The Team Type 1 riders await the start(Image credit: Laura Weislo)
The Team Type 1 boys train in Georgia.(Image credit: John Segesta)
Russian Alexander Efimkin (AG2R La Mondiale) made a break on the climb but was caught.(Image credit: Susi Goetze for www.cyclinginside.com)
Team Type 1 has confirmed the signing of seven new riders for 2011 and stated that it hopes to be invited to ride the Giro d’Italia next season. The American squad has also announced the establishment of a dedicated service course in Italy as it looks to build on its racing presence in Europe and join the Pro Continental ranks.
The arrival of former Tour de France yellow jersey Rubens Bertogliati from Androni Giocattoli had already been made public some weeks ago, but the squad has also announced the signings of Alexander Efimkin (AG2R), Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda), Ben King (Trek-Livestrong) and Alessandro Bazzana (Fly V Australia), as well as the promotion of Alex Bowden and Olaf Kerkhof from the TT1 Development Squad.
"These new additions to the squad are the culmination of a lot of hard work in putting together the right squad that can compete at the highest levels of the pro peloton,” said manager Vassili Davidenko. “Team Type 1 has high hopes to go to the Giro d'Italia next year and bring our message to hundreds of millions of cycling fans about how we can help people affected by diabetes around the globe.”
Alexander Efimkin looks set to lead the team in its endeavours on the European circuit. “He’s a stage racer and an endurance rider, and up until now he has been in the service of his teammates,” Davidenko said. “We are very excited that next year we will have the opportunity to work for him.”
Efimkin will find solid support in the shape of Rubens Bertogliati, who Davidenko expects to be “one of the key riders in big stage races next year.”
Nine of the 2010 squad have been confirmed again for next season: Aldo Ino Ilesic, Alexey Schmidt, Martijn Verschoor, Scott Stewart, Valeriy Kobzarenko, Javier Megias, Will Dugan, Fabio Calabria and Joe Eldridge.
Of these riders, Team Type 1 Founder Phil Southerland has especially high hopes for Megias, one of several riders on the team who has type 1 diabetes. “Right now our goal is to put Javier Megias on a squad that will hopefully be invited to the Giro,” Southerland said. “He's arguably the best T1 athlete in the world, and he took a big chance in coming to America to join our team last season. We're excited to get back to Europe with him and a whole bunch of great new riders on the roster."
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Meanwhile, double Italian champion and former Marco Pantani domestique Massimo Podenzana, joins the team as European Sport Director, while Michael Carter will continue to manage the team in American and Asian events.
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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
