24 Hours of Moab continues

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The future of the 24 Hours of Moab was in doubt after last year's edition of the race. Low turnout led the promoter Laird Knight to question whether the interest was still sufficient to make running the race a financially viable project.

In response to subsequent racer input, Granny Gear Productions decided to carry on and is again hosting the 24 Hours of Moab in Utah in 2012. This year's edition is happening this weekend, October 6-7, just one weekend after the US 24-hour national championships was run in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The 24 hours of Moab has at times doubled as the US national championship event.

"In 17 years time this race has become one of the single greatest mountain bike races in the history of the sport. Each year, thousands of racers, support crew, and spectators have made the pilgrimage to Moab to enjoy this amazing event," read a statement on the race website.

"A precipitous drop in attendance in 2011 put the continuation of the event in question but the results of a recent, comprehensive survey and numerous communications from racers indicates that the enthusiasm for the return of this amazing, life-changing event is at an all-time high."

There are 28 men and 2 women pre-registered to contest the solo open categories plus a few singlespeeders. The race also supports numerous two, four and five-person team categories.

2008 and 2009 race winner Josh Tostado is one of the favorites among the men who will be competing for the $3,000 in prize money with $1,500 going to first place.

The race will begin at noon on Saturday and end at noon on Sunday.  For more information on the 24 hours of Moab, visit grannygear.com/Races/Moab/index.shtml.