Griffith: Olympic cycling bringing Bentonville ‘more global recognition’

Kalene Griffith had not immediately seen an influx of interest in Bentonville because of the mountain biking competition at the Paris Olympics, but the Visit Bentonville CEO is confident it’s coming. And she’s also working to maximize the interest when it does hit.

American Haley Batten captured the silver in the women’s mountain biking competition in Paris. Salivia Blunk, who has a home in Bentonville, according to Griffith, placed 12th. In the men’s competition, Riley Amos placed seventh, and Christoper Blevins placed 13th for the U.S. team. For a relatively new Olympic sport, the Americans were broadly praised as doing well — especially Batten.

All four conducted some of their training in Bentonville, where Colorado Springs, Colo.-based USA Cycling has a satellite training center. The satellite office was named in December 2022 as the official “Home of the U.S. National Mountain Bike Team.”

Bentonville was mentioned several times during the Olympic television broadcast and on various social media platforms as the place where Batten and the men trained.

“I don’t think we’re seeing it right now, but I’m sure that the people watching [the Olympics] are saying, ‘Hey, wait a minute, I need to go to Bentonville,’” Griffith said during a recent interview, adding, “I think it’s bringing Bentonville and Arkansas more global recognition” within the biking community.

“I think someone in the UK or Canada will be like, ‘Hey, wait. I want to know more about this Bentonville place.’”

Griffith said Visit Bentonville is already working with USA Cycling and others to build upon the word-of-mouth marketing from the Olympic coverage. They hope to “target the avid cyclists” who will find it appealing to ride some of the same trails where Olympians train, but they will also work to reach the “leisure” cyclists. Part of that will include “really niche targeting” with groups and digital media that already cater to the mountain biking community.

Griffith also said her organization and others in the Northwest Arkansas cycling industry are working to make cycling more accessible — fiscally and physically — for more people.

“Yes, the [mountain] bikes can be expensive. But if you get a bike, the trails are free,” she said.

The trails may be free, but the impact is real. The University of Arkansas issued a report in June 2023 showing that Northwest Arkansas’ cycling industry contributed $159 million to the economy in 2022 through cycling-related jobs, tourism revenue and taxes.