Fayetteville’s Course of Champions

(Editor’s Note: Each year, Arkansas Business partners with the Arkansas Municipal League to present the Trendsetter City awards, which recognize exceptional initiatives underway in municipalities across the state. Large, medium and small-sized cities were honored in six categories: Diversity and Inclusion; Education/Workforce Development; Infrastructure and Water; Public Works/Environmental and Green Management; Technology and Security; and Tourism Development/Creative Culture. Below is one winner’s story. For more, click here.) 

Tourism Development/Creative Culture
Winner • Over 20,000

The Challenge

Fayetteville is home to a multitude of Arkansas’ staple attractions. Recently, the city has made a name for itself as a cycling destination. With over 100 miles of trails and boasting the first U.S. designation of Bike City by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the city has had to keep up with the demand it opened its doors to as it made cycling accessible for all.

The Solution

After purchasing a 228-acre property atop Millsap Mountain, the city designed and built a permanent course specifically for cyclo-cross, making it the only venue in Arkansas with a purpose-built racing course. The course has been widely lauded by the international cycling press as one of the most high-quality cyclo-cross venues in the world. Since its completion, the course has been used for three state-, national- and international-level events and brought in $888,767 for the city.

Bike Across the World

The UCI held the 2022 Cyclo-cross World Championships in the U.S. for the second time, picking Fayetteville as its destination. The city saw 17,500 people come to cheer on 219 cyclists from 21 nations, with over 150 global media representatives on-site.

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