Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan holds the UCI Bike City award outside City Hall
City of Fayetteville
City Council members last week got a reminder about Fayetteville’s prestigious Bike City designation when Experience Fayetteville CEO Molly Rawn presented the award to Mayor Lioneld Jordan before Tuesday’s meeting.
The designation was first announced in February by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body of cycling.
It’s the first time a city in the United States has received the award. Only 20 cities have been awarded the designation, including Copenhagen, Paris, Vancouver and Fyn.
The UCI gives the label to places for their commitment to developing cycling at all levels, from elite competition to the use of bikes for leisure and as a means of transportation.
Rawn was invited to Denmark in October to receive the award on behalf of the city and Experience Fayetteville.
Experience Fayetteville CEO Molly Rawn / Fayetteville Government Channel
That same month, Fayetteville hosted the UCI Cyclocross World Cup races at Centennial Park on Millsap Mountain. Those races were a preview of sorts of the same course that will be used in the UCI CycloCross World Championships in January. It will be just the second time the United States has ever hosted that event, which was first held in 1950 in Paris, France.
Rawn said hosting official UCI events was a contributing factor to Fayetteville receiving the Bike City designation, but the city’s bicycle master plan and other annual professional events like the Joe Martin Stage Race also played a role in the award.
“The UCI gives the label to places that not only host major UCI cycling events, but also cities that have a track record of investing in cycling, pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, and community cycling initiatives,” Rawn told the council. “Although Experience Fayetteville applied for the designation, we understand it is the work of the mayor, this council, previous councils, and city staff that helped achieve this.”
Tickets are on sale now for the UCI Cyclocross World Championships, which are set for Jan. 28-30, 2022 at Centennial Park in Fayetteville.
