Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Sept. 5, 2025 – Members of the Jonesboro Ridge Riders (JRR) Mountain Bike Team, the Jonesboro Parks and Recreation Department and other volunteers prepared on Friday for the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) Plains Divisional Race to be held this weekend.
This will be the first time the City of Jonesboro and the Ridge Riders team has hosted a NICA race, and the city expects to see around 300 student-athletes from across Arkansas and their families, according to a Jonesboro Advertising and Promotion (A&P) Commission press release.
Jonesboro Parks and Recreation assistant director Jim Stearns said they were excited about all the teams that are going to be in Jonesboro for the event.
“The Craighead Forest team has done a great job getting the park ready. They’ve done a lot of trail maintenance. That’s something they do year-round anyway, but we’ve really been trying to work with the NICA people to make sure the trail is really in great conditions for the kids to race,” he said.
Ridge Riders head coach James Meredith said having the race in the team’s hometown means a lot.
“We’ve always wanted to have a race here and finally to see one here is going to be pretty special,” Meredith said. “I know all the kids are very excited about it being here. We get to show off our trails to the rest of the state, so it’ll be a real good thing. I think we have one of the nicest trails in the state and to show it off, a lot of people are going to be surprised when they get here to see not only the trails, but the whole park.”
JRR junior varsity Ben Burroughs, 15, said this is his fourth year riding with Arkansas NICA and he was excited to show off his home trails.
“There going to be a lot of kids and the course is going to be very dusty and fast paced, but we’ve been practicing since April 1,” Burroughs said.
The Jonesboro race will be the first one in the 2025 AR NICA race season. There will also be races in Conway and Hot Springs for the Plains Division, which is the division the JRR is in.
The AR NICA State Championship will take place in Fayetteville Oct. 25-26, and the NICA Central Region Championship will take place Nov. 8-9, also in Fayetteville.
The race will feature boy and girl divisions ranging from fifth through twelfth grades, with teams from Jonesboro, Conway, Little Rock, Hot Springs, Mountain Home, Benton, Cabot, Russellville, Harrison, North Little Rock, and South Arkansas.
“We have something so special here at Craghead Forest park, and we can’t wait to show it off to the entire state. A state that has so many cyclists… we know they’re going to come back and ride for fun, not just competition,” A&P Commission Executive Director Craig Rickert said.
Athletes are expected to arrive for practice on Saturday, Sept. 6, from noon to 4 p.m. at Craighead Forest Park, Access 6.
Competitions will begin on Sunday, Sept. 7, with the first race starting at 8:30 a.m. and the final race scheduled for around 1:30 p.m. For a complete list of Sunday race times, click here.
Awards will follow the final race, which be around 2:30 to 3 p.m.
The 2025 Jonesboro NICA course can be found on the Ride with GPS website.
This free event is open to spectators. Food trucks will be on-site on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.
