Team Type 1 Taking Aggressive Approach To USPRO Championship

Greenville, S.C. - There will be no waiting and watching when it comes to Team Type 1's approach to Sunday's Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Championship Road Race.

An aggressive attitude will be key to winning the 110-mile (177 km) race in Greenville, S.C., according to Team Type 1 Assistant Sport Director Vassili Davidenko.

No fewer than four riders from Team Type 1 are viable contenders for the stars-and-stripes jersey that goes to the winner of one of the most prestigious one-day races in the United States, Davidenko said.

That list includes last year's sixth-place finisher, Shawn Milne, and Chris Jones – who finished ninth.

"Dan (Holt) and Ian (MacGregor) have also shown excellent form lately (so) they have to be protected up to one point too," Davidenko said. "But to win, we have to race aggressively. We can't wait until the end."

In addition to those four, Team Type 1 co-founders Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge will also be among the 113 professionals who line up for Sunday's 1 p.m. start. They are believed to be the first competitors with Type 1 diabetes to ever compete in the national championship road race.

Live coverage of the event will be streamed on the Internet on Justin.tv.

Past winners of the national championship road race include Team Type 1 General Manager Tom Schuler (1987), speed skating Olympic champion Eric Heiden (1985), Lance Armstrong (1993), George Hincapie (1998, 2006) and Fred Rodriguez (2000, 2001, 2004).

In a race that traditionally has seen fewer than 35 riders make it to the end, Davidenko said it will take an all-out effort by every Team Type 1 rider to put one or more riders in position to win.

"Some guys will be in the early break, someone will be helping our key guys - keeping them in the right place and bringing them to the front before the big climb."

That "big climb" is the more than three-mile ascent of Paris Mountain, which will be covered four times. The race will make a total of 10 passes through Greenville (including three laps each of a start and finish circuit) on a new start/finish area in the popular West End section of the downtown area.

For Southerland, it will be his first major race since undergoing surgery in May to repair a constriction in the iliac artery in his left leg.

"Obviously this is a new, great experience for Joe and Phil to be part of the pro team at nationals," Davidenko said. "Joe needs to be active in the early part of the race and if any break goes, he will need to be there. For Phil, this is his first race with the team after his surgery, so he will be helping the guys from the beginning until the end."

Eldridge will also compete in Saturday's 20.7-mile (33 km) individual time trial at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research. The first rider goes off at 11 a.m., with Eldridge's start time to be determined Friday night.

Davidenko said Eldridge has good late-season form and the fairly flat, technical course suits his riding style.

"The important thing is to see where he stands now," Davidenko said. "This will be very helpful for his preparation for the 2009 season."

While Eldridge is racing aganst the clock, Southerland will be conducting a live interview with Internet broadcast announcer Nathan O'Neill about Team Type 1's mission and message. The worldwide broadcast will complement the tremendous attention the team has received this week on the Versus network while racing at the Tour of Ireland.