Yoplait Nouriche Women's Summit proceedings released

The Nature Valley Grand Prix, part of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival, was the site of the seventh Yoplait Nouriche Women's Cycling Summit in June. Topics on the agenda included gaining recognition for women in male-dominated sports and entry level programming for women.

The keynote speaker was NASCAR driver Kari Miller. Miller discussed the challenges that she faces in a sport that has historically been the exclusive domain of men. She was then joined by Laura Van Gilder (TEAm Lipton) and Jim Williams (Colavita / Cooking Light), who discussed parallel challenges faced by women in cycling.

The second session of the Yoplait Nouriche Summit focused on grassroots programming for women. The leadoff speaker was Susy Pryde, the former professional racer who now coaches the New Zealand national women's development team sponsored by Jazz Apple. The panel discussion that followed included 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.

Proceedings from the Summit can be found at www.WomenCyclists.com.