By: Carlee Gilpin
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark (UATV)- The annual Joe Martin Stage Race (JMSR), a popular road cycling event in Fayetteville, has been postponed until 2025. The event was canceled this year due to the rising costs of producing a multi-day stage race according to the race director.
All Sports Productions host the JMSR and this event would have marked its 46th year of amateur racing. The race was named after the long-time race director, Joe Martin, who lost his battle with cancer.
Road racing flourished in Arkansas because of this event and attracted significant tourism to the region.
Molly Rawn, CEO of Experience Fayetteville, said this race has continued to grow into one of the biggest stage races, but sponsorship is difficult to come by..
”There’s a lot of competition in this region for sponsorship dollars and it takes quite a bit of sponsorship support to pull something like this off and I think financially the organizers just could not make that happen this year.”
The race has historically propelled numerous U.S. cyclists onto the international stage, with past winners like Neilson Powless.
Rawn emphasized the importance of hosting events like the JMSR for Fayetteville’s communal development.
“Creating a festival-like vibe around the event I think is important because it does encourage the community to come out and watch it and enjoy and I think that that is helpful.”