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Red Bull Rampage 2026 returns to where it all began
To celebrate 25 years of Red Bull Rampage, the event is returning to its original venue, giving today’s top freeriders a new canvas built on historic ground.
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The 2026 Red Bull Rampage is returning to where it all began: the original venue. This October, the world’s top female and male freeride talent will honour the pioneers of the sport on this historic ground, while also taking on a new section of terrain above the old site.
Unlike recent Red Bull Rampage venues, the original site sits across the valley on Kolob Terrace Road. Fans and athletes affectionately dubbed it the 'OG' site, as it witnessed many firsts for the sport. Twenty-five years ago, a group of downhill racers, dirt jumpers and early freeriders arrived at this spot in Virgin, Utah, with an audacious goal: to ride the imposing desert landscape. Together, they carved their way down ridgelines and soared over cliff drops. Their bikes descended through terrain that was once unimaginable for mountain biking.
The 2026 Red Bull Rampage venue at a glance
Key detail
2026 venue
Location
Virgin, Utah, USA
Venue
Red Bull Rampage 'OG' site on Kolob Terrace Road
First used
2001
Previous use
Hosted Red Bull Rampage from 2001–2004
Terrain
Historic Rampage features combined with a new section above the original site
Vertical descent
207m
What makes it special?
The site is the tallest in the event's history and combines its original freeride heritage with new terrain for today’s riders
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Red Bull Rampage 2026 site: a return to the OG venue
Red Bull Rampage returns to the original venue
© Christian Pondella
The venue hosted the competition from 2001 to 2004 and was the most raw and natural of them all. “I remember being up in the helicopter and seeing the ridgeline after ridgeline after ridgeline,” recalls photographer Christian Pondella, who's documented every Red Bull Rampage since the beginning. One of his first impressions of the venue was how closely it resembled the terrain used for big mountain skiing and snowboarding.
Part of this natural approach stemmed from the sport’s youth. “It felt like you were stumbling onto a new sport,” explains Wade Simmons, who won the inaugural competition and is one of freeriding’s godfathers. Digging wasn't yet the established process it is today, with teams and dedicated days for building lines. Any trail maintenance was informal and carried out as a group. “Takeoffs and landings were footpaths, or they were pioneering new lines in the middle of their run,” Pondella says. Water access was limited during the early days, so it was not uncommon for riders to land in loose piles of dirt. Today, line building is a serious craft, with takeoffs and landings feeling more like works of art.
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Best Red Bull Rampage runs from 2001 to 2003
Check out the best Red Bull Rampage runs from 2001 to 2003.
One constant has remained the same throughout the years: creativity. Those early Red Bull Rampages were packed with iconic moments that helped shape the sport. There was the old-school gap that Robbie Bourdon sent in 2001, when he nearly tumbled off a cliff after crashing on the landing. Mike Kinrade built a wild toilet-bowl double-drop feature in 2004. Then there was the legendary 'Canadian Bacon' line that Simmons rode to victory in 2001, catching the judges’ attention with its exposure and series of drops. Current competitor Cam Zink even made his competition debut here in 2003, before going on to win the event in 2010 and 2023.
The remnants of these early features will be in play, combined with a new section that extends beyond the original start gate. This expansion makes the 2026 venue the tallest Rampage venue in history, surpassing the previous tallest site used in 2018, 2019 and 2023. From the start gate, riders will descend over 20om to the finish corral. They will have 90 acres, or 364,000 sq m to work with – roughly the equivalent of 51 standard football pitches.
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A new canvas for Red Bull Rampage’s riders
Wade Simmons took the win at the first-ever Red Bull Rampage
© Christian Pondella
Returning to the OG venue means fresh terrain and a new canvas for the athletes, who are understandably excited. Veteran competitor Thomas Genon believes the spirit of the event lies in interpreting the mountain and creating something from nothing. “Fans are going to recognize the terrain, but they’re going to see it through a completely different lens,” he explains. “It’s going to be amazing to have the chance to compete on the terrain where freeride started.”
“I’m excited that it’ll be going back to the original site. I think it has a lot of potential for epic lines,” says fellow competitor Hannah Bergemann, who's a big fan of the event’s history. Another exciting addition is that the men and women will drop from the same start gate. It's a nod to this new chapter, in which the women are adding their own part to freeriding’s story.
I think it has a lot of potential for epic lines
Find out more about Red Bull Rampage 2026
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25 years of progression at Red Bull Rampage
The very first run at Red Bull Rampage in 2001
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
Over the past 25 years, tricks have only become bigger and bolder. Back in the 2000s, you would mostly see backflips, t-bogs and suicide no-handers. Now, front flips, caveman drops, cork 720s and heelclick backflips are just a few of the many feats that dazzle audiences each year. “When we first did it, you were applauded for making it down and linking together a line,” explains Simmons. Now, it's about the full package: features, tricks, fluidity and amplitude. “The biggest change is how big they’re going now and how consequential the lines are,” Pondella says of the progression over the past 25 years.
Much has evolved since those early Red Bull Rampages. Mountain bikes are now sophisticated machines, water access has revolutionised trail construction, and building a line has become an art in itself. However, the question those pioneers first pondered remains: what is achievable in freeriding? Year after year, these riders seek to find an answer, changing mountain biking in the process. Even as the sport progresses, the essence of Red Bull Rampage remains. As Simmons puts it, “When you send a satellite into deep space, sending the second is always easier. You learn a lot from the first voyage.”
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Where and when can I watch Red Bull Rampage?
The 2026 event will feature the world’s top 12 female freeride mountain bikers and the top 18 male athletes. The women’s competition takes place on Thursday, October 8, before the men’s event follows on Saturday, October 10. Both fields will take on the same iconic landscape that helped shape the sport’s most influential event.
Red Bull Rampage 2026 will be broadcast live on Red Bull TV and Red Bull Bike YouTube.
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