goods from Central Tresen College was coming to Europe, so they came here "on the way".

Kitahara naturally did not believe such an explanation. He had heard from Kurokawa Masato himself that the latter wanted to open up the European market.

Since Satomi Osamu came along, in addition to having some relationship with the horse racing girl Satomi Mitsuzu, he probably has similar ideas to Kurokawa Masato.

However, the latter obviously did not intend to show it right away.

"Sponsorship? Wait a minute, I'm just a geek who likes playing games. I'd better talk to my dad about sponsorship."

Raising his hands in front of him in an exaggerated manner, Satomi Osamu, who had thick eyebrows and big eyes, looked honest and simple, "I'm just curious about the training here, Brother Kitahara."

"Didn't Kurokawa tell you? I've always wanted to ask you to take a look at the situation of Guang Zuan, oh, and the other children of the Satomi family."

"I had planned to invite you after the Japan Derby, but I didn't expect you to come to Europe all of a sudden."

"I have no choice but to follow you, haha."

He smiled and quickly changed the subject, "I watched the training this morning. It was amazing."

"If Diamond and Crown weren't still so young, I would have brought them here to see it together."

"When we return to Japan, I will definitely take them to Central Tresen College to study."

"Brother Kitahara, please don't refuse then, haha!"

After hearing this, Kitahara knew very well that the other party did not want to discuss business matters for the time being. Although he had previously discussed his intentions on his side, he still wanted to see the situation with his own eyes. This trip to Europe was probably for this purpose.

Kitahara was not in a hurry. He smiled and said "no problem", then thought for a moment and looked at Kurokawa Masato.

"Brother Kurokawa, you two just arrived last night and have been at the training ground this morning. You probably haven't visited Chairman Lifar of Yesen Academy yet, right?"

He pointed in another direction of the field.

"How about you discuss this with President Luduo later and ask her to take you to meet Chairman Lifar?"

Sirius Symbol also decided to participate in this competition, and Yesen College also agreed.

After being in contact with the Eternal Team for a while, Sirius is more accustomed to his usual training.

On the one hand, she conducted the training arrangements for the day by herself, and on the other hand, she was assisted by the horse girl and Luduo, who were also symbolic of the family.

"That's not necessary."

Looking in the direction Kitahara pointed, Kurokawa Masato shook his head and said, "I once met Chairman Lifar under the guidance of my mother. I can just take Jiji with me."

"Afterwards, the two of us will go to London for a while to take care of some business."

"Kitahara, you don't have to worry too much about us. Just focus on training here."

As he spoke, he showed some anticipation.

"Although this is just a practice match, it is also a competition between our Japanese horse girls and the world's top athletes."

"I can tell that the training time is short and the venue is not suitable for us. I'm afraid the result of the competition will not be very optimistic."

"but……"

Walking over, he patted Kitahara's shoulder vigorously.

"I believe in you, you always amaze the other trainers, the horse girls, and all the spectators."

"I believe you will feel the same this time."

"Is everything all right, Chief Kitahara, the 'Kisakusho' of Japan?"

“You’re putting a lot of pressure on me.”

After responding jokingly, Kitahara quickly turned serious and nodded solemnly, "Don't worry, I never treated this game as a practice match."

"If I have to say, from the beginning, I prepared for the 'Japan Cup held in Yesen'."

While Kitahara and other trainers were organizing and analyzing the training situation, Oguruma and the others were not idle either.

According to the training requirements, when the intensity is normal, Oguruma and the others need to devote part of their attention to simulating the situation on the field. This kind of training will help them gradually adjust their competition habits on weekdays.

Especially in unfamiliar places, this kind of "brain simulation" is even more important.

In addition to the simulated game itself, they also need to communicate their feelings after training.

Feelings tend to be more subjective, but when a consensus is found, it means that everyone feels the same thing. Then, through further communication with trainers such as Kitahara, we usually find points that need attention.

After this part of the arrangement is completed, if there is no next task, Oguruma and the others can move freely.

However, knowing full well the particularity and difficulty of this "Yesen Exchange Competition", all the horse racing girls almost subconsciously walked towards the track, changing the relaxed atmosphere of their usual rest time.

"…Hey? Xiaoli, don't you want to go for another run?"

Thinking of practicing a little more, Tamamo Cross took a few steps towards the runway and soon discovered that Kobayashi, Aldan, and Inari had similar ideas.

But Xiao Limao, who is usually very active in training, just stood there, reaching into his pocket to feel something.

"Well... I also want to run a little bit. This place is so strange. I think jogging two laps might give me a better effect. But..."

As he said this, he took out a stack of small notes from his pocket and walked towards Tamamo Cross. At the same time, Ogurumao waved to Xiaohaiwan and the others.

"I asked Inari how to learn English faster, and she said memorizing words would be faster. We went to Luduo to borrow some English books and dictionaries yesterday."

"It turns out the dictionary seems to have been connected incorrectly, and there is no Japanese explanation at all."

"I just wanted to copy down some words and ask you guys."

As she spoke, she handed over the note, "Here, these are it, I don't recognize any of them..."

"You really work hard, Xiaoli..."

Subconsciously taking the note, Tamamo Cross exclaimed.

"So last night you said you would come back to the dormitory late, so you were going to copy some words. That seems like a good idea. Let's copy together tonight!"

Inari asked a little excitedly.

"Yeah! No problem!"

Oguruma nodded, then looked at Tamamo Cross curiously, "Hey, Tama, what are those words?"

"Or what does the first one above mean?"

Having just received the note and not having time to read it, Tamamo Cross didn't think much about it when he heard the urging. He lowered his head and glanced at the note in his hand, and said casually:
"Oh, this...let's give up."

"……what?"

Xiao Limao was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head in embarrassment, "Are you saying that I can't learn English? But, but I think I can still try hard..."

"Yeah, Xiaoyu, you're being a little too harsh when you say that to Xiaoli. How can you just come up and tell her to give up?"

Inari felt a little indignant, "Besides, my English is not that good either, and it was Oguruma and I who came up with the idea of ​​memorizing words. If you ask her to give up, doesn't that mean I should give up too?"

Xiao Haiwan and Aldan on the side were also looking at the note in Tamamo Cross's hand. When they heard what Oguruma and Inari said, they both looked surprised for a moment, then they thought of something and couldn't help laughing.

"Huh? What are you two talking about... Oh, I understand..."

He was stunned at first, but then his eyes showed enlightenment like Xiao Haiwan and Aldan. Tamamo Cross covered his face helplessly and raised the note in his hand.

"It's the word! The word!"

"Really? Xiaoli, why don't you copy any other word? Why copy abandon..."

"This word means 'give up'."

"I'm not asking you to give up, it's the word that means to give up..."

"Oh, that……"

Scratching his head in embarrassment again, Xiao Limao smiled awkwardly and said, "I don't understand English, so I thought that maybe the longer the words, the more powerful they are, so I started looking for long words starting with A..."

"Well, it's true. Abandon is indeed one of the longer words that start with A, but..."

It had already been discovered that there was something wrong between Oguruma and Tamamo Cross. Xiaowan, who was very good at English, smiled and said:

“It’s not enough to just learn words when learning English.”

"I learned to speak slowly through grammar, vocabulary, articles, etc., but I can do well in exams, but my daily conversations are average."

“Aldan’s English is better, especially his spoken English.”

"I think if you, Oguri and Inari, want to improve your English, it would be better to ask her."

"After all, Kitahara-san, Komiya-san, and Yusuhara-san all said that if there is time, we should improve our English."

"Yeah! It's because of what they said that I want to spend more time studying."

After nodding, Oguruma looked at Aldan expectantly, "So, Aldan, how can we learn English better?"

"Well... let me think about it."

Smiling, Aldan pinched his chin and tilted his head slightly to think for a while.

"Oh, that's fine."

Her eyes lit up and she raised a finger, "You can go directly to Moonlight Madness and have a conversation with her in English."

“Just tell…Pu! Hahaha! Sorry, sorry, I’m not making fun of anyone, it’s just…Puhaha! It’s okay, don’t mind me, hahaha!”

Before Ogurumao could say anything, Tamamo Cross suddenly burst into laughter. She thought of Ogurumao's poor English before and the ladylike temperament shown by Moonlight Crazy, and suddenly she was looking forward to what would happen when the two of them communicated in English.

Ardan, Inari, and Kobayashi were stunned when they heard this, but they soon thought of the scene in Tamamo Cross's mind and couldn't help but laugh.

"…What on earth are you laughing at?"

Only Oguruma himself had no idea what the joke was.

“…Ahem, nothing…”

After holding it in for a while, Aldan calmed down and talked about the previous topic with a smile.

"In my experience, the fastest way to master a language is to apply it."

"The way I learned English was to invite a British teacher to my home and communicate with him directly."

"It's the same with McQueen and Ryan. Their English is pretty good too."

"Language is a tool, just like the running method we usually train. You can't master it without using it."

"Especially for Xiaoli, learning some grammar and memorizing some words may not be very effective. You may be able to speak some daily expressions quickly if you just use them."

"Inari can do the same."

"If Oguri wants to practice English with Gekkou Kuangqi-san, then Inari can go with Tony Bianca-san."

"Although Toni Bianca is an Italian horse racing girl, her English is not bad. There will be no problem practicing with her."

"Oh! I see. Then I'll go ask Kitahara right now. If there's no training scheduled before this afternoon, I'll keep looking for Yue, Yue... Yueguang to practice English!"

Perhaps because he was eager to learn English, Ogurumao was able to quickly pronounce the name of Moonlight Madness correctly.

Then, completely forgetting that she was going to jog two laps to get acclimated to the venue, she turned around and ran towards Kitahara.

Similarly, after being stunned for a moment, Inari Ichiya shouted, "I'll go ask Alang too," and turned and ran away.

"Their mobility is really amazing..."

Looking at the backs of his two companions, Xiao Haiwan sighed, his expression suddenly changed and he smiled bitterly.

"Hey, Xiaoyu, Aldan, what do you think..."

She rubbed her forehead in distress. "Given Oguri and Inari's English level, will it be very troublesome for Gekkou and Tony?"

"They don't know how to be subtle or anything like that. They'll probably chase after each other."

"Perhaps due to the exchange between the two students in the academy, it is difficult for them to refuse."

"Then...will it affect the performance in the exchange competition?"

After hearing this, Aldan also showed a worried look.

Tamamo Cross smiled nonchalantly.

"Ha, I don't think there's any need to worry about that."

She wiped her nose with her fingers and began to stretch her body. She said in a deep voice, "If these two can be affected by such a small matter and their performance in the game is affected, then it doesn't matter whether Oguri and Inari are there or not."

"But obviously, they are definitely not."

"They may be annoyed, but it will never affect their performance in the game."

"After all, she is the top horse racing lady in Britain and Italy of this generation."

"Instead of worrying that they will be affected by trivial matters during the competition, it is better to run a few more laps to get used to the venue."

"To be honest, I don't think we have much chance of winning this exchange competition."

"But no matter we win or lose, we must leave them with indelible memories."

"So we're going to go run two more laps, what about you two?"

For the sake of an exchange match, both the trainers and the horse girls on Yongshi's side were extremely cautious and acted as if they were participating in a formal competition.

The preparation time was only one week. Although it was not long, the "targeted scoring strategy" set at the beginning still achieved relatively satisfactory results.

On the day of the "Yesen Exchange Tournament", the official competition was scheduled in the afternoon just like the "Yesen Derby", but unlike the real competition, there was only this one game that afternoon.

"…Even though it's just one match, this is too formal."

In the players' lounge at the stadium, Kitahara sighed as he looked out the window at the thousands of people and horse racing ladies in the audience.

"It seems that not only we are taking this seriously, but Ye Sen is also very serious about it, even... a little too serious."

In order to facilitate training during this period, Kitahara did not have much contact with Ye Sen except for Oguruma and Inari.

Even so, Kitahara and the others learned from Oguruma and Inari that Tony Bianca, Moonlight Madness and other contestants were training very seriously, and the atmosphere was no less than real preparations for the competition.

When the day of the competition really arrived, everyone realized that their previous views were still conservative.

"It's true that he took it too seriously... The governor of Surrey County, the chairman of the parliament, many executive officers and councillors have been invited. Chairman Lifar has put in a lot of effort."

Also looking out the window, the symbol of Luduo sighed.

"And judging from the published list of participants, this is clearly already a formal competition."

The contestants on Yongshi's side were decided very early. In addition to Oguruma and the others who were confirmed at the beginning, there was an additional Sirius symbol in the middle.

On Ye Sen's side, the only contestants who were identified at the beginning were Tony Bianca and Moonlight Madness, and the rest of the contestants were invited by Chairman Lifar.

Since the invitations took some time, the corresponding list was not announced until before the game.

After the announcement, everyone realized how exaggerated their opponents were. Knowing the history, Kitahara was very clear that things were even more exaggerated than his companions thought.

For reference, Umamusume, who is the same age as Tamamo Cross and Inari, is extremely good at the Great Escape and has dominated the Epsom Derby, Emperor's Stakes and St. Leger's Stakes with this highly entertaining style of running.

Jupiter Island and Koei, the other achievements of these two players can be ignored, the key point is that they were the champions of the Japan Cup in the past two years respectively.

Xiu Maolan is younger than Oguri Mao and the others, and has not yet reached the age of full-fledged character development. She is the opponent arranged by Yesen Academy for Oguri Roman and Golden Journey.

However, Kitahara is well aware that historically, Hideo Ran would win a number of tournaments after moving to France, including the Arc de Triomphe.

"…Yeah, it's a full-fledged match now. Whether it's an opponent equal to the Sirius symbol or an opponent equal to Oguruma and the others, even Oguruma and the others have been taken into consideration."

Beiyuan gradually withdrew his gaze from the window, took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, the emotion in his tone completely turned into a feeling of being on high alert.

"It's come to this point, there's no point in saying more."

"Anyway, we are preparing for the official competition."

"Let's confirm the running tactics."

(End of this chapter)