Race Across America Underway For Team Type 1

Near Brawley, Calif. — Team Type 1 got off to a strong start as the eight-person team division of the Race Across America got underway Wednesday afternoon in Oceanside, Calif.

Team Type 1’s Monique Hanley, Matt Brooks, Andy Mead and Mark Suprenant led off the 3,015-mile race and rode to the team’s first exchange at Brawley, Calif., the second of 54 time stations along the route that ends in Annapolis, Md.

At the first time station 54.7 miles into the race, Team Type 1 trailed the Norwegian team Byggkjop presented by BMC Cycling Team by seven minutes. Team ViaSat was the third team to the time station, one minute behind Team Type 1. Byggkjop averaged 17.55 miles an hour to 16.92 mph for Team Type 1.

Team members who began riding at Brawley were RAAM Team Director Bob Schrank, in addition to Alex Bowden, Tim Powell and Timothy Hargrave.

All eight members of Team Type 1 have Type 1 diabetes. Team Type 1 has won the eight-person corporate team division of RAAM in 2006 and 2007 and set the team transcontinental record crossing of five days, 15 hours and 43 minutes (3,046 miles) last year.

Updates on Team Type 1 are being posted on the team’s website and blog, www.teamtype1.org.

Team Type 1 is using Apidra’s rapid-acting insulin made by sanofi-aventis, as well as Abbott Diabetes Care’s FreeStyle Navigator and Insulet Corporation's OmniPod Insulin Management System, along with Dex-4 Glucose.

Team Type 1 was created in 2004 by Type 1 diabetes racers Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge to inspire people living with diabetes to take a proactive approach to managing their health and overcoming the obstacles often associated with the condition. Southerland and Eldridge are now professionals, racing on Team Type 1’s 15-member pro team.