In honour of a Champion

Three years ago, the 14th February 2004, a Big Champion left us.
His name, was Marco Pantani.

He used to get in fire our hearts on every mountains! He was simply the biggest one... Now, we like to think him cycling around the clouds, together with Coppi, Bartali, and all the others myths...

Go, go, go, great Pirate! You live again in our hearts!!!

In honour of Marco Pantani, one of the biggest cyclist of the history.
By Simone Donadello and the WADAB.

Important news!!! Championship postponed!

Hallo everyone!
I've got an important news. A lot of you have appreciated the idea of the Championship, but, due to the limited time, only a few would are able to organize the travel for April. So, unfortunately, we decided to postpone the World Championship of Diabetic Cyclist. It wouldn't be the 15th of April, that will be the 2nd Italian Championship. Of course, if you want, you can also participate as a normal cycling race, an occasion to know a lot of other Italian cyclists with diabetes.
But, take attention: this doesn't means that the WADAB is dead. On the contrary, this is the occasion to have a better organization of the competition. So, we are again waiting for national coordinators for the WADAB, that will have more time to collect cyclists and spread the news. This is important!
The World Championship for diabetics, will be probably in the same period of the next UCI World Championship on road, so around October 2008!!! We think that to the Championship will participate one team for each country, composed of a maximum of 10 cyclist each.
I think that this is a wonderful news: you have more time for the organization of the voyage, but, especially, for the training! Remember that this will be a competitive race!
I'll tell you more news as soon as possible. I also wait for more contacts for the details and information, for new adhesions, and for new National Coordinators candidatures.
Best wishes

Simone Donadello

List of National Coordinators

Here there's the list of the National Coordinators that will collect the national joins to the World Championship. You can contact the nearest one. If you want to be your country coordinator, please contact us. Also additional coordinators for each country are allowed.
The list isn't complete, it will be updated when needed.

Australia: Monique Hanley
monique@hypoactive.org

Belgium: Ria Vanderstraeten
ria.vanderstraeten@euphonynet.be

Brazil: Marcelo Bellon Ferreira
marcelo@bellon.com.br

Italy: Andrea Guerra
andreaguerra@technet.it

Spain: Sergi Vernet i Mañé
sergivernet@hotmail.com

You can be a WORLD CHAMPION!!!

Do you know that you can be a... WORLD CHAMPION??!!!
Yes, if you have diabetes mellitus, and if you like cycling, you can participate to the World Championship on road of cyclists with diabetes, that will be taken on the 15th of April in Italy!
Everyone can participate! From every country! But you have to contact your national coordinator (if available, look in the apposite list) or directly the Wadab association as soon as possible! There isn't a lot of time left!
The 1st Word Championship for Road Bikers with Diabetes will be in Manciano (Tuscany, Italy) on April 15th 2007.
To promote the event we will offer the local hospitality for 1 night (April 14th) to bikers with diabetes. WADAB will take care of awards for age categories with the 2007 world champion shirt. The race will be about 100 km along an hilly course.
Goodbye

Simone

Volunteers coordinators needed!!!!

We need as soon as possible the list of the national coordinators, so the volunteers that will spread this events in his country, and that will communicate the participants to us. I hope that a lot of you will help us. EVERYONE IS INVITED!

Please, organizating everything isn't easy, so if you are available, send us an email, ore leave a comment here, in a ordinated way, telling me these tings:

• that you can be a coordinator
• specificate the COUNTRIES that you can manage
• an EMAIL and other contacts that I can publish on this blog, so that if anyone wants to participate, he can contact his country coordinator

PLEASE, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!! It's important that you spread in your national language, so that the news can reach more people!
Your country can't lose this occasion!!!
Thank you
Goodbye

Simone

The World Championship!

Hallo everyone from WADAB!
I can give you the date of the 1st World Championship on road for diabetic cyclists! It will be on the 15th of April, in Grosseto, around the wonderful hills of the Maremma, Tuscany, in the middle of Italy.
The occasion will be the race called "Gran Fondo Massimiliano Lelli", that you can find here: http://www.maxlelli.com (I'm sorry, but it's only in Italian, I'll write here every info that you need).
The association will provide you:

• the official cycling wears
• the prizes of the Championship
• a place where you'll pass the night
  

We're sorry, but we CAN'T provide you the voyage costs. Our sponsors don't let us.
But we can give you an advice: contact some local companies that are involved in diabetes. It's easy to find a sponsor for these events! Often diagnostic companies are interested. For example Novonordisk Italy are helping us very much. If you need some contacts, or you need some ideas, contact us.
If you need something, contact us!
More news will be available soon on the blog, so visit it, and spread the news to everyone interested, and leave there every comments you want! Tell this everyone!
Goodbye

Simone

Departure of the Eurobike Tour

This is the departure of the European Bike Tour, from Italy to Holland, 1200km in 7 days, for cyclists with diabetes, on the 30th of August 2006

The new WADAB blog!

I'm very happy to launch the official WADAB blog!
This will be the way to communicate in the world the news and the activities of the WADAB!
If you are interested, or if you want to help us, link this blog on yours one (we can exchange links), and SPREAD it!!
More info will arrive soon...
Goodbye!

Simone

The WADAB is going to born! (1st email - 02/11/2006)

I publish here the first email of the WADAB sent on 02/11/2006

Hallo. I'm Simone Donadello. I'm 19 years old, form Italy, and I study physics at the university of Trento. I've been having diabetes for 2 years. I spend a lot of time in sport, triathlon, but especially cycling.
I was in the group of diabetics that in 2005 cycled for 310km in a day, and I was also in the group that in September 2006 arrived in Holland from Italy by bike, 1200km in 7 days.
Here in Italy, we've already created a Italian association of diabetic cyclists, the C&D (something like "Bike and Diabetes"). Also we organize some holidays about diabetes and bike, and the Italian Championship of Cyclists with Diabetes, together with a lot of other activities. Nowadays C&D have about 120 associated.
Now, dott. Pierpaolo De Feo and dott. Gerardo Corigliano (of ANIAD), together with some other people, talked me about a project: create an international association of cyclists with diabetes: the WADAB, so WORLD ASSOCIATION DIABETES AND BIKE.
We need somebody that wants to collaborate with this project form abroad: we already know someone, but we should have some ideas, and especially someone that can organize this project in his country. It shouldn't be hard to find some cyclist with diabetes. Perhaps a national association already exists in some country, or perhaps the local diabetics associations can publicize the thing.
It would be very beautiful, if everything would be ready for Spring 2007, so that WADAB could organize the first World Championship of cyclists with diabetes. The occasion is already ready, with a big race on road here in Italy. Some cyclist of all the world would come racing. For the next years, we can organize the race everywhere. We think that the bike is one of the best sport for diabetes, and the the "diabetic on bike" is a beautiful message to tell everyone for the diabetes's cause. The first World Championship would catch a lot of attention of media, also international TVs.
This, diabetesandbike@gmail.com is the email of the WADAB, that I'll read it as coordinator. Then I'll turn the email as needed.
So, if someone want to join or to help the association, please, write on this email. And please, forward this email to everyone that can be interested.
I hope to hear a lot of you.
Thank you.

Goodbye

Simone Donadello