Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- High school mountain biking is booming in Utah, with over 7,500 student participants.
- Mountain bike races significantly boost local economies, generating millions in revenue for small towns.
- The sport fosters community involvement and tourism, with trails expanding across Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — The pack of athletes at the starting line looks as big as a football team, but this meeting, in front of a few thousand fans, is a high school mountain bike race.
"We are the largest youth cycling organization in the nation," said Dallen Atack, board president of the Utah High School Cycling League. Just 10 years ago, there were 320 riders. Now more than 7,500 students compete in Utah.
"I love being out there all the time," said Morgan High School rider Blair Erickson.
Riders aren't the only ones who love high school mountain biking.
"They have an incredible impact on our community," said Maria Twitchell, director of Visit Cedar City, Brian Head Tourism Bureau.
"It bolsters the community because those people have to eat and have to buy gas and have to stay," said Dennis Jorgensen, mountain bike organizer in Richfield.
Mountain bike races held among the ridges of Richfield, the peaks of Price and the vistas of Vernal bring thousands of visitors who likely wouldn't otherwise come to these small Utah towns.
"From the fast-food to the sit-down restaurants, they are all full," said Price Mayor Michael Kourianos.
In Richfield, traffic and hotel parking lots are filled with cars carrying valuable cargo.
"Any time you drive down main street, there's a van or a car with bikes on the back of it, and that didn't use to be the case," said Carson DeMille, chairman of the Richfield Trail Committee.
What's become clear in city after city, is that on race weekends, huge open fields have become paydirt.
This is the revenue some Utah cities are experiencing due to the high school mountain bike races:
- $1,000,000 in Price
- $1,800,000 in Cedar City
- $500,000 in Richfield
So, no surprise, small towns all over Utah are racing to build courses of their own.
Courses have existed for a number of years in Richfield, Cedar City, Vernal, Price, St George, Manti, Beaver Mountain, Eagle Mountain and Soldier Hollow.
More recently, trails have come online in Mantua, Herriman and Beaver. And new trails have come or are coming to Tooele, Panguitch and Gunnison. Morgan has a course in the works.
The cities of Price and Herriman are working on second courses.
"It's pretty competitive. We don't really talk about it, but on our end, we try to make sure that we are taking care of those race directors," said Lesh Coltharp, director of Tourism and Events for Uintah County.
Ahead of the races, big open fields of dirt turn into mini cities of high school staging tents. There's a reason these races are more suited to rural Utah than established ski resorts and trail areas.
"We do have specific standards on how long the course needs to be," said Michelle Lyman, race director for Region 2.
They need broad courses that are four to six miles, about 500 feet in elevation, with nothing too steep or too narrow.
But the No. 1 requirement.
"We need to have at least 1,000 parking spaces to hold one of our races," Atack said.
Many cities combine private, county and federal lands with donations, county and state grants to build their courses.
It's more than just economics that fuels mountain biking mania. Unlike most high school sports, everyone gets to compete. No one sits on the sidelines.
"'Nobody rides the bench' is one of our favorite mottos of the league," Atack said.
These courses provide a valuable source of recreation and opportunity for kids, especially in small towns.
"I knew that if we could get these kids riding it would probably change their lives," said Dennis Jorgensen, of Richfield.
"We're building athletes. And those athletes turn into lifetime users and recreationists who will come back year after year and bring their kids," added Maria Twitchell of Cedar City.
In many cities, trail maintenance can also become a part-time, high school job.
Since mountain biking isn't a high school-sanctioned sport, the need for parent volunteers is great. They require a 1:6 coach-to-student ratio, just to ride on the trails.
"This is a sport where the parents can practice and ride right alongside their kids, they come support them during the day," Lyman said.
So, while mountain biking is changing the face of high school sports for thousands of families, it is also putting Utah towns on the map for tourism.
"Word of mouth continues to grow, so the impact is much larger than we anticipated," said Amy Myers, Sevier County tourism director.
"When the community benefits," Jorgensen said, "We all benefit."
