TEAM TYPE 1 RACE WITH THE PROS THIS WEEKEND

Local race draws world's top cyclists
By: Matt Hunter
This summer, all eyes will be on Paris as the world's top cyclists gather for the Tour de France. This weekend, many of those same riders hit the road in the North Country. Our North Country Reporter Matt Hunter has more.


CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. -- It's 124 miles that blends sprints with gut wrenching climbs.

In all, 162 of the world's top cyclists, including disqualified Tour de France Champion Floyd Landis and 2008 U.S. Olympian Bobby Lea, grind it out with some of the best amateurs at the 2010 Tour of the Battenkill.

"Look at the start list, there's guy from all over the globe," said Cory Burns, an amateur cyclist from Watertown, NY. "There are guys from Australia are here, guys from Great Britain are here."

"That's why the crowds come," race director Dieter Drake said. "That's why they come and spend some money and that's an exciting thing to be able to do that in a town like Cambridge, New York."

In its seventh year, this is the first time the event has appeared on the pro international calendar.

Among the riders, four members of Team Type 1; all of whom battle diabetes in addition to the tough terrain.

"It means a lot [to compete]," team member Martijn Verschoor. "A lot of people are proud and we are also, because it's very difficult to manage it."

Sunday's event caps off back to back weekends of racing. Throughout the week, riders of every level share the course together, touring a diverse Washington County countryside.

"To a lot of the guys, like myself, this is our Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders all in one day," Burns said. "Because most of us are never going to see those roads in Europe and race with those guys, this is our weekend to see what we have."

For at least one team, it's not so much about proving something to themselves, but to the rest of the world.

"We have to control it [diabetes] and we want to show the world the world you can cycle with diabetes at a high level," Verschoor said. "We want to inspire people and help people. That's a good job."