Nobuhiko felt frustrated. Annoyed, he shovelled one fork of noodles after another into his mouth while watching Keisuke pour a large amount of maple syrup on his pancakes.

The Tour had not gone well for Team Startory Jokers so far. No matter how hard the 21-year-old had pushed so far, in the end it was either the German Dracula or the Chinese block of ice fighting for the stage win.

Yesterday he was about to win the yellow jersey and lost on the last 50 meters again. Suddenly Max and Li put the screws on him, closely followed by Olav, who had so far defended the green jersey with iron determination.

Once more he pushed and pushed and pushed the pedals. Once more his heart seemed to jump out of his chest. Once more he had the feeling that his lungs burst into fire with every breath he took. And it was still not enough and Dracula won again! 

Fuckin' hell!

He washed down the last bite of noodles with half a cup of coffee, then reached for a plate of waffles and sprayed plenty of whipped cream on it.

"Pass the maple syrup," he commanded Keisuke harshly.

As he handed him the bottle without saying a word, Nobuhiko's eyes fell on the bruises and abrasions on Keisuke's right forearm. The other arm and knees were also covered with bruises, but fortunately the medical check after the penultimate stage had not revealed any serious injuries.

"Kawasaki-san, you look like crap." 

Keisuke shrugged. He was used to Nobuhiko's not very thoughtful choice of words.
His cheek was also grazed and his lower lip was still swollen. "Well, at least I was able to keep racing after the fall."

He tried to smile, but thanks to the bruises it looked more scary than nice. "I don't understand how this could have happened either. Some spectator must have lost his garbage. If I had been more careful and not let myself get distracted by the twins, it wouldn't have happened."

He felt bitterness when he thought back to the award ceremony. How they put the red polka-dot jersey on Andy shortly after he had dragged himself to the finish line with only makeshift medical care.

It was frustrating. His team had worked themselves into such a good position. But in the end the classification of the day looked like this: 2nd place - Frank O'Connor, 3rd place - Morten Menigmand. Even the previously rather inconspicuous Canadians and Swiss had managed to secure a place in front of the Startory Jokers before Daisuke finally crossed the finish line beyond the 20s.

The next day was also painful for his team. Max Mustermann had again conquered the yellow jersey from the Chinese Peng Li. It was already the seventh day and thus the seventh stage of the Tour. Not even a single Japanese rider had a sense of achievement so far.

At the neighbouring table there was once again a dazzling atmosphere. Team Viking Spades joked in their strange gibberish of English and Danish, which was joined by a Norwegian or Finnish word every now and then. Unlike Team Startory Jokers, the Viking Spades belonged to all kinds of Scandinavian nations and had to reconcile all their languages.

Punyaa Boonmee, the Thai, who was under contract with the Irish ShamroClovers, joined the lively group and gave Olav a stormy hug. The gibberish turned into clear English immediately and Keisuke was able catch one or two words.

"Olav, you left me way too fast again yesterday! I actually thought we could finally have a quiet talk!" The brunette Dane was quite uncomfortable with Punyaa's affection. He was about to drink a smoothie and almost spilled it when Punyaa began his attack.

He coughed and wiped his mouth. Red spots had formed on his cheeks. "Stop scaring me like that."

Punyaa moved a free chair and sat down next to Olav. "But tell me, when should we talk, if not now? In the evening you always disappear to bed way too early."

His hand wandered once again to places where it did not belong. Olav flinched when he felt Punyaa's warm fingers on his thigh, but he said nothing and tried to resume his breakfast.

Punyaa took an apple of the fruit plate in the middle of the table and bit into it heartily. Under the tablecloth his hand moved further up. Olav could feel the blood rushing into his ears.

He could not be serious! He wouldn't...

He became dizzy and tried to distract himself by spreading butter on another bread roll.

"So? Have I promised too much? Our twins are really cute!" The Thai whirlwind acted totally innocent.

"Cute?" Morten hissed and hit the table with his fist. "They are monsters!"

Olav was trembling.

Uh-oh, if it went on like this, he wouldn't be able to get up. He had to do something, quick, or else he would...

"Come on, Andy and Frank are angels! They are only nineteen, but so disciplined and hardworking! They can turn around every situation and win!"

Olav dropped the knife. It slipped off the edge of the table and clanked to the floor. "Sorry, it slipped out of my hand." He moved a little to the side and then bent down.

Whew, lucky!

He tried to pick up the knife, but someone else was faster.

"Here." Li handed him the knife without further comments.

Olav became as white as a sheet. The ace sprinter of Team Diamond Dragons seemed to pierce him with his gaze. "T-thank you."

Li's silent appearance caused discomfort in Olav.

What was going on inside that man? Had he noticed what Punyaa had just tried to do? Did he now believe he was completely horny and mad because he let himself be touched under the tablecloth in broad daylight?

He swallowed. "I hope we can have a good duel today, Li."

The Chinese was muttering something. Olav didn't understand a word, but his gaze was still piercing him.

He noticed that Li had two moles under his right eye. He couldn't remember if he had moles on his body too. But the truth was, he hadn't looked very closely in the sauna.

"I think I'll go and check on the others. They're probably already loading their stuff into the bus!", Punyaa said and jumped up. But before he sneaked away, he took several bananas and apples from the fruit basket.

Li turned around and set off as well. He and his teammate exchanged a few words in Chinese.

Olav took a deep breath of relief. Outside the race track he often felt a bit awkward. Moreover, it had never happened before that someone tried to seduce him as obvious as Punyaa did. Most of the time he was the one who took the first step.

He was just about to take another sip of his smoothie when Li spoke up again. "I'm going to win today."

While Olav choked and gasped for breath, Li left the dining room. Olav could not see the fleeting smile creeping on his lips.