Both first-time Olympians on the first-year professional squad that has a mission to raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes trained at high altitude: Aldape in his homeland of Mexico and New Zealand’s Chadwick in the mountains of Colorado.
Aldape will be Mexico’s lone representative of the 145 competitors in the men’s road race Aug. 9. Chadwick is one of three New Zealanders competing in the 152-mile (245.5 km) event.
The Beijing course will favor climbers much more than sprinters, and its distance and hilliness – coupled with Beijing's dirty air and high humidity – is expected to make the race for a medal one of attrition.
“All I hear about is the pollution factor,” Chadwick said. “But I have raced a lot in China and had to deal with this before. I have even done a six-day tour in Beijing, so the air isn't my main concern.”
Aldape’s training regiment has been to climb mountains that exceed 8,500 feet (2,590 meters) in elevation near his hometown of León, Mexico, as well as to motor-pace for hours at a time.
“I am training very well and have a good feeling about the race suiting my ability,” Aldape said.
Aldape won a stage of the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic (above) and finished third overall at the Tour de Beauce stage race in Canada while winning the sprint competition. He was seventh at the Commerce Bank International Cycling Classic in Philadelphia June 8 and his eighth place in April at the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T helped Team Type 1 finish third in the team competition.
Chadwick has experienced his own success this season, winning two stages and the overall title at the inaugural Tour of Arkansas in May. Those accomplishments are remarkable considering the 31-year-old was hospitalized for several weeks in February after doctors discovered he had the Epstein-Barr virus in his spine. The virus causes mononucleosis and Chadwick apparently had been showing effects of the disease since last December without knowing it.
As part of his preparation, Chadwick finished fourth in last month’s 43rd Annual Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans Hillclimb. The race gained 6,920 feet (2,100 meters) of elevation in 27.35 miles.
“I have also been taking in a lot of the climbing that Boulder has to offer, which takes me up over 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) each time,” Chadwick said. “Long, solid rides have been on the menu the last couple weeks, with a lot of intensity mixed into the rides as well.”
Team Type 1 was founded in 2004 by 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. Four of the 15 riders on the team’s pro squad – Southerland, Eldridge, Fabio Calabria and Timothy Hargrave – have Type 1 diabetes.
Southerland said having two of the team’s top athletes in the Olympics is monumental for Team Type 1.
“I feel truly privileged to be able to call both Moises and Glen my teammates, and it just goes to show what type of program we have,” he said. “Race results aside, both are great guys, and truly deserve the opportunity. All of us on Team Type 1 are pulling for them to try and bring home a medal for their country.”
The Games of the XXIX Olympiad begin Friday, Aug. 8. Live coverage of the men’s road race will be available on www.nbcolympics.com beginning at 11 p.m. EST/8 p.m. PST on Friday, Aug. 8.
Photos: Copyright Kurt Jambretz (www.actionimages.cc) - top; Courtesy Team Type 1 - bottom.
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