Women have been riding and competing in motocross for every bit as long as men, ever since the wide, first-turn sweeper, narrowed to thin the pack and the Coliseum turnstile jump upped the excitement ante. Yet, it wasn’t until 2009 that the newly branded Women’s Motocross (WMX) Championship delivered the sort of popularity, legitimacy and acceptance that the sport deserved. Last month, less than two years later, the bar was raised once more when Vicki Golden went toe-to-toe with the men in the AMA Arenacross Lites Class in Denver, Colorado.

“I have been racing the WMX Pro Nationals since 2009,” said the Temecula, California resident. “I also did the ESPN X Games last year. But the Denver Arenacross in January was my first time racing in an AMA Pro class (the men’s). Being the first girl wasn’t really why I decided to race, but it was definitely a bonus! I do get a lot of publicity, which is helpful to me, my sponsors and women’s racing as a whole, but I really just wanted to be able to race year round. The WMX Nationals run May through September. I also love the more technical side of Arenacross.”

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