FINIKE, Turkey, April 29 – Team Type 1 – sanofi-aventis rider Aleksandr Efimkin rode in to the leader’s jersey on the sixth stage of the Tour of Turkey on Friday with a little help from his friends.

Along the scenic Aegean Sea coast from Fethiye to Finike, Efimkin moved from third overall on the General Classification to first as teammates Rubens Bertogliati and Laszlo Bodrogi worked at the front of a sizable and strong bunch to drop the two race leaders and jump to the top step of the podium.

Efimkin, from Russia, finished second in a close sprint on Thursday, and said he spent the night tossing and turning, pondering a missed chance at a stage victory.

“I was having trouble sleeping all night because I lost yesterday. I would nod off, then jolt awake and think – ‘Damn, I lost.’ When I woke up this morning – well..I still lost yesterday. But I was ready to go fore stage six,” Efimkin said.

Team Type 1 – sanofi – aventis had Bodrogi away in a small escape to take any KOM points available and defend Efimkin’s lead in the mountains classification, and on the second KOM of the day the race leaders Thomas Peterson of Garmin – Cervelo and Cameron Wurf of Liquigas – Cannondale struggled with the pace and the incline, and a small gap opened up.

Bertogliati went to the front on the climb and started driving the race forward to increase the gap.

“We knew that there was a good mix of riders in the group, and the two leaders only had one teammate each to help them. It was riding a bloc for the last 40k, but in the end the work was worth the effort,” Bertogliati said.

Efimkin said the move to first on overall classification, with a 1:13 advantage over second place, was all due to his Team Type 1 – sanofi-aventis teammates.

“We got to the climbs and the first two guys on GC fell off the pace, they couldn’t hold the speed. There were some attacks at the front to split the group up further, but it in the end it was Rubens Bertogliati and Laszlo Bodrogi leading the pack and drilling it for the line. The team is so strong, and I’ll sleep well tonight,” Efimkin said.

Team Type 1 – sanofi-aventis General Manager Vassili Davidenko said teamwork and an advantageous combination of riders in the front group made for a decisive move to drop Peterson and Wurf.

“Laszlo was up in the break, and Aleks was looking at the two guys ahead of him on GC to see if they could hold on the climb. Rubens was there and as soon as they saw that they couldn’t hold the pace, it was mano a mano. Plus FDJ and Astana had an interest in making a podium switch. All respects are due to the Garmin and Liquigas guys for riding as hard as they did and keeping the gap in check for as long as they did against 12 guys from three teams. This was a beautiful stage with a terrific view on an epic sea coast, and in the end we came out on top – you couldn’t ask for more,” Davidenko said.

Team Type 1 – sanofi-aventis rider Martijn Verschoor, who has type 1 diabetes and must monitor his blood glucose level continuously and periodically take insulin to manage and control the disease, said he was happy to help his teammate into the overall leader’s Turquoise jersey.

“My BG was perfect all day. Started at 140 and it stayed level. I am happy that I got through the two hard mountain stages and could ride today in the pack. With perfect control I can race at this level and improve, and there’s nothing better than that,” Verschoor said.

Team Type 1 – sanofi-aventis founder and CEO Phil Southerland congratulated Efimkin and the entire squad from an endocrinology conference in Athens, Greece.

“There’s nothing like watching a beautiful bike race on TV and seeing your favorite team race hard and take the lead. And when the conference started and I got up in front of 300 key leaders in the global diabetes medical community and told them we took the jersey in the Tour of Turkey today, they stood up and cheered and saw what we can do to spread the Team Type 1 message of hope for people with diabetes,” Southerland said.

Based in Atlanta, GA, Team Type 1 – sanofi-aventis competes around the world with an international squad of athletes to raise diabetes awareness and demonstrate that the disease does not prevent individuals from living their lives.

Six of the professionals on the men’s team have type 1 diabetes, and 14 are non-diabetics. Team Type 1 also runs a women’s professional team, a triathlon team, an elite amateur squad, a development team for T1 diabetics under 25, a BMX team and a Type 2 team.