Local patients of type 1 diabetes cheered for Team Novo Nordisk in Taipei on Sunday, during the first leg of the Tour de Taiwan.
Team Novo Nordisk is made up of cyclists, triathletes and runners all with diabetes and spearheaded by the world's first all-diabetes professional cycling team. Its mission is to inspire, educate and empower people affected by diabetes. This is the second time the team has taken part in the five-day Tour de Taiwan race.
Dozens of type 1 diabetes suffers from Taiwan cheered for the team. Sufferers of type 1 diabetes are mostly children and teenagers. In 2009, Taiwan had more than 8,000 type 1 diabetes patients.
In the Tour de Taiwan, 188 riders from 32 countries on 23 teams cover a distance of 583.5km, riding south from Taipei to Taoyuan, Changhua, Nantou, and Tainan, finishing at Dapeng Bay in the southernmost county of Pingtung.
The Tour de Taiwan is a five-day Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) class 2.1 race, which means it is open to national and UCI professional continental teams.