Walmart Becomes Title Sponsor Of Joe Martin Stage Race

The longest-running stage race in the U.S. will roll into Fayetteville this spring with a new title sponsor. 

Walmart is making a “meaningful” investment to the race, according to Dan Bartlett, the company’s executive vice president for corporate affairs. 

“The Joe Martin Stage Race has a deep, rich heritage here in the region,” Bartlett said. “Many young children across America’s first experience with cycling comes with buying a bike from Walmart. And for us, to be on the other side of the spectrum of promoting and helping support some of the greatest athletes our country has in a sport that is growing like it is – it just seemed like an opportunity we couldn't pass up.”

Bartlett wouldn’t disclose the dollar amount of the sponsorship. The partnership was facilitated by Ozark Outdoor Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to creating healthy and enriching outdoor experiences in Arkansas. 

Walmart’s sponsorship will enable the race organization to livestream the final stage, and provide enhanced video coverage and live tracking of the racers in the other stages. It will also bring equity to the women’s race.

“Livestreaming the race and remaining on the UCI calendar are really important for our women's teams,” race director Bruce Dunn said. “We are able to offer a greater purse for both men and women. And so that's something that we're very excited about. Interesting enough, on the international level, the purses are not equalized. They will be at the Walmart Joe Martin Stage Race. When you're doing two races, two rolling enclosures on the same day, you want to make sure you have equal assets and support. And now that's going to be a possibility.”

Defending women’s champion, Skylar Schneider of L39GION of Los Angeles, has raced Joe Martin since 2016, the first year she was eligible to race in a UCI event.

“It was my first podium in a UCI race and I believe that opened a lot of doors for me in my career,” she said. “After that, I spent three years on the No. 1 ranked team in the world. And last year, I came back to the U.S. to join the most important team in the world and that was L39ION. And in August, we were able to participate in Joe Martin and that was my first UCI overall win. So this race has had a big impact in my career, as well as many other cyclists. And it's really inspiring to hear the emphasis it's going to have on women in the sport in particular. Since August, I've had the opportunity to visit Bentonville a number of times, and it definitely has a piece of my heart. And it's inspiring to see the women's community there. And any part I can play in inspiring more women to get on bikes, either recreationally or to race — that gives me a lot of fulfillment.”

Eric Hill, founder of the Project Echelon race team, said Fayetteville has become a second home to the team. 

“We're really excited for this new platform in this growth that Walmart is bringing to be able to share our mission of educating, equipping and empowering veterans through physical activity at another level, and to be able to showcase the talents of our athletes on our team through this platform,” he said.

Dunn said the sponsorship will open up possibilities for future growth beyond Fayetteville, maybe even into different parts of the state beyond Northwest Arkansas. 

“The ultimate goal is not only to make the Walmart Joe Martin Stage Race the largest competitive road cycling race in North America,” he said. “But it's my dream and hope to elevate professional cycling in the United States to the same level as many of the other professional races and sports in our country.”

Stepanik Conquers DOOM

Brett Stepanik of Madison, Wis., began 2022 in grand fashion. Stepanik, 36, became the first known person to complete the Ozark Gravel DOOM route created by Andrew Onermaa, a founder of Ozark Gravel Cyclists. 

Stepanik completed the 376-mile route in three days, 12 hours and nine minutes.

The route begins at the Oark General Store and features 41,375 feet of elevation gain in an extremely remote section of the Ozark National Forest. The route averages 110 feet of elevation gain or loss per mile. Riders are either climbing or descending; there aren’t a lot of chances for recovery. 

As if the route weren’t daunting enough, Stepanik completed it during a particularly chilly week. Temperatures dipped into the low teens at night and barely topped freezing during the day.

Oh, and he did this all on a single speed. 

Stepanik owns the endurance bikepacking single speed triple crown, clocking fastest known times on the Arizona Trail, Tour Divide and Colorado Trail. He also set the FKT for single speed at the Arkansaw High Country Race in October.

McElveen Joins Allied

Payson McElveen, a two-time National Marathon Mountain Bike Champion and two-time winner of The Mid-South, has signed a multi-year contract with Bentonville-based bike manufacturer Allied Cycle Works. 

McElveen, 28, also hosts a popular podcast “The Adventure Stache” and in 2021 created the Bentonville Trail Challenge in which he rode all 140-plus miles of singletrack in Bentonville in one day. 

"I am thrilled to begin this next chapter of my career with Allied Cycle Works,” McElveen said. “It became clear to me that Allied designs and makes the absolute best bikes, then focuses on marketing them. That's unusual in an industry where brands often craft their product development around marketing constraints.”

McElveen has been selected to race in the Life Time Grand Prix, a six-race off-road series that includes three mountain bike races and three gravel races. The series finale will be the 100-mile Big Sugar Gravel race in Bentonville. 

Allied doesn’t currently manufacture a mountain bike frame. 

McElveen will also receive support from The Meteor cafe, a bike shop and cafe with locations in Bentonville and Austin, Texas.

NLR Pump Track Open

The first phase of the Big Rock Quarry Bike Park in North Little Rock has officially opened to the public. City leaders and eager cyclists gathered for the grand opening of an asphalt pump track on Jan. 13. 

The pump track, paid for with around $400,000 of American Recovery Act funds, was built by industry leaders American Ramp Company and Velosolutions. North Little Rock mayor Terry Hartwick was inspired by similar parks in Northwest Arkansas like Runway Bike Park in Springdale.

“This is something we can all be very proud of,” Hartwick said. “This is not one person, this is a group of people making this happen.”

Among the group of people making it happen is Dave Larson, owner of Angry Dave’s Bike Shop in North Little Rock.

“This is a big deal for the city of North Little Rock and cycling in Central Arkansas,” Larson said. “Hopefully further than Central Arkansas. Hopefully this will be what we need to attract a lot of people into the city. I've got to thank the mayor, [parks director] Steve Shields and everybody that's been involved in this project. They have made it a lot easier to get things to happen in the city and it is amazing.” 

The pump track is just the first piece of a plan for an expansive bike park. Plans call for downhill mountain bike trails, cross country mountain bike skills trails, asphalt flow trails and a bicycle playground. A rendering of the plan also includes a large amphitheater for concerts and events.

“This is phase one,” Larson said. “Phase two is coming. Give us a minute because we're on page one of that, but there is more in store and we will make lots of noise when it's time.”

Little Rock Group Buys Detroit Bikes

Cardinal Cycling Group, a Little Rock-based firm run by cycling industry veteran Tony Karklins and business partner Martial Trigeuad, has acquired Detroit Bikes. 

Detroit Bikes produces a range of commuter and cruiser bicycles built from American steel in a Detroit factory. Detroit Bikes founder Zak Pashak will remain with the company as it looks to expand its urban e-bike offerings. 

In February 2021, Cardinal acquired the French carbon bicycle manufacturer Time.