MIDWAY, Utah (August 17, 2023) — Soldier Hollow Nordic Center will host the Pan-American Mountain Bike Championships May 8 – 12, 2024 – an international competition returning to the United States for the first time in over 20 years featuring the best athletes in multiple disciplines vying for continental titles and crucial qualifying points for the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games.
Athletes from more than 40 countries in North and South America compete in the Pan-American Championships for coveted Pan-Am champion jerseys. Events include Short Track, Relay, Eliminator and Cross-Country in Junior, U23, Elite and Masters age groups. The event will blend aspects of the annual Soldier Hollow Bike Festival with the Pan-Am Championship races, including USA Cycling-sanctioned amateur races for youth and adults to provide an opportunity for all levels of competitors to take part in the action.
The opportunity to host the Pan-American Mountain Bike Championships furthers Soldier Hollow’s goals to host world-class trail events in the Heber Valley year-round – from cross-country skiing to biathlon to mountain biking.
The venue has invested in local cycling growth including Team Soldier Hollow’s mountain bike development team, youth cycling camps, and public bike lessons and rentals. Soldier Hollow also hosts approximately 15 mountain bike competitions per year including Union Cycliste Internationale, National Interscholastic Cycling Association, regional and local events.
“As a Winter Olympic and Paralympic legacy venue, Soldier Hollow has applied its expertise in world-class Nordic skiing, biathlon and mountain biking to create year-round opportunities for our local community, to support national governing bodies such as U.S. Ski and Snowboard, U.S. Biathlon and now USA Cycling, and to welcome the international cycling community to the Heber Valley,” Soldier Hollow General Manager Luke Bodensteiner said.
Kyle Knott, USA Cycling Director of National Events, added: “USA Cycling is thrilled to partner with Soldier Hollow for the 2024 Pan-American Mountain Bike Championships. This is an exciting opportunity for the U.S. to host an international cycling event of this caliber. To host the Pan-American Championships on home soil is not only an honor, but also a chance for our USA Cycling athletes to gain critical qualifying points for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Soldier Hollow has been pivotal in their support of cycling in Utah and it is exciting to see their hard work launching them onto the international stage with this event.”
Soldier Hollow has welcomed dozens of world-class international events since the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games – including the 2019 IBU Biathlon World Cup, 2022 IBU Youth and Junior World Championships, 2023 FIS Para Nordic World Cup, and is scheduled to host the 2024 IBU Biathlon World Cup.
The Pan-American Mountain Bike Championships is among the first international events planned for hosting at the renovated and expanded Soldier Hollow Training Center. The $13.5 million project – slated for completion in early summer 2024 – will add 11,445 square feet to the current facility to supplement an overhaul of 7,670 existing square feet to further Soldier Hollow’s reputation as a world-class trail sports host.
