By Greg Dillon
Hidenori Nodera of the Skil Shimano is the men's Japanese road champion, while Miho Oki was crowned in the women's race.
Nodera was the strongest of a four-man break, which battled it out after almost 200 kilometres. He beat Kazuro Inoue (TEAM NIPPO-ENDEKA) and Shin-ichi Fukushima (Meitan Honpo-GDR) to their respective silver and bronze medals.
Oki on the other hand soloed in for victory in the women's race, with a lead of over a minute ahead of a chasing trio with Yuka Yamashima (Cyclebase Asahi Racing), Hagiwara Mayuko (Kanoya National Institute of Fitness and Sports) and Ayako Toyooka (Team AYAKO.TOYOOKA). Yamashima took silver, one second ahead of Mayuko, while Toyooka narrowly stayed out of the podium celebrations.
