Redlands, Calif. – Team Type 1 will field a roster that shapes up well to handle the first event on the National Race Calendar, the Redlands Bicycle Classic, which begins Thursday in Redlands, Calif.Sport Director Ed Beamon said a talented field will once again be the hallmark of the four-day race. Some of the biggest names in U.S. professional cycling – Davis Phinney, Alexi Grewal, Scott Moninger and Chris Horner – have won the Redlands Classic since its inception in 1985.
“The opening time trial will certainly set the stage, but with two circuit races and a criterium, there will be an opportunity to shake things up a little bit with aggressive racing,” Beamon said.
Team Type 1 was founded in 2004 by U.S. racers Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge to inspire people living with diabetes to take a proactive approach to managing their health and overcoming obstacles often associated with the condition. This is the first year Team Type 1 has fielded a professional squad, after winning the corporate team division of the Race Across America the past two years.
Four of the 15 riders on Team Type 1’s professional squad have Type 1 diabetes. Two of them – Southerland and Australian Fabio Calabria – are on the roster for Redlands. Team Type 1’s other riders for the four-day race are: Moises Aldape of Mexico, Australian Ben Brooks, Valeriy Kobzarenko of the Ukraine and Chris Jones, Ian MacGregor and Shawn Milne of the United States.
Beamon said Milne and Kobzarenko will be looked upon as contenders for stage wins. Milne won Stage 5 of the Tour de Taiwan last month, while Kobzarenko was runner-up on Stage 6. Team Type 1 also has a second place finish on team classification to its credit at the Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia in February.
“I think Shawn definitely will be one of our targets for the week and Kobzarenko gives us an added dimension,” Beamon said. “He’s capable of a decent time trial and he likes to race aggressively as well. That combination should give us two guys to try and set up.”
Thursday’s 3.1-mile (5 km) prologue Sun Time Trial is primarily uphill and may very well set the tone for the remainder of the race, Beamon said.
“Anytime there’s a time trial in American racing, it’s consequential because there’s not that many stages after that to disrupt what happens after that stage,” he said.
Friday’s Stage 1 is the new 85-mile (138 km) City of Beaumont Road Race featuring three rated climbs on each of five laps of a 17-mile circuit. It replaces the Oak Glen Road Race that finished with a brutal mountaintop finish.
Stage 2 is the 1st Centennial Bank/KWB Wealth Managers Criterium Saturday on a highly technical, one-mile (1.2 km), nine-corner course in downtown Redlands. Five time bonus sprints that are up for grabs virtually guarantee action from start to finish during the 90-minute race.
Sunday’s Stage 3 Beaver Medical Group Sunset Road Race is a challenging 91-mile (146.5 km) race featuring a climb on each of five laps around a circuit, as well as two time bonus sprints.
“The final day is always decisive,” Beamon said. “It is a difficult stage to control, and the field generally explodes because of the aggressive racing.”
That situation was illustrated in last year’s race when overall leader Scott Moninger (BMC) could not stay with a breakaway, allowing Andrew Bajadali (Jelly Belly Pro Cycling) to steal the victory.
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