“If it got really low, I’d probably go into a coma,” says Hamish Armitt in a matter-of-fact tone. The 22-year-old is talking about hypoglycaemia, when blood sugar falls too low, and the medical emergency that can result. It’s something few professional cyclists will ever have to worry about. But Armitt has type 1 diabetes, diagnosed when he was 15, and has to pay strict attention to his blood glucose. “If it goes high, that’s not good either,” he says, “but going low is the big thing you want to avoid.”
Over the past seven years, Armitt has come to terms with the reality of life with diabetes. Among the 370,000 type 1 diabetics in the UK, there are few professional athletes, but Armitt – upon signing for US UCI ProTeam Novo Nordisk this year – proudly joined that list. The Glaswegian’s rise to cycling’s elite ranks has been fast and unconventional, coming on the back of a highly promising fledgling career as a runner. It was not diabetes that derailed his running, Armitt stresses, but something even more difficult to overcome: a body goal that became an eating disorder.
