August 7, 2006 (Minneapolis, MN) – The Great River Energy Bicycle Festival was the site of the seventh Yoplait Nouriche Women’s Cycling Summit. 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

About the Yoplait Nouriche Women’s Cycling Summits

The Yoplait Nouriche Summits began at the 2003 Great River Energy Bicycle Festival with the mission of building women’s cycling through networking and education. The Summits take place twice annually: at the Festival in June and at the Interbike trade show in September.