Russellville, Ark. — Team Type 1’s Glen Chadwick soloed to victory on the opening stage of the inaugural Tour of Arkansas Thursday while his teammate, Moises Aldape, finished third.
Chadwick won the “Epic Road Race,” a 110-mile (177 km) race that featured 10,592 feet of climbing. In doing so, he scored his first victory of the season and the seventh win of the year for Team Type 1.
“Chaddy really wanted this one,” Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said of the sixth-year pro from New Zealand. “We rode the climb for him so he was really the only guy who wasn’t on the front today.”
Chadwick capped an extraordinary display of teamwork by Team Type 1 by attacking just as a three-rider breakaway that included teammate Valeriy Kobzarenko was being caught in the final mile. At that point, fewer than 30 riders remained in the pack, including six from Team Type 1.
“With a kilometer to go, everyone was focused on the three guys in the lead who were only about four or five seconds ahead of us,” Chadwick said. “The field was riding on the right, so I punched it as hard as I could on the left.”
Chadwick’s successful attack led to a one-armed salute as he crossed the finish line five seconds ahead of Karl Menzies (Health Net presented by Maxxis). Aldape finished another five seconds later for his first top three placing of the year and Team Type 1's 23rd podium finish of 2008.
Team Type 1, which was created to inspire people living with diabetes to take a proactive approach to managing their health and overcoming the obstacles often associated with the condition, now has six riders in the top 25: Fabio Calabria is eighth, Ian MacGregor is 14th, Chris Jones is 16th and Kobzarenko is 23rd.
Calabria and Timothy Hargrave, two of four professional on the squad who have Type 1 diabetes, each played pivotal roles. Hargrave set a blistering pace as the race reached the first decisive climb, while Calabria launched the first attack to spring a breakaway that further decimated the field.
“It was a great ride for our two Type 1 riders,” Beamon said.
With three stages to go – including Friday’s 98-mile (157.7 km) Mount Nebo Road Race, Chadwick is leading a stage race for the first time since 2003, when he won the Tour of Beijing.
“I’ve always been racing for the GC (general classification) but never really been the guy in the first spot,” he said. “Hopefully we can pull another maneuver like we did at the Tour de Georgia (when Team Type 1 put four riders in the top 20 on the stage at Brasstown Bald) and have plenty of options. I’m always happy to hand the lead over to a teammate.”
Photo: Courtesy Team Type 1
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