http://kumanichi.com/fsports/30km/index.cfm http://kumanichi.com/fsports/30km/30km52/20080225.1.cfm http://kumanichi.com/fsports/30km/30km52/20080225.2.cfm http://kumanichi.com/fsports/30km/30km52/20080225.3.cfm translated and edited by Brett Larner On Feb. 24 individual entrant Masaki Shimojo (Team Konica Minolta) won the 52nd Kumanichi 30 km Road Race in Kumamoto in 1:30:33. He became only the 3rd individual entrant to ever win the event, the last being Tomoya Shimizu (Team Sagawa Express) 2 years ago. Only 2 women were entered in the race, but winner Miho Notagashira (Team Wacoal) set a new course record by 13 seconds, running 1:44:00. Although windy conditions prevented a predicted 1:29 finish time, the men's race yielded the first dead heat finish in years. It started with a slow pace. At the 10 km point, Kodai Tanabe (Team Mazda) broke from the lead pack and opened a gap, but at the halfway point it looked likely that the finish time would be in the 1:33 range. The chase...
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