UCI CX World Cup & Championships Fayetteville local info

[Brendan Quirk]

Hey gang, a few folks have gotten in touch with me asking for some local intel on Fayetteville. The CX World Cup is October 13, the World Champs January 29-30. Fayetteville is a gem of a city -- everything you'd expect from a university town in the middle of the mountains. Amazing people and experiences throughout! Thought it might be useful to share some local info here, and I hope a whole lot of you plan to make the trip...

BEER: My favorite two spots for excellent local brew are Crisis Brewing and Fossil Cove.

COCKTAILS: Maxine's Tap Room is a decades-old speakeasy. So great.

FOOD: Hugo's is legendary. Before a Razorback game it's impossible to get in -- classic Fayetteville spot. Arsaga's Mill District is a touch healthier and also super-tasty. Leverett Lounge is another classic.

COFFEE: My two faves are Puritan and Arsaga's Church & Center.

RIDING: The riding (all types) in Fayetteville and NW Arkansas is genuinely superb. A few routes below, but please PM me if you'd like more options/info.

Gravel: Yes, you can ride gravel straight out of Fayetteville. But if you'd like something wholly memorable, drive 30 minutes and do the Hazel Valley Grand Prix loop. Gorgeous, mountainous and unforgettable.

Road: The Winslow Death March leaves from downtown Fayetteville and takes on some of the good parts raced at the Joe Martin Stage Race, including the lovely climb out of Devil's Den State Park.

MTB: Yes, there is good mountain biking in Fayetteville. But if dirt is your thing, take the 30 minute drive to Bentonville and do the Tunnel Vision loop, then maybe check out the Coler MTB Preserve.

BENTONVILLE: Very much worth a side trip. The cornerstone is the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Unquestionably a world-class museum with a world-class collection. The architecture is also utterly jaw-dropping. Set aside a few hours to enjoy it. Other Bentonville highlights are Onyx Coffee as well as the Pressroom, Preacher's Son and 8th St Market for eats.

OTHER:
- The University of Arkansas campus is beautiful. Worth taking a stroll around it.
- Dickson Street is the main drag through downtown. On weekend nights it's a zoo. Lots of drinking going on, and lots of great people-watching.
- The bookstore at the bottom of Dickson Street is really good. Disorganized? Yes, sort of. But huge and full of great books and fair prices.
- One of Frank Lloyd Wright's foremost proteges was Fay Jones, who spent nearly his entire career in Fayetteville. The U of A architecture school is now named after him. He designed a boatload of lovely buildings, but my favorite is also what I think is the most peaceful place I've ever been: Cooper Chapel up in Bella Vista. It's about 45 minutes from Fayetteville. It's small. But it's so perfect I couldn't imagine visiting NW Arkansas and not going there.

Really hoping a lot of you use these races as a reason to make your first real-deal trip to the Natural State...Brendan

[Andy sti]

This is awesome, thanks! I went to Louisville and I’m hoping for a much better showing, that turned into a bit of a disaster. Although the racing was still great.

[charliedid]

This is great of you Brendan, I may actually head down.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by Brendan Quirk

Hey gang, a few folks have gotten in touch with me asking for some local intel on Fayetteville. The CX World Cup is October 13, the World Champs January 29-30. Fayetteville is a gem of a city -- everything you'd expect from a university town in the middle of the mountains. Amazing people and experiences throughout! Thought it might be useful to share some local info here, and I hope a whole lot of you plan to make the trip...

BEER: My favorite two spots for excellent local brew are Crisis Brewing and Fossil Cove.

COCKTAILS: Maxine's Tap Room is a decades-old speakeasy. So great.

FOOD: Hugo's is legendary. Before a Razorback game it's impossible to get in -- classic Fayetteville spot. Arsaga's Mill District is a touch healthier and also super-tasty. Leverett Lounge is another classic.

COFFEE: My two faves are Puritan and Arsaga's Church & Center.

RIDING: The riding (all types) in Fayetteville and NW Arkansas is genuinely superb. A few routes below, but please PM me if you'd like more options/info.

Gravel: Yes, you can ride gravel straight out of Fayetteville. But if you'd like something wholly memorable, drive 30 minutes and do the Hazel Valley Grand Prix loop. Gorgeous, mountainous and unforgettable.

Road: The Winslow Death March leaves from downtown Fayetteville and takes on some of the good parts raced at the Joe Martin Stage Race, including the lovely climb out of Devil's Den State Park.

MTB: Yes, there is good mountain biking in Fayetteville. But if dirt is your thing, take the 30 minute drive to Bentonville and do the Tunnel Vision loop, then maybe check out the Coler MTB Preserve.

BENTONVILLE: Very much worth a side trip. The cornerstone is the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Unquestionably a world-class museum with a world-class collection. The architecture is also utterly jaw-dropping. Set aside a few hours to enjoy it. Other Bentonville highlights are Onyx Coffee as well as the Pressroom, Preacher's Son and 8th St Market for eats.

OTHER:
- The University of Arkansas campus is beautiful. Worth taking a stroll around it.
- Dickson Street is the main drag through downtown. On weekend nights it's a zoo. Lots of drinking going on, and lots of great people-watching.
- The bookstore at the bottom of Dickson Street is really good. Disorganized? Yes, sort of. But huge and full of great books and fair prices.
- One of Frank Lloyd Wright's foremost proteges was Fay Jones, who spent nearly his entire career in Fayetteville. The U of A architecture school is now named after him. He designed a boatload of lovely buildings, but my favorite is also what I think is the most peaceful place I've ever been: Cooper Chapel up in Bella Vista. It's about 45 minutes from Fayetteville. It's small. But it's so perfect I couldn't imagine visiting NW Arkansas and not going there.

Really hoping a lot of you use these races as a reason to make your first real-deal trip to the Natural State...Brendan

+1 on everything, but especially on the chapel. There is a second one that E. Fay Jones did in Eureka Springs (which is pretty close) that placed fourth in the AIA 'Most Significant Buildings of the Twentieth Century" called Thorncrown that is a little more visited than the one in Bella Vista--but they are both stunning, though different.

Someone asked him why he did more than one, and he said 'when you get a good idea, you have to work it out of your system' or something to that effect...

[pdmtong]

BQ, I am not able to attend but chapeau for taking the time to share what makes your corner of the world special.

I spent 7 years lining up and basically donating my entry fees. When you feel like barfing 15 min into a 45 it's all you can do to keep the rider in front in your sights.

I wish I could see how the elite handle the un-rideable for me.

[gutenbergler]

Thanks for sharing this. It definitely has me interested in coming up from Houston for the world champs. The October race would be preferable but it looks like it is mid week, which makes it hard to swing.


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[gavingould]

planning to hit the World Cup as a preview for World Champs; then on to JingleCross. need to see about getting a photo pass

[BRad704]

Originally Posted by gutenbergler

Thanks for sharing this. It definitely has me interested in coming up from Houston for the world champs. The October race would be preferable but it looks like it is mid week, which makes it hard to swing.


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I was bummed to see a Wednesday race day too. Hard to justify in the middle of big projects at work.

BUT. I've already get a group of buddies and an Airbnb locked in for January.


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[Brendan Quirk]

Totally understand that the Wednesday race date is a bummer. Part of me kind of thinks it’s cool, since mid-week high-level racing is such a European tradition. But of course we get that it’s a damper on spectator turnout.

The fact of the matter, though, is that the Trek Cup and Jinglecross are World Cup fixtures and have turned into amazing traditions — Fayetteville is the new kid on the block. We only get the Euro riders for a week in the US, so we had to fit the race where we could!

[gutenbergler]

Originally Posted by Brendan Quirk

Totally understand that the Wednesday race date is a bummer. Part of me kind of thinks it’s cool, since mid-week high-level racing is such a European tradition. But of course we get that it’s a damper on spectator turnout.

The fact of the matter, though, is that the Trek Cup and Jinglecross are World Cup fixtures and have turned into amazing traditions — Fayetteville is the new kid on the block. We only get the Euro riders for a week in the US, so we had to fit the race where we could!

Understandable! I think it is so cool that y’all are hosting in Arkansas.

I need to look at lodging etc for January. My partner sounds interested in making it a long weekend. She isn’t really “into” cycling, I’m assuming there is enough other culture to absorb in Fayetteville? Fortunately there are direct flights from Houston.


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[bikinchris]

Thanks for making your list.
We go to Fayetteville often, so we have some experience there. This is just the opinion of me and my wife.
Hugo's was a....meh from us.
Catfish hole is legendary. The do have grilled options to avoid fried foods.
BBQ in Arkansas is extremely good:
Whole Hog decorates their place with BBQ trophies.
Sassy's has two places in town and they are very good
Wright's is the newest place in town, but is making serious followers of the locals.
Slim Chickens is a chain that started in Fayetteville.
Flying Burrito gets a nod from us.
Braums for ice cream!
Raising Canes is a chain from Baton Rouge, but they frankly have the best chicken fingers of any chain.
Butcher Boy Burgers is a local chain that's pretty good.

War Eagle mill is interesting. The weekend of the World Cup on Wednesday, there are SEVERAL craft fairs in the area and War Eagle mill has a huge craft fair with 40+ acres of parking. There are at least 4 other fairs that weekend. No one can sensibly go to all of them.

[bikinchris]

Tickets for the World Cup in November are live:
https://www.cyclocrossfayettevillear2021.com/tickets/

You have two options
1. Free entry
2. VIP tent access with TVs and food for $100

[redir]

Thanks for this! We were just talking about going down there.

[bikinchris]

A new team event will be at the January CX Worlds:
https://www.uci.org/pressrelease/the...XzxRQGY5eaGbd6

[redir]

Hey Brendan what is the weather like there in January?