CEO and Founder Phil Southerland has announced on the eve of the Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Championship weekend that Team Type 1 will register as a UCI Continental team for the 2010 season.
“Thanks to our great sponsors and partners, we now have a clearer picture of our long-term program,” Southerland said. “We head into next season with the intention of going after Pro Continental status in 2011.”
In 2009, Team Type 1 was one of 13 Continental teams licensed through USA Cycling and the International Cycling Union (UCI). Only one U.S.-based squad was registered as a Pro Continental team.
The Team Type 1 men’s professional team, which was founded in 2008 following a pair of amateur victories at the Race Across America (RAAM) in 2006 and 2007, has achieved 98 victories and 215 podium finishes. Co-founder Joe Eldridge and Southerland are two of four riders on the squad who have Type 1 diabetes.
Earlier this week, Team Type 1 announced it will bring its management services in-house for the 2010 season, separating from Wauwatosa, Wis.-based Team Sports, Inc. The team’s new headquarters and service course will be based in Atlanta.
Southerland said uncertainty over the future of a newly enforced rule prohibiting ProTour and Pro Continental teams from participating in non-UCI sanctioned events made the decision to retain Continental status an easier one.
“This is the best move for our organization,” he said. “We are still fully committed to getting a rider who has Type 1 diabetes to the Tour de France by 2012. With great management and staff, we will be able to run a Pro Continental-type team without the significant financial investment that goes with competing on the next level.”
