VSP Blog

Kori Seehafer, Team Type 1

Guest post by Kori Seehafer on behalf of Team Type 1′s Professional Women’s Team.  

Team Type 1 Professional Women’s team headed to Sacramento on Friday, May 14 to kick-off the opening stage of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California.  This was a unique experience since it’s one of the few races in the U.S. where men and women’s Pro Tour teams meet in one place during the racing season.  It’s also a great venue for the men to fine tune their squads before their 2010 Tour de France debut.

Kori Seehafer, Morgan Patton and Jackie Crowell, Team Type 1

We arrived Friday evening and stayed at the historic Citizen Hotel located just a few blocks from Stage 1′s finish line. On Saturday, we trained on the American River Bike Trail.  Most of the Pro Tour teams were training in the same area, so we were able to ride with Tom Boonen’s Quick Step Team for the first hour of training.  Jackie Crowell managed to have the unique opportunity of shaking Tom Boonen’s hand and was ecstatic about it.  We saw a multitude of other teams such as: Lance Armstrong and his Radio Shack team, Mark Cavendish and the HTC squad, Garmin-Transitions, Bissell, and even Team Type 1′s very own Aldo Ilesic.  It was the first time we’ve been on a one-to-one basis with so many Pro Tour teams, and it was a memorable experience for us.

On Sunday, we helped kick off the inaugural Amgen Tour of California by racing a 1 hour criterion event around the State Capitol. The race was a fast, 2k rectangular course and proved difficult for individuals to escape the bunch.  With 2 laps to go, the field was all together and we were making our way to the front, when an incident occurred at the final corner that put Morgan Patton and Crowell at the back of the field.  Seehafer managed to squeak by and finished 12^th of the day.  

Morgan Patton, Team Type 1

VSP Vision Care sponsors and provides eyecare for all Team Type 1 and Team Type 2’s racing/personal needs.  Following Stage 1 of the Amgen race, we cooled down and headed over to VSP’s tent where we took photos, shook hands and even managed to do some funny videos in the mobile clinic.

Morgan Patton and Jackie Crowell show what their squinty face looks like when they forget their sunglasses…

The Professional Women’s Team Manager, Jack Seehafer, joins the fun and shows his squinty face…

After our visit with VSP, we collected our prize money and briefly stopped by the men’s Team Type 1 bus that was anxiously awaiting the arrival of their team.  We then headed back to the hotel to clean up and watch the finish of Stage 1 on Versus.  After seeing the finish, we walked down to the finish line only to witness Boonen crawl out of his team bus battered and bruised.  The finish proved to be a battlefield of crashes, yet the Team Type 1 men left the venue unscathed. 

We’re now headed home and will continue our preparations for our next venue – The Tour of Sommerville.  Hopefully we’ll see more friends there! Until then, bon voyage.

About Team Type 1 and VSP Vision Care
Team Type 1 is a group of athletes living with diabetes. The team includes professional race teams, a triathlon team and a development team. Team Type 1 strives to instill hope and inspiration for people around the world affected by diabetes. VSP® Vision Care is proud to be their exclusive eyecare and eyewear provider.