On Thursday, September 29, cyclists from across the country will gather at the Interbike Trade Show for the Yoplait Nouriche Women's Cycling Summit. This is a summit to chart the direction of women's cycling and will include a presentation on 'Cycling Made Real' by one of its national leaders, with a panel discussion on adding value to sponsorships by representatives from Jelly Belly, the Nature Valley Grand Prix and Cyclingnews.com.
Past summits have identified Cycling Made Real as one of the country's most successful programmes recruiting new cyclists to women's racing. Started in 1995, the programme organises women's clinics and entry-level racing series to remove barriers and make the sport more welcoming to women. Cycling Made Real began in Maryland and has spread across the country, with programmes in New England, the mid-Atlantic states, the Southeast, Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. The impact on women's cycling has been immense, with women's fields growing by significantly wherever the programmes develop.
