USA Cycling Sees Record Growth In Cycling Participation

USA Cycling, the national governing body of cycling, reported record participation in national championship events, including mountain biking and pro road, another sign of the strength in growth of cycling participation.

Registration for mountain biking nationals was up nearly 11 percent over 2019, with a significant number of participants in its first high school festival. The number of junior athletes participating in racing and events is ahead of 2019, and overall membership is set to exceed 2019 numbers by more than 25 percent.

“We set out to truly champion cycling among youth this year,” said USA Cycling president and CEO, Rob DeMartini. “It is clear that it is working. Events and programs like what we held at mountain bike nationals are helping to engage and include youth riders, setting them up to be cyclists for life.”

As part of its commitment to develop programs, USA Cycling’s inaugural Let’s Ride program with Free Bikes 4 Kidz and Wish 4 Wheels has donated over 600 bikes to kids. The Let’s Ride program also matches coaches and kids for skills camps on its website.

USA Cycling also reported the addition of nine brand partners—Cuore of Switzerland, Tissot, Skratch Labs, Giro, Vittoria Tires, FloSports, POC Sports, Intermountain Healthcare, and Zespri Kiwifruit— who are supporting its mission to champion cycling in the U.S. by backing Team USA athletes and providing members with benefits.

“USA Cycling is building a tremendous roster of partners,” said DeMartini. “We appreciate the support, value and trust each and everyone of them brings to make our athletes better, membership stronger and the We Champion mission more successful.” We Champion kicked off in June with the goal of improving access for cyclists of all levels and backgrounds.

“When we saw the boom in cycling in 2020, we hoped that also meant an increase in racing and general increased participation in the programs USA Cycling offers to make cycling more accessible,” said DeMartini. “We’re thrilled to see those numbers are in line with overall growth of the sport.”