How diabetic cyclist Logan Phippen races across the world

livemint.com:

Lounge on a recent trip to Bengaluru. In the spring of 2016 in the United States, Phippen learnt after a thorough analysis that he had type 1 diabetes – a shocker considering he was all of 23 with no family history at the time (although his mother was diagnosed years later). “I felt it was time that I did something that meant a lot to me, which was going back to my childhood dream of being a cyclist," he affirms.

Now a pro cyclist with Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team, Phippen has completed races such as the Tour of Turkey, Baloise Tour of Belgium and the Tour du Limousin. Having been with the team for eight years now, he states, “In the world of racing, it’s very difficult to get an opportunity. One has to work and wait for years for something to develop.

It’s also expensive to travel and get to the races. So, when I got this opportunity, I was full of gratitude." Phippen’s day starts at around 7am with a relaxed morning, during which he likes to read. Post a breakfast of bread or porridge depending on his schedule, he starts training at 10am.

“The week is broken out into active recovery rides, high-intensity training and long sustained training," he informs. In all this, the greatest challenge, he feels, is to maintain a stable glucose level during a race for the recovery of muscles. “It’s really easy to say that there is no difference to cycle with diabetes but in actuality, there is a big difference.