FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (March 22, 2024) — All Sports Productions announced today that the 47th edition of the Joe Martin Stage Race (JMSR) has been postponed until 2025.Bruce Dunn, race director and owner of All Sports Productions, said, “After 46 years of amateur stage racing, 21 years on the USA Cycling professional calendar and 9 years on the UCI international calendar we’ve had to make the very difficult decision to cancel the 2024 event due to the rising costs of producing a multi-day stage race coupled with limited corporate and stakeholder sponsorship and funding.”
When All Sports Productions was formed in 2003, the professional stage race was created to attract the best road racers in America. Road racing flourished in Arkansas because of this event and as a result the nation discovered our amazing corner of the world and how great the roads, terrain and community were for road cycling.
In 2013, the JMSR applied for international sanctioning on the UCI calendar. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body of cycling. The race eventually attracted riders from 27 countries and teams representing as many as 10 countries each year. The world discovered Arkansas through bike racing.
The JMSR has been the springboard for many US cyclists to compete on the world stage including the Olympics, World Championships and international races including 2016 winner Neilson Powless who wore the prestigious polka dot jersey in 2023 Tour de France as the best climber for 12 stages.
“We are committed to finding future sponsors for the professional UCI stage race and to bringing it back in 2025 bigger and better. With 14 months to plan for 2025, we will be working tirelessly to secure a top-tier line-up of sponsors. This race would not have been possible over the years without the sponsors, volunteers and others within the Fayetteville community who have done so much, and I look forward to continuing in partnership with them in the future.” Dunn said. “The Joe Martin Stage Race was our first event and started our career in event production. We have literally been bringing the world of professional cycling to Arkansas for over two decades and the pathway to the Olympics, World Championships and the World Tour Teams and events such as the Tour de France have included the Joe Martin Stage Race.” he concluded.
In addition to the Joe Martin Stage Race, All Sports Productions produces and promotes such events as the Big Dam Bridge 100, Fayetteville Half Marathon, Ozark Valley Triathlon, Highlands Gravel Classic, DeGray Lake Triathlon along with other road, mountain bike, gravel races and fondos, triathlons and running events.
For more information, see: https://www.joemartinstagerace.com/
