An all-new mountain bike stage race is coming to the USA, and it boasts a whopping $15,000 prize purse.
Just where will this new race be held? Yeah, you guessed it: Arkansas. The inaugural 3-day OZ Stage Race, scheduled for May 21-24, 2026, will be based in the self-proclaimed “Mountain Biking Capital of the World,” Bentonville.
Vision behind the race
Arkansas has just about every type of bike race imaginable, except for a stage race. So, the Ozark Foundation decided to add one.
“We’ve got the [Trans-Sylvania] Epic out East. We’ve got the Breck Epic out West. You know, you’ve got Wines2Whales and multiple ones overseas. It just felt like it really was a piece of the puzzle that was missing, kind of in the central United States, right?” explained Kevin Tucker, Race Director for the OZ Stage Race.
“We wanted to kind of put our stake in the ground with [the race], and show off our trail system with the OZ Trails, and then also to create a full experience, because we want to draw [national-level racers] but we also want to have something that is available for people that live in this area, and get to ride these trails all the time,” added Jamie Cathey, Event Director for the OZ Stage Race. “We really want a full experience, and we’re going to do it in this stage race.”
Course details revealed in an exclusive interview
The OZ Stage Race will feature three days of racing, plus an optional prologue day on Thursday. The race courses have not yet been finalized, as the exact venue location hasn’t been confirmed. Tucker explained that they hope to host the race at the brand-new OZ Trails Bike Park, but they’re not yet certain the park will be open and available to host the race. If they can’t utilize the bike park, the venue will be situated just across the highway in a different park, but with a major highway in between. That highway will dramatically affect how the courses will start and end.
Despite the venue uncertainty, we still got a great outline of what the OZ Stage Race will demand from riders in our exclusive interview with the OZ Stage Race.
Day 0, Prologue: OZ Trails Bike Park
Before the true racing kicks off, Tucker plans to host a prologue race to give riders a bonus fourth day of racing. “The purpose of the prologue is not mandatory, but it is […] the opportunity to do a short race for the leader’s jersey and for call-ups. So bragging rights,” he explained. “For the most part, it’s meant to be fun. We’ll incorporate our packet pickup with it, and [have] a little kickoff celebration.”
Currently, the hope is to hold the prologue on the bike park trails, but that’s dependent on the construction timeline. “If we know anything about construction, it’s that it does not go on time. That’s the one guarantee,” said Tucker with a laugh.
Day 1: Back 40 Trails
The stage race will follow a hub-and-spoke design, similar to the Breck Epic, with every day of racing concluding at the venue. However, some of the race start points may differ. The first of the three loops will utilize the Back 40 trails on the east side of Highway 71.
Back 40 delivers well-built XC singletrack that flows both uphill and downhill through narrow strips of woodland threading between Bella Vista’s suburban landscape. Machine-built berms, rollers, and a gravelly trail tread that can get slippery in corners keep the pace quick, though technically adept riders won’t find much to challenge them here — this is pure XC hammerhead territory, perfect for a long-distance stage race. While the trails cross roads frequently, in places riders will find gorgeous rock cliffs overhanging the trail and cascading waterfalls.
Day 1 will clock between 35 and 40 miles of racing on these classic Bella Vista trails. According to Tucker, the route logs about 100 feet of climbing per mile on average, so racers can expect between 3,500 and 4,000 feet of climbing over that distance.
Day 2: Little Sugar Trails
Day 2 will also deliver between 35 and 40 miles of racing with about 3,500 to 4,000 feet of climbing, and it will utilize the trails on the west side of the highway: the Little Sugar Creek trail system.
This massive network is, again, the perfect spot to host a long-distance stage race. In fact, both the Back 40 and Little Sugar trails were just featured in the Little Sugar MTB race this past weekend as a part of the Life Time Grand Prix series.
The Little Sugar trails are home to mostly blue-rated singletrack that’s a bit steeper, punchier, and chunkier than its neighbor, Back 40. The mostly machine-built trails travel through rolling terrain punctuated by multiple stream crossings, and even rainbow LED-lighted tunnels. The trails routinely intersect paved roads crisscrossing the area, so while sections can feel remote, you’re never more than a mile or two from civilization.
If the Ozark Foundation is able to use the bike park as a venue, Day 2 will finish with a run down through the park.
Day 3: Urban Bentonville
The third day’s course is a little less certain, but it will highlight Bentonville’s in-town trail systems, most likely linking Coler, Slaughter Pen, and Handcut Hollow. The goal for the final day is to put Bentonville’s best, easy-to-access trails on display.
“We’re going to design a race through the urban Northwest Arkansas OZ Trails, again, finishing back at the same location,” said Tucker.
The final stage might be a bit shorter in mileage, but it promises to be more technical than the first two days. Coler and Hand Cut Hollow are known for rocky, technical trails, and depending on the route chosen through Slaughter Pen, that section could also be punchy and demanding. There’s also the possibility for some flow trails and jumps thrown in — anything could happen on this final day of racing!
Despite being shorter, due to the urban location, it will be the most logistically challenging stage by far. To manage road crossings and road sections, there will be “police involved, the whole nine yards.”
Everyone is welcome at the OZ Stage Race
The Ozark Foundation is a nonprofit organization that exists “to remove barriers for people to get into the outdoors,” according to Cathey. The Foundation owns or operates numerous top-tier races across Arkansas, including the Arkansas Graveler, Arkansas Enduro Series, and more.
While they aim to attract top-level pro talent to the Stage Race, Cathey said they’ll have categories for just about everyone. “We are the home of the USA Cycling mountain bike national team, so we have a high level of riders that are here, and that is the level of competition that we want to have, but we also want to be accessible for your everyday rider that is looking for a challenge,” she explained.
The OZ Stage Race will offer have categories for elites, juniors, multiple amateur age classes, and more. According to Tucker, they’re even working on adding e-bike categories to the race, although exactly how that will play out is to be determined.
Cathey said it’s important that “everybody feels like they have their place to participate in this.”
“We exist to remove barriers, so we want the most bang for your buck [and] to have a high-end experience [that’s] available to all levels of rider.”
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