CORTEZ, Colo. (BRAIN) — Decades after retiring from professional road cycling, Inga Thompson is returning to the sport to work on women's advocacy and other projects. She will be represented by Mission Sports Group, a Colorado firm that recently announced it was representing retired mountain biker Ruthie Matthes.
"When I was racing I always wanted an advocate just for the women, whatever scope that was. I never felt like we had somebody," Thompson said. "Twenty-five years later, there's a really good movement going by two groups in Tucson, Arizona. Mission Sports Group is continuing to do its part to promote the women in our sport.
"I see the women in cycling coming together and thought I could help be one of the people that creates that tipping point. I'm sure there are others who have been out of the loop, but who want to be involved in promoting women in the sport. There are a lot of people starting to rally around the women and I want to be a part of that movement. We need to keep this forward momentum and not let it stall out."
Thompson made the 1984 Olympic team after only three months of road racing. She retired in 1993 as a 10-time national champion, three-time Olympian and a two-time podium finisher at Tour Cycliste Féminine (Women's Tour de France). She was runner up at the World Championships three times. Following her retirement, she returned to her family's 160-acre horse-powered cattle ranch in Oregon where she still lives to this day. The ranch raises beef and Friesian horses and is run solely by Thompson and her son, Tyler.
