Vicki Golden to make Supercross Debut (2024)

On Saturday, 22-year-old Vicki Golden will race to become the first woman to make the final of a Monster Energy Supercross, lining up in the start gate elbow to elbow with some of the best men in the sport.

Despite that fact, there's a good chance you've never heard Golden's name. Maybe you read somewhere that another woman is going to attempt to compete against the men of her sport, a la Michelle Wie or Danica Patrick, and you shrugged your shoulders or rolled your eyes and moved on to the next story. But what Golden is attempting should give you pause. Because if she accomplishes her goal at one of the eight stops of the 250SX East regional series and makes the top 44 (earning a spot in the televised night show) or the top 22 (earning a spot in the final), neither of which has been accomplished by a woman, her presence in the series is significant. Or even if she simply holds her own.

This is not King-Riggs. It's not Golden competing in the previously all-male Best Whip contest at the X Games, which she did last year. And it's not Wie taking on the best men in the PGA at Reno-Tahoe. If, say, Bubba Watson had been three holes down to Wie at the 17th, he couldn't beeline his cart for her knees at 60 mph as she drew back to take her tee shot, knock her out of the tee box and ensure he finished ahead of the only woman in the field.

But that can happen in supercross.

It can also happen in auto racing, but rides don't get any more open-wheel than a dirt bike. There is no roll cage, no carbon fiber co*ckpit. The sport of supercross is dangerous and machismo and as physically demanding as arguably any sport in the world. It's intimate and personal, and when the gate drops, the first 50 meters are chaotic, perilous and exhilarating to watch. The tracks are big and technical, and all of that is what attracts racers, both men and women, to the sport.

It's what attracted Golden away from the outdoor series and into arenacross and supercoss, neither of which have complementary women's series in the U.S. If there were, she would be racing there. Golden isn't competing in the men's series because she believes she's too good to race against women. She just wants to push herself on the best tracks in the best series against top racers, and right now, to do that, she must race the men. And that comes with additional pressure and higher consequence.

"No matter what place I'm in, whether it's a qualifying spot or not, the guy behind me doesn't want to get beat by a girl, so he'll do whatever it takes to get around me," Golden said.

But while her detractors see her sex as a handicap -- "I'll never please the keyboard warriors," she said -- Golden views being the only woman on the track as a possible advantage. When she makes a pass, there is no mistaking her long, blonde hair.

"I'm not afraid to throw some elbows, and I know some of the guys are probably a little timid to do it because I'm a girl," Golden said. "It sucks to be on the wrong end, but if they're gonna come my way, it's pretty sweet to get to get in there and grease it up. I'm not afraid to go against the men."

All of these are reasons why, whether Golden views herself as a role model for young women or a representation of women's motocross racing to the world -- for the record, she said she thinks of herself as neither -- she is undoubtedly both. Outside of the X Games, the weekly, January-to-May Monster Energy Supercross races, which are broadcast online and televised on Fox Sports 1, are the most visible representations of motocross racing to the masses. Young girls who watch Vicki race against the men will think differently about what is possible for them. Promoters with the power to inject the women's motocross series with a much-needed adrenaline shot will pay attention to the media coverage she garners. Her peers will be measured by her output.

So for now, Golden said she will take in the positive feedback, block out the negative and focus on the fact that there are more than enough men equally worried about racing against her.