Hidenori Nodera

Born in Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Nodera graduated from Hosei University and became a professional in 1998 with Shimano Racing, the team operated by Shimano. He joined the Italian team Colpack–Astro in 2001 and became only the second Japanese to complete the Giro d'Italia, after Masatoshi Ichikawa in 1990.^[3] Returning to Shimano, he continued to ride in both Europe and Asia, becoming Japanese national champion in 2005 and 2008. He retired in 2010, finishing third in his last race, the Japanese National Road Race Championships.^[4] With that result, he finished on the podium for eight straight years in the national championship. He then became the team manager for Shimano Racing Team.^[4]