'Diabetes was the best thing that happened to me'

A cyclist from the Isle of Man said his diabetes diagnosis as a child shaped his future as a professional on an all-diabetic team.

Sam Brand, from Peel, joined Team Novo Nordisk as a triathlete in 2015, moving to cycling in 2016 and signing pro in 2018.

The 34-year-old has competed in various competitions around the world, including twice at the Commonwealth Games.

He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged 10, and said that was "the day that my life began". He said: "It gave me routine, it gave me a team, it gave me a family, it gave me purpose".

Brand said he was diagnosed on 14 November 2001 - World Diabetes Day - and said he remembered it "so clearly".

He said the autoimmune condition still holds a level of stigma, which was something the team want to try and resolve.

He said: "I have the initiative of the team... and for me it's all about quashing that stigma."

Part of competing in events around the world includes speaking at outreach events, and to children and parents about the team's aims, he explained.

There are 400 million people worldwide with diabetes and four million in the UK.

Team Novo Nordisk aims to inspire and educate people around the world about the disease.

Riding with the unique team was special to Brand, who said: "Having diabetes and having someone who has your back in a race, a teammate who understands that, that's incredible.

"That's a phenomenal sort of feeling, to know that everybody's going through the same thing that you're going through."

Brand said he was proud to represent not just the diabetic community as a cyclist, but also the Isle of Man.

While riding with the team takes him all over the world, he said he would never live anywhere else.

He said: "I love the world, it's a big place, but this is my home.

"It's got everything I need here, it's got everything I want."

The Manx landscape was also ideal for a cyclist, he explained.

"It's exposed, we've got wind, we've got rain, we've got hills, we've got the terrain that suits cyclists," he said.

Often when people are first diagnosed with diabetes, they are "told what they can't do", Brand explained.

He wants people who have been diagnosed with the condition, as well as doctors, "to understand that actually diabetes isn't the limiting factor".

"By showing what we do at the highest level of professional cycling, I want other people to realise that they can still achieve," he said.

Sharing that message on a wider scale with the Novo Nordisk team "means the world to me", Brand added.

And while he admitted living with the condition isn't easy, he said "diabetes is the best thing that's ever happened to me".

"It's shaped who I am and it's become an integral part of who I am," he added.

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