With Colorado’s famed history with the sport of mountain biking, it is only fitting for the first ever women’s only mountain bike event to launch on the state’s legendary turf. In 1990, Durango hosted the first ever UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and two Coloradoans, Ned Overend and Juli Furtado, were crowned World Champions. Crested Butte is home of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum and the Leadville 100 attracts some of the most renown racers from all over the world to compete in one of the toughest mountain bike races in the U.S.

Now on June 12, 2010 the Beti Bike Bash will add to the history with its debut as the first ever women’s only mountain bike event at Lakewood’s Bear Creek Lake Park, 15 miles west of Denver, Colo.

Team Yeti Beti will play host to this event with presenting sponsors Yeti Cycles and Bigfoot Productions of Golden, Colo. The event will offer women several exciting and fun races for all ages and abilities. The course at Bear Creek Lake Park is a five mile, non-technical singletrack loop with views of surrounding Red Rocks Park. Beginners (CAT 3) will ride two laps, with the sport (CAT 2) riders racing three laps, and the Open/Pro race featuring four fast laps. There will also be a three-woman relay fun race for those who want to experience the camaraderie of a mountain bike race with their friends.

The Beti Bike Bash is being supported by many of the Yeti Beti’s team sponsors. Yeti Cycles was the first to commit their support and help launch the idea. “Chris Conroy, the president of Yeti, pretty much told us to make it happen. We’ve wanted to do this since we started the team in 2007 but didn’t have the resources to do it until now”, says Amy Thomas of Team Yeti Beti. “The Beti Bike Bash is something that the team supports 100 percent as a way of giving back to our sport.”

Citing other successful women’s only events in triathlon and running, it seemed logical to the team to host such an event. “Mountain bike races are intimidating for beginner women for several reasons,” said Sarah Rawley, Bigfoot Productions public relations. “Steep climbs, rocky descents, high altitude, and often you are gone all day from your family. We wanted to break down those barriers and offer something that any woman who rides would enjoy. With Bear Creek’s close proximity to Denver and great trail system, it was a perfect venue for an event like this.”

For more information, visit www.betibikebash.com. Online registration will be available in February at www.active.com.

Bigfoot Productions was established in 2006 in conjunction with Yeti Cycles to promote bike industry involvement in racing and expand and improve mountain bike racing in the Rocky Mountains. For further inquiries please contact srawley@yeticycles.com.