Team Type 1 scores in Taiwan

American Shawn Milne handed the new U.S. squad Team Type I its first professional victory in the Tour de Taiwan on Thursday. The 26-year-old took the field sprint on stage five, the 92-mile (148 km) Hsinchu City Circuit Race, nabbing his first personal win in two years. With the 10-second bonus, Milne also pulled himself into second place overall behind his former team-mate, John Murphy (Health Net presented by Maxxis) with three stages left in the eight-day race. Last year, Milne won the Tour de Taiwan while racing for Health Net.

"As they have done so well all week, the Merida squad took control of the final 10 kilometers to set up the sprint, but our guys played it nearly perfectly at the end," Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said. "This win will certainly be one for Shawn and the entire team to remember."

Team Type 1 is in its first season as a professional cycling team. It 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. The past two years, Team Type 1 has won the eight-rider corporate division of the Race Across America (RAAM). All 11 racers on its elite/developmental team have Type 1 diabetes, as do four of its 15 pro riders.

"This victory is definitely a big day – not only for all of us on the team – but for everyone who is affected by diabetes," Southerland said. "It shows that people with diabetes can compete on the highest of levels and also be a part of a winning team. We could not have accomplished today's win without the tremendous support of all of our friends and sponsors along the way. This victory takes us one step closer to our ultimate goal of someday racing in the Tour de France."

Friday's stage is a 79-mile (127.7 km) circuit race through Taipei County.