Alameda Runners – Get After It!

American teams such as Garmin-Transitions, HTC-Columbia, Team Radioshack and BMC are expected to rack up impressive results during the Tour of California next month — but it’s the smaller teams that could really light things up early in the race.

Team Type 1, Jelly Belly, Bissell and the smaller American teams can make stage racing exciting as they attack, create breakaways, and force the big boys to ride.  I gladly support these teams when they get the chance to race in front of a large audience, but there is one specific team that deserves special praise.

Every time Team Type 1 races — and gets in the newspapers — the team helps raise awareness about Type 1 diabetes.

Team Type 1 is the team I’d like to focus on leading up to the event, as this UCI Continental race team has an interesting background (courtesy of Team Type 1 Media Kit):

Team Type 1 was created in 2004 by Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge, a pair of avid cyclists with Type 1 diabetes. In 2006 and 2007, the pair captained Team Type 1 to back-to-back victories in the eight-person team division of the Race Across America (RAAM). In 2008, the team grew to include a 15-rider professional continental team that included four riders with Type 1 diabetes.

In their inaugural pro season, Team Type 1 compiled 45 victories, including winning the team classification at the Tour de Beauce and the Vuelta Mexico and placing two riders (Glen Chadwick and Moises Aldape) in the Olympic road race in Beijing.

If you’re interested in following in the adventures of Team Type 1, I’d recommend following the team’s official Twitter account.  I hope to learn more about the team in the coming weeks, and hope to share some neat information with you.

Hey Team Type 1, best of luck during the Tour of California next month!