Statement from Team Type 1 Founder Phil Southerland, in regard to Willem Van den Eynde:

Willem Van Den Eynde was a valued member of Team Type 1, someone we felt had great potential as a cyclist and an advocate for diabetes awareness. And although we are disappointed to see him leave, we wish him the best of luck going forward, both as an athlete and as a person living with diabetes.

Team Type 1 was formed with the goal of changing the way people view and manage diabetes. Since 2004, we have been providing hope and inspiration to those affected by the disease through the performances of our athletes both in the United States and abroad. We remain committed to inspiring others living with diabetes to take action to improve their health and achieve their own personal goals.

Diabetes is a very difficult disease to manage, and although the members of Team Type 1 with diabetes have a lot in common, everyone’s experience with the disease is unique. As someone who has had Type 1 diabetes since a very young age, I know first-hand that it is a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week condition. One of the core beliefs of Team Type 1 is that we are not in this alone. We count on the support of not just our teammates, but also our doctors, families and friends.

There are 38 athletes on Team Type 1 who are taking control of their disease by achieving the team’s A1C challenge goal: to strive for 6.5. An A1C test measures average blood glucose levels over a two- to three-month period. Each member of this team takes responsibility for their own health and knows it is up to them to take advantage of the various resources available to our team, including access to treatment, disease management tools and our team physicians.

It is my dream that someday I will wake up and not a single person will go blind because of diabetes. The members of my team are the ambassadors of this dream, who, on a daily basis, work to help people with diabetes live better lives, through tighter blood sugar control. We will stay positive, and continue to push the limits of diabetes and sport, in hopes of one day achieving this dream.