Louisville Short Track Mountain Bike

June 3rd / 10th / 17th 2026 • 4p-9p • Eva Bandman Park

The low-cost, low-key, high-fun mountain bike race series for kids, teens and adults of all abilities! Races are under 30 minutes and not super technical.

$20 for adults • $10 for juniors • FREE kids race

Every. Single. Penny. benefits the nonprofit Louisville Cyclocross Collective,
who's mission is to maintain Eva Bandman Park and maintain a collective of riders, racers and fans like you!

🤘🏼 Street's Gyros 🍔 • West Sixth 🍺 • Ale-8-One 🫧 • Popsicles for Kids 🧊 • Sweet Jumps 🚀 • Music 🤘🏼

A perfect summer evening at Eva Bandman Cyclocross Park!

Week 1, June 3rd: Results • Photos

Week 2, June 10th: Results • Photos

SERIES FINALE 👇🏼

SERIES STANDINGS 🏆

ONLINE REG ONLY! Don't bring cash.
Reg closes 15 mins prior to race time.
Bad weather may cancel.
Rain date is June 24th.

MORE RACE DETAILS 👇🏼

Follow @louisvilleshorttrack on IG

Short Track is BACK for it's 16th(?) Season!

Keep in the know: Join the LCC Email List, LCC Discord chat server or follow @louisvilleshorttrack and @louisvillecrosscollective on IG

Contact Race Director Ben Wilson at hello@louisvillecrosscollective.com or text 502-836-8551

Short Track is where Louisville learns to race bikes!

WATCH SHORT TRACK:

RACE SCHEDULE

4:00P REGISTRATION & PRE-RIDE Opens

5:30P KIDS U11 (10 & Under)* (10 min)

5:45P JUNIORS U15 + U19 (15 min)
Boys U15/Girls U15/Boys U19/Girls U19

6:05P NEWBIES + SS (20 min)

Men’s Newbs, Women’s Newbs, Singlespeed

6:35P MID MEN (25 min)
MID Men, MID Men 40+ ("Matures")

7:05P WOMEN’S WAVE (25 min)
FASTIE Women, MID Women

7:35P FASTIE MEN (30 min)
FASTIE Men, FASTIES Men 40+

8:10P EBike** + Party Lap* (15 min)

8:30P Clean-up

Times above are START times. Get to staging 10-15mins prior. We won't wait for you! Each race has a three person podium, except kids and party lap, where everyone gets to stand on the podium.

* Free! Registration required, though.

** Class 1, 20 MPH only please

AGE CATEGORIES

"U" means under, so U11 = 10 and under.
"40+" means age 40 and up
"Age" is the racers age on Dec 31st of this year. We reserve the right to ask for ID to confirm.

Race Director: Ben Wilson

A typical Men's FASTIES podium

NIGHTLY PRIZES

Get on the podium and visit the PRIZE CLOSET!

Each night, we'll have a PRIZE CLOSET filled with swag and merch from our amazing sponsors, including: West Sixth, Ale8, N+1 Bikes, Handup, SILCA and more!

Plus: super secret unique 2026 Short Track "trophies" for all riders and podium winners.

For the Kids: In accordance with tradition - free cheap popsicles for kids, plus the first 60 kids to register get a SHORT TRACK SLAP BRACELET for their wrist (or seatpost!)

OVERALL PRIZES

A huge thanks to N+1 Bikes for sponsoring the overall series awards.

N+1 Gift Cards

Newbies (Men, Women) $100 / $50 / $25
Mids (Men, Men 40+, Women): $100 / $50 / $25
Fasties (Men, Men 40+, Women): $200 / $100 / $50

Prize Closet Swag

Juniors (U15 Boys, U15 Girls, U19 Boys, U19 Girls)
Singlespeed (Men+Women Combined Podium)

VENUE + COURSE MAPS

Course changes from week to week. Super-technical or gnarly features are few and far between, and will have opt-out lines. We aim to have a course suitable for NEWBS and challenging enough for FASTIES. Courses may change from what we post here due to whim or necessity!

2026 WEEK 1:

2026 WEEK 2:

2026 SERIES SPONSORS

High quality events require high-quality sponsors, and we got 'em!

BOYD CAT - $1500

Anonymous Sponsor - $2000

Anonymous Sponsor - $500

...and our 70+ LCC Members!

N+1 Bikes - OVERALL Prize Sponsor

2026 BEER AND SODA SPONSORS

Y'all, it's expensive to permit to sell food and beer! These amazing sponsors made this a possibility:

West Sixth - $1000 + Swag

KEG 1 River City - $1000

Ale-8-One - Sodas + Swag!

The Post - $500

EVENT PARTNERS

The folks we couldn't do without

Rocket Power Brand Co
The best timing, race production and marketing materials in the business!

OUR CIVIC PARTNERS

Louisville Metro Parks and their Northwest Maintenance Crew
Our Adopt-a-Park sponsors, grass mowers and big fans of our mission!

LMPD Downtown Area Patrol
Keeping Eva Bandman and our race courses safe!

Moon Portable Restrooms
Until Bandman gets a pavilion, we ask for the Moon!

ALL THE SHORT TRACK DETAILS YOU'LL EVER NEED

Louisville Short Track is back and it's radder than ever!

Louisville Short Track 2026 is presented by the nonprofit Louisville Cyclocross Collective and Rocket Power Brand Co.

RULE #1: KEEP IT LOW-KEY, HIGH-FUN

When in doubt, refer back to rule #1. Don't make us tap the sign.

RACE CATEGORIES

You get to choose your category! (keeping in mind Rule #1) Don't know which to race? Ask at registration and they'll size you up.

You can race more than once a night, but you can't be in two races at the same time (e.g. Newbs and Singlespeed. Choose one!)

Pursuant to Rule #1, race directors reserve the right to:

Consolidate or create categories according to registration numbers.
Promote you up a category if you crush everyone

KIDS: U11 means "Under 11", so 10 and under. Free! Registration (and helmets) required!

JUNIORS: U15 means under 15, so 14 and under. U19 means 18 and under.

NEWBIES + SINGLESPEED:

This is for the beginners! Or the single speed weirdos!
The NEWBIE and SINGLESPEED wave starts ALL GENDERS together, but...
... there WILL be separate podiums for NEWBIE Men and NEWBIE Women, because we love you.
SINGLESPEED podium will be all genders (unless by some miracle we have more than 5 singlespeeder of both genders).
NEWBIE riders ONLY may ride non-MTB non-flat-bar bicycles. You'll probably want an MTB.

MIDS: This is for intermediates. In racer speak, these are fast Cat 4 or Cat 3 cyclocross / road riders.

MIDS 40+: Are you a "mature" yet middling racers, race age 40 or older? This is for you, should you wish to accept this fact.

FASTIES: The fastest of fastie racers. Not for the faint of heart!

E-BIKES: EBikes are limited to Class 1 (20 MPH, pedal assist only) please - let’s keep it fair for all ebikes.

PARTY LAP: Free and unfettered by race stress, but registration is required.

DAY OF DETAILS

LOCATION: Eva Bandman Park at 1701 River Rd, Louisville Kentucky.

WEATHER + CANCELLATIONS:

It's summer time in Kentucky, so the weather is VARIABLE
If weather is iffy, we will make a call by NOON on RACE DAY via EMAIL, WEBSITE and INSTAGRAM @louisvilleshorttrack
Dangerous Weather (steady rain, lightning, high winds) will cancel. Spotty rain might not.
Racers don't like racing in the rain, and we don't like losing money on races, so we may cancel if we believe registrations will be very low.
We have ONE rain-out date, June 24th. Registrations will be transferred to that rainout date.

PARKING:

See VENUE MAP above for parking map.
PARKING at Eva Bandman in the field is LIMITED. Please park ORDERLY and EFFICIENTLY
>> Do NOT park in front of NUGENT SAND << (the "DO NOT PARK HERE" area)
OVERFLOW: along access road (do NOT block traffic), lower parking lot (very rutted and/or muddy!) The LOWER PARKING LOT near the river is still covered in flood mud. You can park there, but it is VERY rutted and bumpy.
ARRIVING LATE? See below You may need to park in the MARINA (blue below) or YELLOW LOT just WEST of Eva Bandman. Both are connected by a bike path to Eva Bandman!

AMENITIES:

YES: portable toilets on site.
NO permanent shelters on site, but plenty of shady trees.
PROBABLY has hose water.
Waterfront Park playgrounds have proper restrooms and fountains.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE:

Street's Gyros will be serving gyros, burgers, fries and more nightly. Vegan and halal options, too!
The Louisville Cyclocross Collective will be selling West Sixth BEER and Ale-8-One SODA nightly. All proceeds go directly to supporting Short Track and the mission of the LCC

REGISTRATION / CHECK-IN:

ALL registration is online, including day-of registration. Do NOT bring cash.
Register up to 15 minutes prior to start of your race
Follow REGISTRATION signs to Check in and pick up your plate as soon as you can. We will NOT wait for you.

RACE STAGING AND STARTS:

"Staging" is where racers line up and wait for the start. You'll see it just before the start line (wow!)
"Start" times as listed are the start of the race, not for you to "start moseying to the start line".
We will make TWO (2) calls to staging over the PA. It's up to you to listen!
Note: we endeavor to stick to schedule, but reserve the right to make adjustments or be behind.

ABOUT CHIP TIMING

The fanciest thing about Short Track is that it's a digitally chip timed race. Here's how to ensure you get tracked:

Have your plate on your bike.
Don’t cut your plate
Do not obscure your plate with a large device (Garmin, phone, etc)

ABOUT THE COURSE

A lil of everything and perfect for most everyone. About 50/50 grass/dirt. Any "advanced" features like jumps or drops will have a "NOPE" line, but it's probably slower. If it rains, it'll be slippery. If it's dry it's dusty.

PODIUMS + PRIZES

KIDS get POPSICLES. First 60 kids get Short Track slap bracelets! All kids get a shot at podiums.
JUNIORS and ADULT categories have 1st 2nd 3rd podiums.
NIGHTLY PRIZES: All categories will have Prizes are a trip to the PRIZE CLOSET for swag!
OVERALL PRIZES: N+1 is providing generous gift cards for NEWB, MID and FASTIE categories.
All races count towards points. You must do all THREE to be counted towards the OVERALL.

POST-RACE TEAR DOWN HELP

Help is welcome before and after the event. Teardown will be in the dark-ish. So having folks stay to help pull poles, tape, etc. is a massive help!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)

WHAT BIKES ARE ALLOWED?

Only the NEWBIE category is allowed to race any type of non-powered bike. All other adult categories must race flat-bar, MTB style bikes.

RACE AGE, OR HOW OLD AM I?

"Race age" means the age you will be Dec 31st of this year.

I'M A JUNIOR BUT I'M REAL FAST WHAT DO I DO?

Not sure why you made a statement a question, but: Junior riders who are fast or silly enough (looking at you, NICA kids!) are encouraged to race in the MID or FASTIE races AS WELL AS the junior races. Race again for the cost of 7Brew, and support our mission!

WHY ARE THERE NO MASTERS WOMEN CATEGORIES?

Unfortunately, recent registration numbers don’t support a full podium for a women’s 40+ masters. However, if registration blossoms, we may make a call on race day or the following day to create a category. We'll ask the crowd first.

For the Kids

For the Olds

For the Fast

For Fun with Friends!

SHORT TRACK RESULTS + PHOTOS ARCHIVE

2025

2024

2023

2022

Prior years can be found in the Louisville Short Track Facebook Group.

Louisville Short Track History

Louisville Short Track MTB was founded in 2009 by Aaron Hawkins (MTB Depot) and Joe Czerwonka (Merch/3 Productions), with the first Short Track races being held at Champions Park on River Road.

Aaron Hawkins skipped town in 2010, and in his place came Brian Segal, and early co-conspirator. For a short time, Short Track was hosted at Seneca Park on the Wilderness Loop trails. (This would later be the venue for the 2013 Raleigh Singlespeed Derby).

In 2011, Short Track found it's forever home at Eva Bandman Park.

And thus began "the golden years" under the race direction of Brian Segal. In 2014 Joe Czerwonka, chasing love and evading the cops in a delapidated short bus, left for Colorado, never to return. In his place RJ Harris would rise to become Brian's right-hand man.

Read this 2015 Louisville Short Track article and gallery from the Courier-Journal

Brian Segal led the series until his untimely demise in a tubeless tire accident* in 2019.

The pandemic squashed the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but in 2022, Short Track came back thanks to RJ Harris - a longtime collaborator with Brian and Joe.

From 2023 to 2025, Josh Patton (of Rocket Power Brand Co / Bluegrass MTB Cup fame) produced and ran Short Track, bringing in his chip timing and race production expertise.

In 2026, the Louisville Cyclocross Collective become the presenting sponsor - in deep collaboration with Josh Patton's Rocket Power Brand Co for racing production and timing.

* he's fine