Atlanta – Team Type 1 Australian professionals Fabio Calabria and Monique Hanley are on the road to recovery from serious injuries.

Calabria had to be admitted to a Colorado hospital Friday night with a severe infection from a saddle sore. He had already been sidelined by a broken bone in his hand sustained June 6 during a training ride crash the day before the TD Bank Philadelphia International Classic.

Hanley was seriously injured in a massive pile-up during the Tulsa Tough criterium series May 30 in Tulsa, Okla. She suffered spinous process fractures of the thoracic 3, 4 and 5 vertebrae (i.e, a broken back) as well as a separation of the Acromioclavicular joint in her right shoulder. She underwent shoulder surgery last Wednesday in Australia and was released from the hospital Saturday.

Calabria – who, like Hanley has Type 1 diabetes – said it is too early to tell how long he may be off the bike due to the infection.

“I’ve just been sitting here in the hospital watching bad movies and following Team Type 1 and Team Type 2 in the Race Across America through Twitter,” he said.

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Victoria, Australia – Team Type 1’s Matt Wilson finished fifth in Sunday’s Scody Australian Open National Road Championships, 20 seconds behind surprise winner Peter McDonald (Drapac Porsche Cycling).

McDonald, a 30-year-old bicycle mechanic, won a three-up sprint against a pair of riders from Team Columbia, Michael Rogers and Adam Hansen, who finished second and third, respectively. Rogers was looking to add the national road title to the individual time trial championship he won earlier this week, while Hansen was the silver medalist in last year’s race.

Wilson, the 2004 Australian national road champion, arrived at the finish of the 101-mile (163 km) race 11 seconds behind fourth-place finisher Cameron Meyer. Only 45 of the more than 125 starters finished the race.

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Atlanta — Team Type 1 has announced the signing of promising young Belgian all-arounder Willem Van den Eynde while re-signing Australian Fabio Calabria, who proved to be a valuable stage racer for the first-year professional team in 2008.

Both racers have Type 1 diabetes, a chronic, life-threatening disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly destroys cells that make insulin. Calabria and Van den Eynde must constantly monitor their blood sugar and food intake while using insulin that is permitted by a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said Calabria’s success in his first professional season provided the team with the confidence it can meet its stated goal to put a racer with Type 1 diabetes in the Tour de France by 2012.

“Starting the season when he was only 20, Fabio showed great maturity and discipline and played a significant role in virtually every one of our major international stage race successes,” Beamon said. “We are looking forward to his continued development, and expect to see him on the podium in 2009.”

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Traralgon, Australia – Team Type 1’s Matt Wilson and Fabio Calabria will race on their “home turf” for the first time this season when the Jayco Herald Sun Tour begins Sunday in Traralgon, Australia.

Wilson is the race’s defending champion, while Calabria is believed to be the first rider with Type 1 diabetes to compete in the event that is now in its 57th year. The two are part of Team Type 1’s six-rider squad that will line up for the seven-day, 389-mile (627.5 km) international stage race.

Team Type 1 will start with one less rider than the other 13 teams after Chris Jones was unable to make the trip. Jones has been sick since helping Glen Chadwick win the Vuelta Mexico last month.

While Wilson will wear bib number 1 as the defending champion, Chadwick might ultimately wind up as Team Type 1’s leader. That’s because Wilson has been slowed by a knee injury that has limited his training.

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There’s a new professional continental team in the pro cycling peloton this year. But this team is different, it has a message. Team Type 1 was created by Type 1 diabetes racers Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge to inspire people living with diabetes to take a proactive approach to managing their health and overcoming the obstacles often associated with the condition. The 15-rider professional roster includes four riders with Type 1 diabetes.

Phil Southerland starts the Redlands TT; photo c. Lyne Lamoureux

The team is serious about the racing, and big guns were recruited, General Manager Tom Schuler and Directeur Sportif Ed Beamon, two of the most established names in domestic cycling, having previously directed the longtime Saturn and Navigators Insurance teams, respectively.

Team Type 1 finished third in the team classification at the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T, second on team classification at the Tour of Langkawi in February and in March, Shawn Milne finished second overall at the Tour de Taiwan.

It all started with a bet. During the college days, Southerland noticed that his friend Eldridge was not taking care of his diabetes and started placing bets on whomever had higher blood sugar paid for dinner.

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