Giant and Giant for Women are proud to sponsor the ‘Race For Tara 3,’ a weekend of mountain biking fun October 10-11, 2009, featuring pro and amateur downhill races and hosted at the beautiful Northstar-at-Tahoe™ Resort near Truckee, CA.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Tara Llanes Road to Recovery Fund and the Christopher Reeve Foundation to aid in its search for a cure for spinal cord injuries.

Tara Llanes suffered a severe spinal injury on September 1, 2007, as the result of a crash while competing in a Jeep King of the Mountain series race in Beaver Creek, CO. After seven hours of surgery at Denver Health Hospital, Tara’s prognosis was not good: she had no feeling from the waist down.

In the two years since, the former Dual Slalom National Champion has made remarkable progress toward recovery, chronicled in blogs, photos, and videos on her MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/mtbtara. Now able to ride a hand-cranked bicycle, and travel mountain trails again in a special full-suspension four wheel rig, Tara is competing once more. On July 31st, she won the U.S. National Time Trial Champion’s title in Paralympic bike racing.

Her friends and colleagues in the mountain biking community have rallied often to the cause of raising money for her continued recovery. The first two ‘Race for Tara’ events, at Sand Hill Ranch Bike Park in Brentwood, CA, were very successful venues, attended by both pros and amateurs.

In 2009, the event moves to Northstar-at-Tahoe, and promises to be bigger than ever. The ‘Race for Tara 3’ will kick-off with race practice on Saturday, October 10 and a party at sundown in the Village at Northstar™ featuring a DJ, video screening, raffle and beer for participants 21+. The race will begin at 11 a.m. sharp on Sunday, October 11 with sport and beginner, 4-wheel, and professional and expert divisions competing on a four mile long course featuring a 1,800 foot descent that begins at Northstar® Resort's summit and ends at mid-mountain.

Donations to participate in the race are $35 for beginner, sport and expert divisions, and $40 for semi-pro and pro classes. In addition, Northstar Resort will offer $25 lift tickets to registered riders on both Saturday and Sunday of the event weekend. Medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in each division, and GIANT is sponsoring a $2,500 Pro prize purse. Among the Pro racers who are expected to compete are US National Short Track Champion Adam Craig, and his Giant MTB team mates Carl Decker and Jared Rando. The event will conclude Sunday with a huge raffle that at previous ‘Race for Tara’ events has been the highlight of the race weekend.

Advance registration is available online at www.NorthstarAtTahoe.com, and race day registration will also be welcome. For more information about Tara Llanes or the 'Race for Tara,' visit http://racefortara.com/ and http://www.tarallanesroadtorecovery.com/.

Tara was recovering from surgery during the first “Race for Tara.” Last year, she was on hand to thank supporters and congratulate the winners, and she’ll be at the event again this year. Come to Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort for a great cause and a terrific event—the Race for Tara 3, October 10-11, 2009!

About Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort
One of the finest year-round mountain resorts in North America, Northstar Resort is host to a new base area village featuring 35 unique shops and restaurants, a conference center, 9,000 square foot skating rink, on-site lodging, special events and more. A winter sport enthusiast’s paradise, Northstar Resort offers 91 ski trails spread across 3,000 acres, award-winning terrain parks and snow sports including alpine and Telemark skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and tubing. Summer activities include mountain biking, golfing, scenic lift rides for sightseeing and hiking, horseback riding, fly-fishing and more.

Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort is located on Highway 267, just six miles north of Lake Tahoe and six miles south of downtown Truckee. For more information, call 1.800.GO.NORTH (1.800.466.6784) or visit www.NorthstarAtTahoe.com.