Teenager Ronck Scores Three National Titles

Preston Ronck of Rogers, who races for OZ Development, claimed three U.S. national championships this summer.

In June, the 14-year-old Ronck soloed to victory in the junior road race national championship in Roanoke, Va. Then, just a few weekends later, Ronck won the junior men’s 11-14 short track and junior men’s 13-14 cross country titles at the U.S. Mountain Bike National Championships at Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie, Pa.

Ronck wasn’t the only Arkansan to claim a national title at Mountain Bike Nationals. Bentonville’s Chris Drummond won the Masters 40+ short track title and finished third in the cross country race. Bella Vista’s Ashley Green, racing for BettySquad Elite Racing, took the top step on the Master’s Women 35-39 podium.

Nat Ross of Bentonville finished fourth in the eMTB Cross Country race.

The Arkansas Dark-Sky Festival

The Arkansas Dark-Sky Festival

If taking a constellation tour and hanging out with Bee Branch native/NASA astrophysicist Amber Straughn sounds like a good time to you, get in on this. The Arkansas Dark-Sky Festival spans three days on Bear Creek, just south of the Buffalo National River, Sept. 14-16. It will feature “a guided naked-eye tour of the summer Milky Way,” the festival guide states, “and a ‘star party’ in which telescope volunteers from several states share views of the major planets and deep-sky objects — galaxies, open clusters, globular clusters, nebulas, stars that are dying and being born.”

Daytime programming is abundant. Lodging options (which you’ll need to secure for yourself) range from primitive campsites to log cabins and the Buffalo area’s more luxurious digs; you’ll find some options near the bottom of the festival’s website.

Stay a few days with your bike and check out the area’s great cycling options.

Or, make a day trip out of it and ride with the Arkansas Times crew on our bus trip from Little Rock out to Bear Creek and back on Saturday, Sept. 16. The bus departs at noon from the UAMS Parking Lot near the old Ray Winder Field, and includes a box lunch plus a chat with Darrell Heath of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society. Grab a pass at centralarkansastickets.com.

— Stephanie Smittle

Metroplan Announces Regional Greenways Plan

In July, Metroplan announced its Regional Greenways plan, which aims to connect communities in Faulkner, Lonoke, Pulaski and Saline counties via multi-use pathways.

“The Regional Greenways will be a significant asset, providing better connected, more accessible communities,” Metroplan Transportation Planner Daniel Holland said. “Pedestrians and bike riders will have access to essential destinations and amenities while increasing their physical activity and enjoying our region’s natural beauty.”

The greenways will cover 222 miles and cost an estimated $279 million.

Six new routes and the existing Arkansas River Trail make up the planned pathway system.

The greenway network will integrate into local trail systems and transit routes to provide a cohesive, active transportation network. Eventually, each corridor will connect into the region’s core.

In 2020, Metroplan committed $55 million over 10 years to develop the greenways.

OZ Brands Launches OZ Gravel

OZ Brands Launches OZ Gravel

In May, OZ Brands announced the creation of OZ Gravel, a lifestyle brand dedicated to promoting the rapidly growing gravel cycling scene in Northwest Arkansas. The launch includes a website, OZGravelNWA.com, as well as social communities on Facebook, Instagram and Strava.

“Building off the amazing success of OZ Trails for mountain biking, OZ Gravel will provide a place for gravel riders to learn about new routes, build their skill sets and share their experiences,” said J.T. Geren, the deputy director of communications and marketing at Runway Group. Runway Group owns and operates OZ Brands.

The OZ Gravel website includes curated routes that take riders on beginner, intermediate and advanced courses throughout the area, with several routes crossing into Missouri and Oklahoma. The routes were hand-picked and tested by Runway Group’s Andy Chasteen.

“Gravel riding is appealing to all kinds of cyclists,” Chasteen says. “You can be a competitive rider, a recreational rider or a solo bikepacker. The gravel scene here is set to explode as we continue to discover these incredible scenic, rural roads.”

Courtesy OZ Gravel

YT Industries To Open Bentonville Experience Center

YT Industries is set to open an immersive, two-floor showroom in the spring of 2024 on North Main Street in downtown Bentonville.

YT Mill Bentonville will showcase the entire range of YT mountain bikes, host community events and feature a unique rider’s lounge area with pre- and post-ride beverages and entertainment. The center will also feature a pro-level workshop.

“We are thrilled to welcome YT Industries as they open the newest YT Mill in Bentonville,” Aimee Ross of Runway Group said. “As more cycling-related businesses relocate to the Mountain Bike Capital of the World, it furthers our vision of Northwest Arkansas as a premier hub for cycling and cycling-related businesses in North America.”

YT is a fan favorite at mountain bike festivals with its Rolling Circus — YT’s bike demo tour. In 2019, the brand opened its first store in the U.S. in San Clemente, Calif.

“It has proven extremely successful in giving customers access to the brand and an understanding of our vision, and to see our bikes ‘in the flesh’ on a great trail network,” Matthew Wale, YT’s director of global retail, said.

Each YT showroom gives customers full access to the YT brand, bike demos, expert consultation, merchandise and events.

“OZ Trails is a world-class trail system that attracts world-class partners and businesses,” Runway’s Gary Vernon said. “The YT Mill will be a vital piece of our burgeoning cycling ecosystem and we are excited to welcome them to Northwest Arkansas.”

YT is working with Paul Esterer of Moses Tucker Partners and Wood Capital Group on developing the property and Buf Studios for local design and architecture.

USA Cycling Holds Grand Opening Event

USA Cycling hosted the community to celebrate its new satellite office and officially launch Bentonville as the new home of the U.S. Mountain Bike National Team in April.

“[The] opening exceeded all expectations,” Brendan Quirk, CEO of USA Cycling said. “At USA Cycling we are excited to be part of the growth of Bentonville into the epicenter of American mountain biking. The warmth and welcome we feel from the community is every bit as impressive as the world-class trail network. Bentonville will play an increasingly critical role for the athletes of Team USA as we work towards our medal goals at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”

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.

Community members joined together for a time trial, hosted by Bike School Bentonville, where riders raced to the top of the Ledger Bentonville building, the world’s first bikeable building. Ledger Bentonville features six stories of bikeable ramps that take riders from the ground floor to the roof. Anyone can bike or walk the approximately 0.75-mile ramp from the first floor to the roof during business hours.

Walmart Launches Private Label Mountain Bike Brand

Bentonville’s world-class mountain bike trails have inspired Walmart’s first private label mountain bike brand, Ozark Trail.

Walmart is targeting the bikes at entry-level mountain bikers with prices ranging from $198-$398, but with better frames and components than what are typically found on a department store bike.

The variable-size frames will be aluminum with wheel size options of 24, 27.5 and 29 inches. The bikes will feature one-by groupsets from Shimano and Microshift with mechanical disc brakes and internal cable routing. The lone fork option is a Suntour SR fork with 100-millimeter travel.

“We have developed a bike for the weekend warrior that is ready to hit the trails,” said Maddy Johnson, associate merchant for adult bikes at Walmart U.S. “Many of the bikes in this sport come with a high price point. We wanted to offer our customers a more affordable option while maintaining the quality and versatility that the sport requires, and I think we’ve done that with the Ozark Trail bike.”

In 2019, Walmart launched the premier bike brand Viathon, which offers road, gravel and mountain bikes much more typical of a bike-shop quality bike. Prices for complete Viathon bikes range $2,198-$6,998 and are only available through Walmart.com.

Kerkove Slays Doom, Sets Course Record

Jeff Kerkove of Buena Vista, Colorado, claimed victory at this year’s Doom, a 390-mile endurance bikepacking race through some of the toughest terrain the Ozarks have to offer. In the process, he set the course’s fastest time at 42 hours, 23 minutes.

“I was fortunate to roll back to Oark at 1:30 a.m. with the win and course record — but holy hell the Doom route does everything it can to shatter your mind and body into a thousand little pieces,” Kerkove said. “The climbing is violent and unrelenting. You’re either going up or going down. There’s not an inch of flat terrain on the full route. You will hike-a-bike up some of the climbs because they are so steep. I think I pushed my bike up nearly a dozen climbs because my legs were either so fried or I couldn’t keep rear wheel traction.”

Maggie Livelsberger of Erie, Pennsylvania, won the women’s category at three days, four hours and three minutes. She is the first woman to have completed the course on a single speed.

Lindsay Shepard said once wasn’t enough — she completed a yo-yo of the course, which is to do the course in one direction and turn around and finish it going the other direction. She completed the nearly 800 miles in seven days, 13 hours, 29 minutes.

Benton Unveils Plans For Bike Park

The Benton Parks and Recreation department has finalized a concept plan for a mountain bike park in the city.

“This park will provide a unique experience for beginner and advanced riders,” Parks Director Stephanie Jones said. “We have been working with some of the best leaders in the industry and are proud to showcase the work.”

The city has worked with the Arkansas Parks & Recreation Foundation, Progressive Trail Design and McClelland Consulting Engineers, Inc. on the project.

There will be roughly 1.3 miles of multiuse natural surface trail and 1.2 miles of bike park trail within the design that will eventually connect to Benton’s existing park system, including Ralph Bunche Park, the future Southwest Trail, and paved greenway trails.

“Arkansas has some of the best trails in the nation and we are excited to expand upon that growth here in Benton,” Jones said.

The park will also be home to Benton Public Schools’ National Interscholastic Cycling Association team. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year.

Blunk, Blevins Score Big Wins In Fayetteville

U.S. national champion Savilia Blunk narrowly took victory in a storm-shortened elite women’s race at the U.S. Pro Cup in Fayetteville in mid-April, edging out Gwendolyn Gibson and Kate Courtney in a three-up sprint at the finish.

With storms brewing just east of Fayetteville, organizers decided to end the UCI HC race two laps short. Because the decision was made during a lap, riders only learned of the decision by their support crews screaming at them through the feed/tech zones.

Blunk, Gibson and Courtney had pulled away from the field early.

“​​We all kind of adapted quickly when we figured out it was the last lap,” Blunk said. “I kind of was hanging on and then made a counter attack with, like, maybe 500 meters to go and just kind of hung on for dear life.”

Blunk’s last look back on the finish straight made her think the win would come a bit easier than it did.

“I was leading into the sprint and I’ve sprinted this finish a few times,” the Durango, Colorado, resident said. “I kind of took a look back and I thought I had it, so I posted up, but they both threw their bikes. I won’t do that again. Like that was way too close. But I think I was just lucky this time.”

Blunk’s victory on April 15 was her first win on home soil since winning the national championship last year.

Courtney took dominant victories on April 12 cross country race and April 14 short track race. The former world champion powered away to a solo finish in the cross country, 1:57 ahead of Blunk. Jenn Jackson finished third.

The Californian led nearly wire-to-wire April 14. Her gap was just four seconds at the line as Blunk and Gibson were charging hard. Blunk outsprinted Gibson for second place.

After the storm passed on Saturday, April 15, the elite men were faced with cooler and windy conditions. Christopher Blevins fought off Carter Woods to take the victory. Riley Amos came in third.

“We got another good dose of Arkansas weather this year,” Blevins said.”The wind was blowing in every direction. But, we had great conditions, kind of similar to last year at this time.

“It was a battle front with a group of four of us and came down to a sprint, again, which I’ve had three or four runs like that throughout the years here and was able to pull it off again.”

Blevins, Woods, Amos and Gunnar Holmgren gapped the field a couple laps into the race. Holmgren was doing all the work in the group while the others were content to sit on.

With two laps to go, Blevins moved to the front. It was disaster for Holmgren later on the lap when he flatted, dropping out of the group. The other three were able to ride away to the finish, where Blevins made the decisive charge just before the course’s final feature, Fayetteville stonehenge. Holmgren finished eighth.

Blevins also notched the victory in the April 12 cross country race, besting Amos in a sprint at the finish. Woods finished third, 12 seconds off the two leaders.

“This is a really fast course,” Blevins said. “These trails are definitely world caliber and worthy of a high level race like we have here. It’s a lot of fun. It’s very, I’d say American, you know, high speed, really demanding. It’s a good time.”

In the April 14 short track action, Amos took the victory, holding off Woods. Adair Prieto finished third. Blevins chose to sit out the short track race because of a head cold.

“It was a great weekend, as always, the crew putting the races on did a great job,” Blevins said. “And I think we’re starting to get used to this place and always enjoy coming out and having these races.”

Christopher Blevins takes first.

Adventure Cycling Association Designates Bike Route

Meet USBR 80, a 177.5-mile bicycle route from Memphis to Little Rock, newly designated as an official U.S. Bicycle Route. The path takes cyclists from the Mississippi River in West Memphis to the Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock “through rural areas and historical downtowns of the Arkansas Delta,” the Adventure Cycling Association states, “including Marianna, home of the James Beard Award-winning Jones Bar-B-Q Diner, and Stuttgart, known for its waterfowl tourism on the Mississippi Flyway.”

Fayetteville Achieves Gold-Level Bike Friendliness

The League of American Bicyclists has designated Fayetteville a gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community, the first in Arkansas.

“The city of Fayetteville is honored to be the highest-ranking Bicycle Friendly Community in Arkansas,” Mayor Lioneld Jordan said. “This is a reflection of our community’s commitment to accessibility, equity and more sustainable practices, as well as our staff’s vision and hard work to create an extensive network of trails for both transportation and recreation.”

The League’s Bicycle Friendly America program sets the standard for how communities build and benchmark progress toward improving cycling within communities. The designation is awarded to communities based on assessments across five key categories: equity, engineering, education, encouragement and evaluation and planning.   

The gold-level award recognizes Fayetteville’s commitment to improving conditions for all people who bike through investments in bike education programs, regular bike events that promote and encourage people to choose biking, pro-bike policies and bike infrastructure.

Other Arkansas communities recognized by the League as bike friendly are: Benton and Washington counties, silver; Bentonville, Springdale, Conway, North Little Rock, Rogers and Little Rock, bronze.

The League also recognizes 61 businesses all across the state as bicycle friendly and four bike-friendly colleges and universities: the University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and Arkansas State University.

Visit bikeleague.org/bfa to see a complete list of award winners.

U.S. National Mountain Bike Team Sets Up Base In Bentonville

In December, USA Cycling announced that the U.S. National Mountain Bike Team would be setting up shop in Bentonville in a lead-up to the 2028 Olympics.

The team will utilize Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas’s 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.

“Northwest Arkansas’s incredible network of singletrack trails and gravel roads is the perfect training ground for the National Team. 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.”

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.

“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.

USA Cycling’s corporate headquarters is in Colorado Springs, Colo. 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.

Bentonville Bike Fest Boasts New Venue and Date

The Bentonville Bike Fest returns for its third year with an earlier date and new venue.

The event, which had been held in July previously will now be May 25-28 at the Coler Mountain Bike Preserve.

New events at this year’s festival will include the North American debut of the Mountain Bike Eliminator Pan American series. Mountain Bike Eliminator, or XCE, is a relatively new XC mountain bike race format in which four riders compete against each other over a very short course. In each heat, the two fastest riders advance to the next round, while the two slower riders are eliminated from the race.

Other festival favorites continue in 2023, including: UCI Trials C1 competition, enduro and kids enduro, other kids events, a gravel event, UCI C1 BMX flatland event and workshops from pros like Kyle Strait, Rachel Strait, Anneke Beerten and Carson Storch.

Entrance for attendees is free and bike demos are complimentary.

Chinkapin Hollow Moves To Last Saturday In October

The Chinkapin Hollow Gravel Grinder has pushed its race date to Oct. 28, one week later than traditional.

The race, which features routes of 42, 63 and 109 miles, include sections of Forest Service roads that are normally off limits to cyclists but are available to Chinkapin Hollow participants through special permitting allowed to the event. The 109- and 63-mile courses include significant mileage in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

“We are excited that the 2023 Chinkapin Hollow Gravel Grinder is moving to a new date and on a Saturday to better accommodate participant travel needs,” race director Bruce Dunn said. “Past participant feedback has consistently raved about the quality of our gravel roads, but we’ve also heard from many that they prefer a Saturday event. We believe that the Chinkapin Hollow offers gravel racers and enthusiasts one of the best values for their dollar in this part of the country.”

All three races start and finish in the Lake Wedington Recreation area, which is located a few miles west of Fayetteville’s city limits and has been managed by the U.S. Forest Service since 1954.

There will be on course support, a post event party with food and beverages, finisher swag and podium awards. There will also be equalized prize purses.

Highlands Gravel Classic Returns For 2023

The 2023 Highlands Gravel Classic in Fayetteville will be the only UCI Gravel World Series race in the U.S. this year. The event is an official qualifier for the UCI Gravel World Championships.

The top 25% of finishers in 10 men’s and 10 women’s age groups will qualify for the World Championships.

“The 2023 Highlands Gravel Classic is getting an early start in terms of marketing and registration being opened to ensure that every gravel cyclist in the U.S. can get this event on their calendar to take their shot at qualifying for the World Championship race in Italy,” race director Bruce Dunn said.

The 2022 UCI Gravel World Championships was the first UCI-sanctioned gravel championship with 561 gravel racers from around the world.

Racers from 30 states have already registered. The race is open to gravel riders of all levels with all participants racing the same two courses. Men ages 19 to 59 and women from 19 to 49 will compete on a 66-mile course while men 60-plus and women 50-plus will tackle a 52-mile course. All races start and finish at Fritchie Farms, which is just east of Fayetteville.

World Cup Leaders Sprint To Wins In Fayetteville

It was business as usual for UCI World Cup leaders Eli Iserbyt and Fem van Empel as they both captured thrilling sprint victories at the Fayetteville World Cup at Centennial Park on Oct. 16.

Iserbyt rocketed around Laurens Sweeck on the finish straight to come away with the sprint victory in the elite men’s race.

“I had to really dig really deep,” Iserbyt said. “I knew that the sprint was a headwind, so I had to be in second position. And I think that was my only chance to win. So for me, it was the perfect sprint.”

Van Empel, of the Netherlands, held off former world champion and last year’s Fayetteville World Cup winner Lucinda Brand to take the victory in the women’s race.

American Eric Brunner finished fourth in the men’s race, the best World Cup finish ever for an American. With two laps to go he made a big push to try and attach to the front group of three, but could never close the gap.

Finsterwald, Onweller Claim Big Sugar Titles

Finsterwald, Onweller Claim Big Sugar Titles

A favorite and a dark horse took the men’s and women’s victories at Big Sugar Gravel on Oct. 22. The race was the finale of the six-race Life Time Grand Prix.

Russell Finsterwald won the men’s race solo, 25 seconds ahead of overall Grand Prix winner Keegan Swenson. With the win, Finsterwald climbed into third overall in the Grand Prix.

The front group in the men’s race diminished throughout the day. At the 76-mile point of the 104-mile race, the group was down to six. Thirteen miles later, that group had dwindled to just four: Finsterwald, Swenson, Adam Roberge and Alexey Vermeulen.

Paige Onweller

“I think we all kind of knew that was going to be the group of four vying for the win,” Finsterwald said. “I was just trying to keep the pressure high because of the Life Time points, I was just trying to ride for those. With about a kilometer to go we were doing the cat-and-mouse thing. We were literally going about 5 miles per hour out there. I was like, ‘I’m just gonna go for it right now.’ I was at the back of the group, so I kind of caught them off guard a little bit. I had no idea how far back they were. I was all-in, head down and then with 200 meters to go I looked back and didn’t see them.”

Vermeulen finished second overall in the series, fourth at Big Sugar. Roberge was third at Big Sugar.

On the women’s side, Paige Onweller rolled across the line solo, 6:39 ahead of second place Emily Newsom. Alexis Skarda rounded out the podium. Cycling magazine VeloNews had labeled Onweller as a dark horse to win Big Sugar. She only began cycling two years ago.

Onweller tried to create gaps on the climbs. A tactic that proved successful.

“I was feeling pretty good, so I just decided to push a little harder,” she said. “I knew I might implode at any moment, but I just kept going.

“I kind of knew I was going to win, but I didn’t let my mind go there. Anything could happen — I could flat. With 9 miles to go I was gasping because of the wind, I got goosebumps and I started tearing up. I’ve sacrificed so much to get here and I’m just thankful.”

Haley Smith’s large lead in the Grand Prix was safe, as she won the overall, despite a 13th-place finish. Sofia Gomez Villafane led a group of four over the line for seventh, securing second place overall. Sarah Sturm finished ninth in the race and third in the series.

“If not for this series, I would’ve never done half these races,” Onweller said. “And they let a total newbie come into it. This is what opportunity looks like.”