It’s 11 a.m. on a hazy California Sunday, and the team is getting ready for the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix. The old blue Volvo they’re sitting in is a far cry from the fancy buses and fleets of team cars that follow bicycle racers in the Tour de France. Still, Manhattan Beach, a small town just south of Los Angeles, hosts one of the biggest races on the West Coast, and the four guys set to start—two Americans, a Slovenian, and an Australian—are in serious prep mode.

As the team’s mechanic pumps tires and adjusts brakes, the racers test their radios and pull on jerseys emblazoned with sponsor brands. The rituals are familiar. These guys compete dozens of times every year across the country and around the world. Today’s race isn’t particularly long, but preparing carefully is a way to quiet any jangly nerves.

Team cofounder Joe Eldridge has one extra ritual, something that’s as much a part of his race day as pulling on his socks. Sitting in the passenger seat, Eldridge pulls out a black neoprene case and begins a series of blood glucose checks, 15 minutes apart. “I just need to make sure it’s stable and trending up, not going down. A little bit high is OK. I just don’t want a low,” he says. “With 150 guys out there going 30 miles an hour, there won’t be time to check.”

Eldridge, 27, has type 1 diabetes. He is also a professional bike racer, and he is devoted to showing the world that there is no conflict between the two. He and his friend Phil Southerland started this team—Team Type 1—in 2005, and they want to see the riders invited to race at the Tour de France one day soon. “Five or 10 years ago, doctors were telling people [with diabetes], ‘You can’t compete in sporting events,’ ” says Southerland, also 27. “We want to show people that with good control, diabetes isn’t your crutch—it’s your strength.”