With Fayetteville, Arkansas scheduled to host the 2022 Cyclocross World Championships, there were questions about what event would be held in the city during the 2020/21 cyclocross season.
Today, it was announced that Fayetteville will host the 2020 Pan-American Cyclocross Championships the weekend of November 7 and 8 at Millsaps Mountain.
The selection was made by Pan-American Cycling Confederation (COPACI). The organization encompasses 43 nations from North America, South America and the Caribbean, spanning from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego.
“Continental championships are exciting and the pinnacle of midseason racing,” said Race Director Brook Watts, president of Parkven Productions. “We’re thrilled to be able to host this important weekend of racing and showcase this very special, bike-friendly region.”
A group led by Bike Northwest Arkansas supported by the Walton Foundation put in a bid for the Cyclocross World Championships, and Fayetteville was awarded the 2022 championships last February. For more on the 2022 Worlds bid, you can read our story on how Cyclocross Worlds came back to the U.S. for the first time since Louisville in 2013.
Since receiving the bid, the group has ramped up cyclocross in the region. The group brought Brook Watts on as race director and hosted a two-day UCI weekend in October 2019 called FayetteCross.
FayetteCross hosted a UCI weekend in 2019 FayetteCross, Fayetteville, Arkansas. © Kai Caddy
Pan-Ams moves to Arkansas after two years in Midland, Ontario at the Silver Goose CX. The organizers of the Silver Goose CX brought the first Masters Pan-American Championships, and those races will continue in Fayetteville.
Another addition for 2020 will be relay races for pros and amateurs on the Saturday of the Pan-Ams weekend.
Watts explained, “On Saturday, we’ll offer both a fun relay race and a pro relay race. It’s a great way to gather your friends or training buddies and see how you match up against others. And, racers for the Pan-Am categories on Sunday now have a way to preview the course under race conditions on Saturday.”
Fayetteville 2022, the group behind the 2022 UCI World Championships, is partnering with Experience Fayetteville, the convention and visitors bureau for Fayetteville, to host FayetteCross 2020. Parkven Productions is managing the event.
More information is available at fayettecross.com.
