press release from USAC
Bentonville Becomes Home for U.S. National Mountain Bike Team
Goal is to Win Gold in 2028 and Beyond
BENTONVILLE, AR – Dec. 15, 2022 - Today, USA Cycling announces that Bentonville, Arkansas, will become the official “Home of the U.S. National Mountain Bike Team,” as young athletes set their sights on success leading into 2028.
The U.S. National Mountain Bike Team will utilize Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas’ network of trails and gravel for endurance fitness camps as well as skills-development camps leading into the World Cup racing season. In addition to National Team camps, USA Cycling will also host mountain bike and road Junior Talent Identification and Skills Camps in Bentonville.
The camps are made possible through a philanthropic investment by the Walton Family Foundation at the direction of Steuart Walton and Tom Walton; the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation; and the Penner Family Foundation.
“Our long-term goal is for Team USA to win the gold at the 2028 Olympic Games,” said Brendan Quirk, CEO of USA Cycling “This investment gives us access to the infrastructure and resources we need to support our Under-23 and Junior riders. Developing these up-and-coming riders is a top priority for USA Cycling, now and in the future.”
“Having training and support facilities based in Bentonville will provide our riders with an ideal launching pad to succeed on the world stage,” said Jim Miller, Chief of Sports Performance at USA Cycling.
In addition to serving as the center for its mountain bike operations, the city will also become the national base for its collegiate cycling operations and other functions related to the growth of grassroots bike racing across the country.
“Northwest Arkansas’ incredible network of singletrack trails and gravel roads is the perfect training ground for the National Team,” Quirk said. “Our riders love racing and training in Northwest Arkansas. By deepening our presence here, we’ll make it easier for riders at all levels to get access to our racing development pathway and pursue their athletic goals.”
Steuart Walton, Tom Walton, Greg Penner and Rob Walton are themselves avid cyclists and passionate competitors.
“Northwest Arkansas, which we affectionately call OZ, is becoming a cornerstone of the U.S. mountain bike racing scene,” said Steuart Walton. “When you add in world cyclo-cross events and epic gravel riding, you can see how the region is becoming more than a tourism destination. Our hometown is quickly becoming a global hub for both professional cyclists and emerging talent to develop to their fullest potential in the Mountain Biking Capital of the World.”
“Investing in collegiate cycling is a priority for this effort,” said Tom Walton. “We believe Bentonville is a natural host for this program and are confident this will elevate USA Cycling on the global stage.”
USA Cycling’s corporate headquarters is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It also has a European logistics base and rider housing in Sittard, Netherlands. The Bentonville satellite office will further accelerate the growth of elite American mountain bike athletes and will provide workspace for the mountain bike coaching and support staff.
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About USA Cycling:
USA Cycling is the national governing body for the sport of cycling in the United States and oversees the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, and BMX. With a mission to develop the sport of cycling in the United States and achieve sustained international racing success, USA Cycling supports cyclists at all levels, from brand-new racers to seasoned professionals. USA Cycling has a membership of 80,000, sanctions over 2,000 events annually, and is a proud member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). More information is available at usacycling.org.
Mountain Biking in Bentonville
Bentonville is known as the Mountain Biking Capital of the World and headquarters OZ Trails™, a world-class network of shared-use trails throughout Northwest Arkansas. Containing more than 300 miles of soft-surface trails, this innovative network is accessible to mountain bikers, gravel riders, runners, and outdoor adventurers of all ages and skill levels.
"USA Cycling brought to you by Wal-Mart" has such a nice ring to it.
There's never been a cheaper date than whoever is leading USA Cycling at any given time.
It's cool to see Bentonville pumping money into the sport and building lots of trails. But training for mtb without convenient access to long sustained climbs or descents seems a rather questionable decision.
Buried in the lede is the end of collegiate racing as we have always known it(Independent volunteer conference boards), all of this, of course was announced without consulting any of the conferences, in the classic top-down-tone-deaf-fly-your-private-custom-painted-helicopter over CX worlds style that we are coming to expect from the clout hungry billionaire boys club that is now USAC.
It is already mandatory for any brand that wants to sell through Walmart you must open an office in NW Ark, and now we are also forcing young athletes to go there and kiss the ring, too?
Benton County(like the coal mine owner towns in WV post WW1) has more millionaires living it up on the backs of the working class per capita than any other place in America, but you can’t drink the water.
If the Waltons cared about mtb racing, they could certainly afford to have XCO tracks built in more than one of the 49 states, fund a national series, fire all the “gravel privateers” allied and rapha sponsor and hire domestic XCO racers, or even better yet, pay for this remote mtb national team office somewhere that makes sense from a sporting perspective, like the Czech Republic.
American XC racing is in the shitter because the last creepy billionaire that dominated USAC was so sketchy that his Norcal neighbors started NICA, and now everyone treats xc racing like it’s a kid’s sport.
yawn.
Maybe XC national championship will be held in Bentonville since it seems XC and Gravity won't be held at the same place. (which sucks for both)
BTW, it sounds like a shit show is bowling with US nationals location still not announced. Sad times for DH when we can't even find a location to host nationals!!
I might get a lot of shit for this but for the disciplines that are listed for the area NWA isn’t a bad place for it. If enduro or DH were on the list it would be another story (unless I missed this). There’s soooo much riding and all accessible on bike trail, path, or gravel you never have to get in a car if you don’t want to.
I'll be curious what this will actually look like on the ground. I don't think Christopher Blevins, Riley Amos, et. al, are going to suddenly start training here on the regular vs. Tucson and Durango. That being said, as a resident of the area, I'm pretty selfishly hyped for it even though my kid's preferred disciplines are all gravity-focused.
Your local oz kids might not have tasty drinking water, but they have weekly Thunderdome slalom races, which is so sick. Coler crew does such a good job making that tons of fun!
(what this will probably look like)
Over the last two years usac has created a pay-to-play jr and u23 development program for xc, cx and road- kids who can pay for it will likely do two or three camps a year around there.
The only even kinda moderately modern purpose built xc venue in the whole country is in Fayetteville, so now that gravity and endurance national championships are severed again, I won’t be surprised to see natty champs parked i Oz.
Man it is cool! I want to ride there. It just stinks it is bought with the Walton’s ill gained child labor profits.
Bentonville drinking water?
Found it:
https://aquasani.net/disgusting-facts-about-tap-water-in-the-ozarks/
Well that is kinda heavy.
That's from a company that sells water filters in the area. It got me interested, so I started googling water quality in NWA. While it isn't the highest quality, it's not ranked anywhere close to the worst within the United States. It appears to be middle of the road to slightly above average on the whole from what I could find.
So many nuggets from Mickey... Kiss the ring my precious
.
That second to last paragraph is spot on. One can only hope that the Waltons will also help further racing with quality course builds and a properly funded national race series across the entire country.
The water won’t kill you, but it just tastes AWFUL. It even overpowers fountain soda and iced tea at the closest mexican restaurant to the slalom track.
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