24cdssp1.jpg *temp*

Boulder has long been renowned for it's value as a cycling town. The altitude is great for training, the trails and roads are tailor made for top-flight riding and the community as a whole welcomes all on two wheels.

It is for those reasons exactly that the Boulder cycling community just adopted a few new members. Fabio Calabria and Tim Hargrave are two members of the Team Type 1 professional race team and the pair just moved to Boulder a few weeks ago in time for cycling season.

Currently, Calabria, 21, is racing for Team Type 1 in the Tour de Georgia that is going on this week. Hargrave, 23, will make his Team Type 1 debut on April 25 at the 29th Annual Athens Twilight Criterium.

The pair of riders have come along way not just to be in Boulder, but to be able to race competitively, period.

Calabria, from Australia, and Hargrave, from New Zealand, both came to the United States in February for the chance to race with Team Type 1. For these two young men, it was a chance to not only race professionally but to race for a cause that has affected them both in their lives as both Calabria and Hargrave are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

"Obviously cycling and racing are something that I really love to do," said Calabria. "To be able to do something that I enjoy doing and at the same time spread a really important message about diabetes care and show people what's possible with proper management of the condition, I think it's really lucky for me to be able to do that."

Calabria was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 13 and Hargrave when he was just 6. Each came to cycling as a way to continue to lead an active life while dealing with their disease. They made the choice to not lead a life of caution and fear, but to lead a managed life so that opportunities such as this could not pass them by.

With that attitude in mind, it is easy to understand that when they got the call to race for TT1, it was something they simply could not pass up.

"Usually in the past I have just gone out and raced, but now racing with the idea that you are encouraging people to take care of themselves and promote a healthy lifestyle for diabetics, it gives a bit more meaning to it," said Hargrave. "To race not just for yourself, but for the millions of people around the world with diabetes is pretty special."

Team Type 1 was founded in 2004 by Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge, two racers who also have Type 1 diabetes. Hargrave and Calabria each joined the team within this past year and have enjoyed their training time in Boulder.

"That's why we came here(to train). The altitude is obviously good for training and it's just so easy to ride around here," said Hargrave. "It's easy to find people to ride with, easy to find people to train with and there is pretty good competition. You turn up to a local race here and there are a lot of good riders."

Calabria also said that since they have been training in Boulder, Team Type 1 has gotten a lot more recognition. People are noticing their jerseys and their mission of spreading the word about how to live with diabetes seems to be catching on.

For these two, a typical race day is much like that for any other cyclist, except that they are constantly monitoring their blood-sugar levels. Every 15 minutes or so in the hour and half before the start of a race, Calabria and Hargrave have to check their levels and sometimes have to use food or insulin to adjust because of the importance of being at correct levels once a race begins.

However, other than that they are just like everybody else and that is a message that Team Type 1 wants to send to people who are suffering from the disease and do not know how to live actively with it.

"I think for me, it's really important, especially for young children that are diagnosed and their families, it's important to spread the word that we have good technology now. Good insulin, fast-acting insulin," said Calabria. "It's important for small children's parents to know they don't need to put limitations on their families and their children. If they put in a little extra work and get everything under control, they can do whatever they want to do and they can do it as good as anyone else."

The pair plan on staying in Boulder until about September, and then they will each go home for the winter. But they plan on returning to Boulder next year to continue to spread the word about living a healthy and happy life with diabetes.

For more information on Team Type 1 and how you can help, be sure to visit www.teamtype1.org. As of the close of Stage 3 on Wednesday, Calabria was in 28th place overall and TT1 was in 12 place in the team standings. Follow his progress at www.tourdegeorgia.com and check in with Tim Hargrave as he blogs regularly at timothytt1.blogspot.com.

Contact Eliot Dempsey about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 112 or sports@coloradodaily.com