Haley Batten is an Olympic silver medalist, a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) world champion and a Pan American champion. Her World Cup season started in May in South Korea and then sent her to Europe.
Now, she’s back in Park City and training daily.
“The trails have been great,” Batten said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” July 24. “I get a good training block in now. I’m kind of just loving it every day. It’s been great.”
She’s using this time on her home turf to prepare for the UCI World Cup in Solider Hollow Sept. 19-20.
Anticipation for the race is growing, according to Batten.
“You can tell everybody involved, all the organization, is just excited for the race,” she said. “And so, I can feel the energy building for sure.”
The course features natural rock slabs and man-made rock gardens, Batten said. Spectators will be able to watch the athletes hurl themselves into the air at top speeds.
“It’s supposed to be a very spectator-friendly race,” she said. “So, the course will kind of come back on itself a couple of times, so that people can see the course from multiple sections. If you get a VIP ticket, you can see almost 360 degrees of the whole course from the top of their building there.”
The race will also be televised.
Batten said she’s grateful that the Soldier Hollow race will combine her community with her sport.
“This is the world that I love, the highest level of my sport,” she said. “But also, I get to bring that to the community that made me fall in love with this sport. So for me, it's like my two worlds coming together, which is honestly a dream come true. And I never thought it would happen in my career.”
After Soldier Hollow, Batten will finish the season in October in Lake Placid, New York.
Tickets and more information about the September Soldier Hollow UCI World Cup race are available here.
