By Marshall Emsley
Brigham City (Salt Lake City), Utah The American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure® presented by Larry H. Miller Dealerships is challenging local cyclists to join the movement to Stop Diabetes and raise funds to help change the future of diabetes, and is welcoming one of the nation’s professional cycling teams, Team Type 1 and its recent addition Team Type 2. The teams will join more than 50,000 other cyclists at sites throughout the country including over 1600 cyclists at the Utah Tour de Cure happening on 6/11 at Rees Pioneer Park in Brigham City for riders of all ages and ability levels.
Nathan Bartels of Team Type 1 Triathlon Team (sponsored by OmniPod) will be the keynote speaker at the Tour de Cure VIP Dinner on June 10, 2011 in Brigham City. On Saturday, June 11, Nathan Bartels will speak with our media, have photos taken with our Red Riders (riders with type 1 and type 2 diabetes), and commence the ride. The ride itself has start times at 7:30am (100 mile), 9:00am (80 & 60 mile), 10:30am (25 mile) and Noon (Family Fun Ride).
Team Type 1 was founded in 2004 by cyclists with type 1 diabetes to compete at the highest levels of the sport. These passionate professional cyclists are supporting the American Diabetes Association by participating in several Tour de Cure cycling events in addition to their race schedule. Team Type 1 took on the challenge of raising funds for diabetes in 2006. Seeking to represent both major groups of people with diabetes, the team added a new group of cyclists with type 2 diabetes, appropriately named Team Type 2.
Team Type 1 makes a fourth trip to the Tour of Utah in August, but this year with a higher designation. The team gained notoriety for winning the Race Across America multiple times before registering for professional status in 2008. Six of the current 21 members have Type 1 Diabetes, so the mission for Team Type 1 – sanofi-aventis continues to be raising awareness for diabetes.
“When Joe Eldridge and I formed Team Type 1, we wanted to challenge one another to take control of managing our diabetes, while trying to become the best cyclists we possibly could,” said Phil Southerland, founder of Team Type 1. “Since that time, our team has surpassed all of our expectations and has truly joined the fight against diabetes by raising funds in the Tour de Cure events. At the same time, we have taken control of managing our disease and truly hope that we will live one day without diabetes.”
In Utah, Tour de Cure’s Presenting Sponsor is Larry H. Miller Dealerships. Sponsored locally by SelectHealth, Jason’s Deli, Questar, Intermountain Healthcare, Nate Wade Subaru, IM Flash Technologies, Pacific Steel, OmniPod and sponsored nationally by Gold’s Gym and CLIF Bar, the Tour de Cure features a variety of routes. This fully supported, cycling, fundraiser takes you past the Bear River Bird Refuge, Golden Spike Monument and the famous ATK Rocket Garden in scenic Box Elder County.
To find out more or to form a team for next year’s Tour de Cure, call 1 888-DIABETES x7075 or visit main.diabetes.org/utahtourdecure.
