We would like to take a moment to congratulate blogger Joe Eldridge, along with his Team Type 1 teammates Dan Holt, Zach Noonan, and Zach Kovalcik, on winning the team pursuit at the 2012 USA Cycling Elite Track Nationals in Carson, California!
In the months leading up to Nationals, Joe, who has Type 1 diabetes, has been racing in South America and Asia. “I came straight from Beijing to California, on a short 12-hour flight via Seattle, with just a half-day’s supply of insulin remaining after more than 30 days of racing and travel in the US, Brazil, and China. But my physical fitness was very sharp, and I have been doing really well in anticipating all the challenges this trip has posed,” he said.
In the grueling 4-kilometer team pursuit, teammates ride in each others’ slipstream just centimeters apart, taking turns pulling the team before swinging up the track’s banking to rejoin at the end of the group. The goal is to cover the distance faster than any competitors. (Click here to see an example of the men’s team pursuit from the 2011 Track World Cup in Manchester, England.)
The team’s victory in the race marks the first national championship for Team Type 1. “Joe was the inspiration for starting the team, and is the cofounder of our organization. His transformation from an average diabetic with less-than-average diabetes management, to a focused amateur athlete, to a pro, and now to to a national champion is proof that with hard work, dreams can come true,” noted Team Type 1 CEO and cofounder Phil Southerland.
A hearty congratulations to Joe and the rest of the team from Diabetes Self-Management!
To read more about Team Type 1’s victory at Nationals, visit the team’s Web site. And to learn more about Joe’s experiences managing his diabetes while competing as a professional cyclist, read his blog series here.
This blog entry was written by Web Editor Diane Fennell.
