Salt Lake City – Two members of the Team Type 1 men’s professional cycling team will speak to students at West Ridge Academy in West Jordan, Utah, Monday about the challenges of competing in their sport, the important of practicing bicycle safety and how their unique squad is inspiring people around the world.

Darren Lill, who lives in Salt Lake City, will be joined by teammate Chris Jones for the presentation Monday at 9 a.m. Their appearance is in conjunction with Team Type 1’s participation in next week’s Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah bicycle race.

West Ridge Academy offers hope and healing to young men and women and their families by providing quality clinical services, education, and experiences that promote spiritual awareness, personal accountability and change of heart. It is located about a half hour’s drive south of Salt Lake City.

Jones and Lill will talk about their careers as professional cyclists, the importance of safe cycling and what it is like to be teammates of athletes who have Type 1 diabetes. People with Type 1 diabetes have too much sugar in their bloodstream because their bodies don’t produce insulin. Four of the 16 riders on the men’s professional team have Type 1 diabetes.

“Our students look forward to the success stories of these professional athletes who through hard work, perseverance and trials have been able to accomplish great personal victories,” said Ken Allen, Executive Director of West Ridge Academy.

Lill and Jones will also show off their Orbea bicycles and explain how they differ from standard, non-racing bicycles.

Team Type 1 is the world’s only professional cycling team with a roster of riders who have Type 1 diabetes. Co-founders Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge, who have Type 1 diabetes, founded the team in 2004 and captained Team Type 1 to back-to-back victories in the eight-person team division of the Race Across America (RAAM).

In 2008, the team grew to include a 15-rider professional continental team that included four riders with Type 1 diabetes. This year, Team Type 1 expanded to include a triathlon team, a developmental squad, a women’s professional squad and a second team for RAAM: Team Type 2. The athletes with diabetes in these programs strive to instill hope and inspiration for people around the world affected by the disease. The team encourages control of diabetes through diet, exercise and the use of the best treatment and technology available today.