Olympian Moises Aldape has extended his contract with Team Type 1, the team announced this weekend. Aldape, who represented Mexico at the Beijing Games after a break-out season which included a stage win and the mountains classification in the Cascade Cycling Classic and the sprint classification at the Tour de Beauce.
The team also announced the signing of Argentinean sprinter Ricardo Escuela. Escuela, 25, established himself as one of the top sprinters on the domestic circuit in 2008 by winning stages at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and the Cascade Classic while racing for Successfulliving.com presented by ParkPre.
"Moises has been a go-to guy all year for us, whether sprinting to a top-10 finish in Philadelphia, winning mountain-top stages at Cascade, or being the stalwart lieutenant in defence of another team leader in races like the Tour de Langkawi, the Tour of Ireland and the Vuelta Mexico," Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said.
"I expect we will see him take on more of a leadership role next year. He has a better understanding of what to expect on the American racing scene and has already established his adeptness in international competition, so I anticipate a strong season from him. Without the distraction of Olympic preparation, we should be able to start him in more events next year as well."
Beamon said he is excited to be able to provide Escuela with a strong team that will be committed to leading him out in field sprints.
"It's no secret that a weakness of ours this year was not having any depth in the sprint finishes," Beamon said. "We are making moves to fill that void and Ricardo is a key addition. He has shown that he is capable of winning the bunch kick in criteriums, as well as hard selection-type races. He can also put himself in the breakaways where his finishing speed becomes that much more dangerous."
Team Type 1 was created in 2004 by two racers with Type 1 diabetes, Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge, and was founded to inspire people living with Type 1 diabetes to better manage their health and overcome obstacles often associated with the condition.
"Although they do not have diabetes themselves, Moises and Ricardo not only give us two powerful competitive weapons as we enter 2009, but they also increase our ability to communicate this message to the Hispanic and Spanish speaking community in America that struggles with an increasing population affected by diabetes," Beamon said.
