Mar 28, 2025 - Business

Fayetteville to host cyclo-cross championships

Worth Sparkman

A man covered in mud, wearing cycling gear and a helmet, carries a bike on his shoulder in the rain. — A competitor in the 2022 Union Cycliste Internationale World Cup competition. Photo: Worth Sparkman/Axios

Yes, there will be more cowbell in 2025. Fayetteville's Centennial Park is hosting the USA National Championships for cyclo-cross in December, attracting a slate of elite athletes and their bell-gangling fans.

Why it matters: USA Cycling events bring international attention to NWA as a cycling destination and squeeze more mileage out of the $3.3 million Centennial Park, built for such competitions.

More than 17,000 spectators attended the 2022 cyclo-cross World Cup event.
The city's hotel-motel-restaurant tax receipts jumped 144% that January, compared to a year earlier.

Driving the news: Fayetteville's Advertising and Promotion Commission officially voted to sign the hosting agreement earlier this week.

State of play: The city's budget for this year's event is $225,000, which comes from the Cycling Legacy Fund, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. That fund was established to boost local cycling events.

Context: Cyclo-cross is not to be confused with mountain bike racing, which was held at the park last week.

In cyclo-cross, competitors ride rain or shine and shoulder their bikes up Centennial Park's steepest feature before riding off its edge.

What's next: The 2025 championships are scheduled to take place December 10-14 and the 2026 championships are planned for December 9-13.

More from Axios

Add Axios on Google

Fayetteville to host cyclo-cross championships

More NW Arkansas stories