It's not about Hakogaku winning. It's about Hakogaku LOSING the previous races. It's always the opposite of their previous result. Ashikiba lost his last race (against Onoda) so he wins this one. Same with Manami, he lost his last battle, now he's a winner. Teshima won against Koga, now he lost. The only exception was Naruko losing again, but that was because it was 2 times more likely that Ashikiba will win because Midou won his previous race (against Naruko). Now, Izumida lost his last race against Tadokoro on the flats last year. So it's quite obvious, although I would like Komari to win, I'm sure he's gonna beat Doubashi, Naruko or most likely Kaburagi on the flats next year or Naruko in a climb (since they're both all-rounders) or some new member of one of the teams, if he'll still be in the story.
SAAAMMMMEEEE! i feel like the mangaka is obsessed with hakone and it's sooooo boring that they always win. SHIT ┑(￣Д ￣)┍
...so, is hakogaku going to win all these races? what's with this mangaka, i felt it from the start, he seems to love hakogaku more than any other team.