Women cyclists will gather at the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival

Summit Flyer

On Tuesday, June 19, cyclists from across the country will gather at the Rasmussen College Women’s Cycling Summit, the first event of the 2007 Great River Energy Bicycle Festival. The Summits, begun in 2003, provide a forum for the discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing women’s cycling. This edition of the Summit will include the presentation of the Ryan Collegiate All Stars Team, an overview of Cycling Made Real by one of its national leaders and a panel discussion on developing major sponsorships for teams and events. The conference will be chaired by Rebecca Anderson, an advocacy project manager at Trek Bicycles.

Collegiate cycling has proven to be an ideal entry point for women athletes and is showing strong growth across the country. The Nature Valley Grand Prix will showcase women’s collegiate cycling by hosting the first-even Ryan Collegiate Women’s All Stars Team, sponsored by the Ryan Companies. This team of six elite riders from colleges across the country was selected at the USA Cycling National Collegiate Cycling Championships in May and will be presented at the Summit.

The Rasmussen College Women’s Cycling Summit’s keynote speaker will be Christina Dekraay, a national leader of Cycling Made Real. Past Summits have identified Cycling Made Real as one of the country’s most successful programs for recruiting new cyclists to women’s racing. This program, started in 1995, organizes women’s clinics and entry-level racing series to remove barriers and make the sport more welcoming to women. The impact on women’s cycling has been dramatic, with women’s fields growing by 5- to 10-fold wherever the programs spring up, including a new chapter established in Minnesota. Minnesota Cycling Made Real participants will be invited to join in a “town hall meeting” following Dekraay’s address.

The final session of the Summit features a panel discussion on how programs and events can recruit and retain corporate sponsors. Panelists Dan Stangler (Wheaties), Stephanie Scott (Jelly Belly Candy Company) and David Kutoff (Materials Processing Corporation) will offer unique insider views of the goals of corporate sponsors and how their decisions are made. Tom Schuler (Team Sports) and Michael Aisner (promoter of the fabled Coors Classic stage race), two of cycling’s most successful sponsorship hunters, will share their expertise and offer invaluable tips. The panel will field questions from the audience in an open forum.

The Rasmussen College Women’s Cycling Summit, which is free and open to the public, will be start at 6:30 PM at the Holiday Inn in Bloomington. Take the 98th St. exit from I-35W, just South of I-494.