Innsbruck, Austria - Team Type 1-Sanofi rider Alessandro Bazzana won a lung-busting uphill sprint to take his first professional victory on Sunday in stage one at the Tour of Austria.
Bazzana, from Italy, said the hot, hilly circuit race around Innsbruck was dominated by his teammates, who guided him to the win over 153km.
"In the final lap the peloton all came back together, and we talked among the team to find out who was feeling strong. I felt very good all day, and so Preidler got in front of me with 5k to go and took me all the way to the front. In the final 1000m the road went uphill very sharply, and I watched some other teams try to get away with 300m in the final hairpin curve. With 50m to go I saw the last rider in front of me crack open, and I passed him with no time to take my hands off the handlebars," said Bazzana, who also took the leader's yellow jersey and the red points jersey with the stage win.
Team Type 1-Sanofi rider Georg Preidler, from Austria, hung on to finish 4th on the day, and earned the Best Austrian jersey.
Team Type 1-Sanofi General Manager Vassili Davidenko said the day was perfect for the team.
"We started off with our big man Laszlo Bodrogi in the breakaway, and that took all the pressure off our guys to chase. The temperature was hot, 36 degrees, almost 100 F, and the hills were tough. Then when the breakaway was reeled in and the peloton knew a big sprint was coming, our rider with diabetes Javier Megias went to the front and set a strong pace to keep any new breakaways from forming. In the end Bazzana showed how strong he truly is in the finale and we showed how strong we are as a team," Davidenko said.
Team Type 1-Sanofi CEO and Co-Founder Phil Southerland said victory was the best way to continue spreading a message of hope and inspiration for the diabetes community.
"We're so proud of Alessandro and this great victory at the Tour of Austria. It's so important to have Team Type 1-Sanofi at the front of the peloton during the race, and on the podium afterwards, because the diabetes community around the world sees our team and knows that the disease is manageable, and that with good control, anything is possible," Southerland said.
Based in Atlanta, Team Type 1-Sanofi has five professional cyclists with diabetes on a squad of 23 riders. More than 100 amateur athletes on six squads also run, ride, race and win for Team Type 1, showing every day that with the proper technology, a healthy diet, plenty of exercise and good control, diabetes is no obstacle to an extraordinary life.
Photos: Mario Stiehl
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