The next Yoplait Nouriche Women’s Cycling Summit will be held on June 13 as part of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival. Topics on the agenda include gaining recognition for women in male-dominated sports and entry level programming for women.
Keynote speaker will be NASCAR driver Kari Miller. Miller will discuss the challenges she faces in a male-dominated sport. Racing against men, she has scored wins in the Bomber and Short Track division and now races in the Late Model Division. Miller will be driving the pace car at the Nature Valley Grand Prix’s Minneapolis Downtown Classic and Stillater Criterium later in the week.
The subject will then turn to parallel challenges faced by women in cycling, with a lead-off talk by former US National Champion and 2002 Nature Valley Grand Prix Champion Laura Van Gilder. Miller will then join Van Gilder for a panel discussion including Jim Williams, manager of Colavita Cooking Light, the top ranked women’s team in North America.
The second session of the summit will focus on grassroots programming for women. Leadoff speaker will be Susy Pryde, former professional racer who now coaches the New Zealand national women’s development team. The subsequent panel discussion will include Pryde, Midwest Cycling Made Real’s Paula Plant, Bethany Collins, manager of the Colorado-based Rio Grande/Sports Garage team and USA Cycling Level II Coach Fiona Lockhart.
The summit will be held at 6:30pm on June 13 at the Kelly Inn in Saint Paul, and is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.WomenCyclists.com or email Summits@WomenCyclists.com
