SALT LAKE CITY, Aug 13 – Team Type 1 – SANOFI riders Javier Megias and Rubens Bertogliati escaped into a large breakaway in stage four of the Tour of Utah on Saturday, riding through tough, hot conditions against a strong field to take their place at the finish atop the winner’s podium.

At the end of three hours of racing around an 11km loop that began and ended next to the Utah state capitol building high atop the city, in temperatures that peaked at 40 C, Javier finished second in a leg-busting, lung-searing uphill sprint, with Rubens in third, just two seconds behind.

For their achievement, both riders won a pair of all mountain Dynastar skis.

Colombian Javier Acevedo won the stage ahead of Megias by a two-second margin, relying on strong form and able teamwork to attack their dwindling 25-man breakaway at the end of 130km of racing with a key move up steep, shady, fan-lined State Street.

“He was stronger than me, that’s for sure. But I followed Acevedo from about 500m to go, and just felt myself slipping back. I knew I had good form, because I have been training hard at altitude and in the heat back home in Madrid. Today was the first day I felt really, really good in Utah,” Megias said.

Megias, who has type 1 diabetes and must monitor his blood glucose continuously and periodically take insulin to manage the disease, said Friday was his first good night of sleep since flying from Spain.

“I slept eight hours in a row, got up to check my blood sugar, ate a bar, and went back to bed for another two hours,” Megias said.

“My BG was low, around 54 when I woke up, and after eating and sleeping in some more, it was 121. At the race start I went up to around 280 for the first lap, because of nerves and heat, and then came down to around 220-210 the rest of the race. It was three hours, so I didn’t really need to eat, but I probably drank between 10 and 15 bottles of water because of the heat,” Megias said.

Bertogliati, who does not have type 1 diabetes, said he worked hard to get into and start the breakaway, but saved some energy for the sprint.

“It was a hot, hard stage today, and we watched a very strong Colombian team attack in the final kilometer. In the end I sprinted well but Javi was stronger and he really showed what a great rider he is,” Bertogliati said.

Team Type 1 – SANOFI rider Fabio Calabria, who also has type 1 diabetes, said he found the stage hard to ride as he felt the effects of a crash he suffered at a race in July.

“This kind of hill today you are gripping the handlebars and fighting your bike and your body to get up the road. When the race switched on I felt pain in my ribs when I sat down, when I stood up, when I turned my head. It was a hot, hard day and tomorrow looks like it will be even harder,” Calabria said.

Calabria said his BG before breakfast was around 100, and rose to around 200 at the start.

Based in Atlanta, Team Type 1 – SANOFI is the men’s professional squad of Team Type 1, an organization of more than 120 athletes, professional and amateur, cyclists, runners and triathletes, competing and winning around the world to show that with good control, a life with diabetes can be extraordinary.

Five of the 22 cyclists on the men’s professional team have type 1 diabetes, an immune disorder where the pancreas stops producing the natural hormone insulin.

You can follow Team Type 1 – SANOFI at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah on our website

www.teamtype1.org

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Black Hodes/VeloImages