The OmniPod(R) Insulin Management System Lets Cyclists Focus on Winning in Record Setting Time

ANNAPOLIS, Md., June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, Team Type 1 concluded the 28th Annual Race Across America in record-breaking time, finishing first-place in the 8-person team category division. In this 3,000 mile transcontinental cycling competition beginning in Oceanside, CA and ending in Annapolis, MD, Team Type 1 members were put to the ultimate athletic test enduring extreme desert temperatures, wind, the threat of thunderstorms, and rough terrain, all while having to constantly manage their diabetes.

'We are so proud that our team was able to break another Race Across America record and finish in first place,' said Joe Eldridge, co-founder of Team Type 1. 'Our team's mission is to show people with diabetes that they can accomplish anything if they work hard to control their disease. We hope our team's performance inspires other people to manage their diabetes so they can achieve their own goals.'

Team Type 1 was created in 2004 by Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge, a pair of avid cyclists with Type 1 diabetes. In 2006 and 2007, the pair captained Team Type 1 to back-to-back victories in the eight-person team division of the Race Across America (RAAM).

In this year's race, six of the eight team members were able to compete vigorously and control their glucose levels with the OmniPod(R) Insulin Management System: Jeff Bannink, Beaverton, Ore.; Alex Bowden, St. Charles, Mo.; Matt Brooks, Pickerington, Ohio; Lonny Knabe, Portland, Ore.; Bob Schrank, Gurnee, Ill.; Mark Suprenant, Milford, N.H.

'The revolutionary technology of the OmniPod let us focus on competing,' commented Mark Suprenant, one of the winning TT1 RAAM cyclists.