Team Type 1’s Matt Wilson is filing a daily diary for 10-Speed to give readers a behind-the-scenes account of this year’s Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T. In his first entry, the former Australian national road race champion sets the stage for the 600-mile, seven-day event.

This is my first Tour de Georgia and actually my first stage race in the United States. I come from a background of racing mostly in Europe, so it will be interesting to see how it’s different here.

I’ve raced in some pretty big races – like the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and pretty much all the classics. This race is actually quite similar to those. It’s got the same sort of feel: a lot of good press coverage and a lot of big teams are here.

I’m coming into this race less than 100 percent, having broken my right wrist in a training ride accident back in March. I only had it operated on two-and-a-half weeks ago, so with only a couple weeks of training under my belt, it will be a daunting prospect. But I’ve been there before. It’s just a matter of looking after yourself and really hiding in the bunch early on and getting through each stage in one piece. I’m hopeful that this race will improve my form for the rest of the year and that maybe I can help one of my teammates get a good result.

This year’s race is seven days long, with several flat stages in the beginning and the mountainous ones toward the end. Early on, we’ll be trying to get in some breakaways. Hopefully, the sprinter’s teams will mess it up and give us the opportunity to win a stage. The first part of the race will suite us better than the last half so we’ll concentrate on that.

Team Type 1 is a little different from your average professional cycling team. We have four riders among our 15 who have Type 1 diabetes. One of those four, Fabio Calabria, is a 20-year-old Aussie who is on our roster for this race. Fabio will be checking his blood sugar up to 15 or 20 times a day to make sure it stays within his safe levels. It’s hard enough being a pro cyclist without having to manage a condition that can be life-threatening. But he does it – and it’s an inspiration to the rest of us.

I hope as the race goes on, I can provide you with some insight into what’s happening each day and what’s involved in competing in a top stage race in the United States.

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