2009 Women’s Prestige Cycling Series Welcomes Two New Events

Minneapolis, MN - Organizers of the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series have announced the 2009 schedule, the 6th season for this women-only calendar. New to the Series in 2009 are the Joe Martin Stage Race and the Cascade Cycling Classic.

• March 26-29 - Redlands Bicycle Classic
• May 7-10 – Joe Martin Stage Race
• June 10-14 - Nature Valley Grand Prix
• July 22-26 – Cascade Cycling Classic

“This is great news for women's cycling”, said Lisa Hunt of the ValueAct Capital team. “It gives women the recognition and rewards that they deserve. On behalf of our entire team, I want to thank the promoters of these races. We're looking forward to a tremendously successful series!”

Jeff Corbett, the new director of Team TIBCO, echoed those sentiments: "Everyone on Team TIBCO is happy to see the Women's Prestige Series expand, especially adding a race like Joe Martin to the schedule. Its further evidence that women's cycling is growing even more popular here in the U.S. and that the quality of the competition continues to improve. We're very excited to be a part of the Series, and hopefully we can contribute to its ongoing success."

Women’s Prestige Cycling Series director David LaPorte of the Nature Valley Grand Prix said “The Cascade Cycling Classic, which is a new addition to the Series, will make an excellent Grand Finale. It’s an epic stage race with challenging mountain climbs that will really sort out the final standings. And, coming right before the USA Cycling National Championships held in the same location, all the top teams can be expected to attend.”

The Series includes four competitions: individual, best young rider, sprinter and teams. The leaders in the first three classifications can be identified by leader’s jerseys provided by Series sponsor Champion Systems.

In 2008, the recently defunct Aaron's Women's Professional Cycling team swept the competitions with Kat Carroll (currently with Team TIBCO) taking the individual and sprinter’s jerseys, her teammate Alison Testroete (currently with British Columbia based Total Restoration) taking the Best Young Rider’s jersey and Aaron’s Women's Professional Cycling claiming the team award.

The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, which began in 2004, promotes women’s racing by giving them a spotlight that they don’t have to share with the men. The Series, an outcome of a Women’s Cycling Summits held before the Nature Valley Grand Prix, highlights the events that have made the major commitment to women’s racing.

Visit http://www.WomenCyclists.com for more information or contact the Series organizers by sending email to wpcs2009@womencyclists.com.