It’s OK to just be a Fan
How the scariest mountain biking event in the world changed my mind.
Red Bull Rampage 2024
The image above is AI’s attempt to place me in the scariest mountain biking event in the world.
The reality, is so much worse…
The image below is not computer generated, it is of a real mountain biker, in last year’s Red Bull Rampage, not looking terrified, as he voluntarily rides off a cliff edge.
He is without a parachute, and wearing significantly less protective gear than an American footballer.
He has confidence in his skill set to land ‘tyres down’, and the bike’s suspension to absorb most of the landing shock.
Despite what you may be thinking, he didn’t overtake a grand piano or an anvil on the way down, yet this most certainly is Wile E. Coyote country.
“When is Rampage this year?”
Is a question I have asked my mountain biking husband Mr.D at least 27 times this year, such was my impatience for this crazy event to come around again.
I used to think that in order to be a fan of something, you must at some point in your life have had a go at it, or perhaps been involved with it.
For instance, I would imagine 99% of the punters in a football stadium on any given Saturday afternoon, have at one point in their lives kicked a football around.
However, it wasn’t until I got sucked into the utter madness that is Red Bull Rampage, that I realised, it’s ok to just be a fan, with absolutely no desire to have a go at it yourself.
Just to be clear, I don’t like heights, I don’t like going fast downhill on a bike and I don’t call everyone ‘dude’.
I am probably the farthest removed from their typical fan base demographically, but I bloody love it!
For the same reason that I still can’t get my head around most people not having an inner monologue, I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to be in the mindset of one of these riders, who when looking at the treacherous Utah landscape, thinks:
“That looks fun to cycle down!”
Really?
But it’s near vertical! And jaggedy! And gappy!
Why would you?
I think we all know, that I wouldn’t even be able to get as far as the 2023 start line (pictured above) without being fully sedated and airlifted into position.
Setting the scene
The Red Bull Rampage event is invitation only, just 18 male riders this year, and for the first time ever, there is a separate event featuring eight of the world’s best female riders. 👏
An area in the unforgiving Utah desert is chosen as ‘the course’. A start line and a finishing point is pre-determined, but how the riders get from A to B is up to them… and their team of two diggers.
Yep, not only do the riders have to risk their lives haring down this vicious landscape on nothing more than a push bike, but they also have to build the course themselves.
This year each team is allowed a maximum of 100 sand bags to aid with ramp construction for take-offs and landings.
The competitors have approximately 10 days preparation, to scout, build and then practice the run, as they sew their individual line together from point A to B.
Now I’ve seen a LOT of mountain biking events on the telly… but this one is off the scale!
I first got into it last year when Mr.D was watching YouTube videos of the run up, focusing on one team of three (who live locally to us) as they dig the course.
The amount of hard graft that goes into building their line, is almost as staggering as the end result.
In some instances the diggers have to abseil down the side of cliffs to remove any obstructions in the intended path or build a landing pad.
Here’s a little video of our ‘Home Team’ (Brendog, Olly & Deaks) during the dig for this year’s event, showing what a gruelling job it is:
All their ramp building last year, paid off when Brendan ‘Brendog’ Fairclough, performed a heart-stopping jump over the canyon gap!
Was it enough to win?
Nope.
Tom Van Steenbergen started with a ‘Caveman’ manoeuvre off the start platform, which basically meant he wasn’t even on his bike before dropping off the ledge!
Jesus Christ! Really?
Yup. He mounted the bike during the descent, landed perfectly and back-flipped his way down the rest of his course.
Unbelievable!
He won then right?
Nope.
Bienvenidos Aguado (upside down below) executed a heroic forward flip over the canyon gap… twice1… and yet he didn’t win either!
Instead having to console himself with the ‘Best Trick Award’ and the ‘People’s Choice Award’.
Cam Zink took the 2023 title, not just for executing a perfect back flip down the 63 feet step down (below), but also including such brown-trouser inducing features such as the ‘Grandfather drop’ which he was the only one to incorporate into his run.
A winning format
You don’t just have to put your life at risk to win this event, you have to do it with style and originality!
The reason this event is such compelling viewing, is that each rider follows a different line from the start to the finish point, peppering his run with different tricks along the way, so you never know what’s coming next.
It is not a race but a freeride event, the time it takes to get down is not important, instead each run is judged and scored on four criteria: difficulty of line, air amplitude, control and fluidity, tricks and style.
Red Bull Rampage 2024
Why am I telling you all this?
“This is not what I signed up for!” your Inner Monologue must surely be screaming.
My point is… if I, a height fearing, non athletic, lazy arsed, pedestrian can fall in love with this crazy event, then maybe you’ll get a kick out of it too.
If you think you might like to give it a watch, have a look at what happened in 2023… I like the full coverage, as you’re never too sure of when the most dangerous tricks and fully stocked ambulances will pop over the horizon.
You don’t have to wait too long for the first crash. 😉
Maybe, like me, you will fall in love with these mad men and their mind-boggling sport, and want to know what happens on FINALS DAY 2024: 12 Oct 17:00 UTC+1.
You can keep an eye on the countdown here and watch last year’s highlights while you’re waiting. Brendog’s run is at 3:58 and still gives me vertigo!
I shall be glued to it, popcorn in hand, with a fresh supply of expletives at the ready, for when it doesn’t quite go according to plan!
Toodles!
K8x
PS: for the first time ever, there is a women’s event on 11 Oct 13:00 UTC+1. I’ve no idea how this will compare to the men’s event, but am looking forward to finding out! 🤞
Join in the comments below:
What lengths would you go to, to avoid taking part in Red Bull Rampage?
What are you a fan of, but have never taken part in?
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Each rider is allowed two runs in total. The second run is usually only attempted if the rider feels he can improve significantly on his score. If the first run went well, they will often ‘politely decline’ the second run, as the risks involved are simply not worth only a small potential uplift in score... unless they ‘have a lot more in their locker’!
I'm the same with mountaineering. I love books, documentaries and podcasts about climbing mountains, despite the fact that I have vertigo, asthma, and a distinct lack of any physical prowess 💪
Oh my god, that’s insane - how do they do it?? I think I’d be too scared for them to watch 😬