Mountain bikers descending on Southern Utah

For decades Southern Utah has drawn recreational mountain bikers to slickrock trails and scenic canyons in search of the next great adventure on two wheels.

Over the next two weeks, those trails and canyons will see many of the best mountain bikers in the world as two premier fat tire events hit the state.

This weekend is the Red Bull Rampage near Zion National Park. Close to 30 of the world's most-daring mountain bikers — including Park City's Chris Van Dine — will be let loose on the rugged terrain outside the small town of Virgin. Without a well-worn trail to follow, the cyclists will be asked to descend from a designated starting point to a finish line more than 1,000 feet below.

Judges will be watching via binoculars and video cameras and will award participants based on style, amplitude, fluidity and difficulty of line.

"They're going to bring slopestyle riding and big mountain riding together," Canadian racer Robbie Bourdon said in a press release, "and it's going to turn into the sickest contest ever."

Though only a few miles in length, the course will demand the mountain bikers chose lines of descent that include cliff drops, jumps over gaps as large as 30 feet and around rocky formations that would scare off most.

After two days of practice and scouting runs, the athletes will hit the mountain for real on Saturday and try to advance to Sunday's finals where 14 cyclists will shoot for their share of the $25,000 prize purse.

A week later, a more traditional — but certainly not less extreme — version of mountain biking will take place in Moab.

The 24 Hours of Moab is one of the world's most prestigious endurance events. Mountain bikers, either riding solo or as part of a relay team, will try to cover as many laps around the highly-technical course as they can.

Legendary endurance cyclists such as Tinker Juarez and Chris Eatough will tackle the red rocks and steep drops.

More than $40,000 in cash and prizes await winners in the various categories.

The course is a 15-mile loop with about 1,350 feet of climbing and descending on each lap. The trick is to be able to handle the technical drops and climbs during the darkness of night and after 20-plus hours of high-intensity work.

More than 400 teams and solo riders participate each year with a LeMans-style start with cyclists sprinting on foot to the bike racks in order to get onto the trails first.