A Tour of Arkansas is in the works for May 2026 as an internationally sanctioned stage race in the US. All Sports Productions will lead efforts to "reimagine" a UCI-sanctioned stage race for men and women, similar to the long-standing but financially-challenged Joe Martin Stage Race that ended a four-decade run two years ago.
Early plans for the Tour of Arkansas will focus on the event to be held in northwest Arkansas, where Joe Martin Stage Race was based as an amateur event and then a UCI 2.2 event for 46 editions. All Sports Productions has owned and produced the Joe Martin Stage Race for the last 25 years and will oversee all operations for the Tour of Arkansas.
Based on comprehensive market research conducted across the cycling industry last year by All Sports Productions, Dunn decided that new branding was needed to reinvigorate support for a UCI-sanctioned stage race for men and women in the region, and he already has positive feedback to make the event happen.
"The knowledge is here, we just need the money. It simply goes down to raising money," Dunn told Cyclingnews. "Tour of Arkansas says something. It resonates outside the cycling community. We have early conversations with potential sponsors."
Dunn said that the new stage race would replicate the format of the Joe Martin Stage Race by including a time trial, criterium and road stages, though it was not specified how many days would be part of the inaugural edition. Lauren Stephens, who won the Pan-American road race championships, won the women's GC in the final edition in 2023, while Riley Sheehan, now with Israel-Premier Tech, won the men's GC.
“The most crucial aspect of bringing the Tour of Arkansas from the planning stage to reality is finding sponsorship partners who understand the complexity and inherent costs of staging this type of international event. Fortunately, Arkansas is home to many successful Fortune 500 companies, tourism organizations and major consumer package good vendors who are invested in driving the state’s reputation and offerings for outdoor recreation, as well as individuals who are passionate about cycling,” he noted.
After 41 years of stage racing, started for amateurs as the Fayetteville Spring Classic, the Joe Martin Stage Race was postponed for the first time in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. The race resumed for three more years but was cancelled in both 2024 and 2025 due to a shortfall in funding.
"We will be working diligently in the months ahead to tap into the state’s resources to bring a new marquee cycling event to life. In the past decade, Arkansas has become a true cycling destination with support from state, regional and local tourism organizations not to mention businesses and individuals who want to see the state continue to develop and grow its cycling credentials."
He said that while the name of the event will no longer be associated with the first race director, Joe Martin, who died of cancer in 1989, the family was still supportive.
"I'm your biggest fan, and whatever you decide to do long term, we support.
"The name Joe Martin Stage Race does not mean today what it did before, especially outside the endemic cycling world. Nancy, Joe's wife, always said, 'I'm your biggest fan, I'm your biggest supporter.' She said whatever we decide to do long term didn't need a blessing for change," Dunn shared on maintaining a connection to the roots of the event.
The early years of the race were always managed by a local cycling club, and Dunn was part of that organising committee. When he founded All Sports Productions in 2003, he took ownership of the race itself and then moved the event that year from a regional race to the US racing national calendar. Ten years later, the Joe Martin was upgraded to the UCI calendar.
All Sports Productions also operates the Highlands Gravel Classic based in Goshin, Arkansas. The second-year event takes place on April 26 this year and is the first of two US races that are part of the UCI Gravel World Series.
Dunn hopes that a revival for stage racing in the US will take place in Arkansas, with categories for men and women. Earlier this month, Infinity Events Group in the UK announced plans to seek funding to bring a men's UCI stage race to Colorado in September 2026.
"For 46 years, we produced the Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, Arkansas and became a fixture on both the North American and international racing calendars. There are many of us in the industry who can produce great bike races, it is literally one thing - money," stated Dunn.
