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Meet the 2026 Red Bull Rampage rookies: Freeride MTB's next generation
Downhill racers, slopestyle athletes and freeride mountain bikers will compete at the world's wildest freeride event. Here’s who will be making their debut at the 25th edition of Red Bull Rampage.
At every edition of Red Bull Rampage, a new crop of talent emerges, determined to make their mark on the iconic desert terrain of Virgin, Utah. This year is no different, with the debutants consisting of a mix of household names and up-and-coming freeride mountain bikers.
Get to know the five riders who will tackle massive canyon gaps and knife-edge ridgelines at the 25th edition of Red Bull Rampage.
01
Kade Edwards
Kade Edwards brings speed, style and creativity to Red Bull Rampage
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
Embodying a freeracer, Kade Edwards blends speed with effortless style. The Brit is just as comfortable tackling a downhill track as he is styling out whips and tricks. The 26-year-old loves being creative on his bike, channeling that passion into producing unforgettable bike segments and clips.
First riding at two years old, Edwards started with BMX before progressing to motorcycle trials and motocross. Eventually, he picked up mountain biking and has been dabbling with all kinds of bikes ever since. Variety is important to Edwards, as he draws inspiration from across disciplines, not just mountain biking.
Racing came naturally to him, and he excelled in downhill. In 2018, he won racing’s top junior accolade: the UCI Junior Downhill World Championship title. In the elite class, Edwards raced for another six years and made a name for himself as one of the World Cup’s most stylish racers.
Edwards blends downhill precision with freeride expression
© Steel City Media/Red Bull Content Pool
Competing is only part of Edward's story. Outside the track, he’s constantly learning tricks, interpreting features and scheming new video parts. In 2022, he starred alongside Brandon Semenuk in the stunning Parallel 2. He’s also competed at Crankworx Whip-Offs, Speed and Style and Red Bull Hardline.
In 2024, he felt ready to branch out from the World Cup to focus on freeriding. The pivot created space for filming, and his schedule quickly became stacked. He competed in the iconic X Games Real MTB, submitting a video part with one technical trick and jump after another. He also starred in Anthill’s Anytime, carving his bike through 4,000-foot scree lines in Chile with Brage Vestavik.
Now he will have the opportunity to showcase his talent at Red Bull Rampage, an event that will fully allow him to express his creativity.
02
Connor Gallart
Connor Gallart
© Connor Gallart
Growing up with California's legendary Aptos Post Office Jumps right across the street, Connor Gallart was set on the path to freeride at an early age. Now the 27-year-old is ticking off past Red Bull Rampage features with ease, perfectly blending his slopestyle and dirt jumping prowess.
Possessing a style that is a mixture of slopestyle and big mountain, the American caught the eye with his Red Bull Rampage video submission, confidently riding features like the raw chute from last year’s competition. “Reading certain sections of a line and piecing it together is a rewarding process that just gets me stoked," he says.
Makeshift plywood jumps were Gallart’s first taste of freeriding, and he was hooked from the age of seven. At 11, his mum gifted him a cross-country bike, which he converted into a dirt jumper and he was soon being mentored by a host of riders that desceneded on California for its iconic jumps.
"There were so many talented pros coming through that it’s hard for me to narrow it down to just a few. The McCaul brothers, Ryan Howard, Alex Reveles, Kyle Jameson, Greg Watts, Andrew Taylor, and so many more who would visit the jumps from around the world," he recalls.
Over time, Connor started dabbling in some slopestyle and participating in some dirt jumping competitions, but it didn’t appeal to him. After high school, he stepped away from bikes and served in the U.S. Coast Guard in 2019. The experience made him realize how much he missed biking.
In 2025, he was at a crossroads: re-enlist for another four years or go all in on riding. Bikes won and he took a road trip to Utah. Red Bull Rampage became a goal after that trip and he even moved to Hurricane, Utah, in order to be in the epicenter of freeride mountain biking. “I’ve been loving it ever since and feel grateful to call it home,” he adds.
03
Mikayla Parton
Mikayla Parton
© Mikayla Parton
When Mikayla Parton sets her sights on something, she sees it through. Last year, she made it her goal to compete in Red Bull Rampage, and her diligence paid off. Drawing from her background in World Cup racing and her love for being in the air, she aims to blend speed and style in the desert.
Now living in Wales but born in Scotland, Parton's path to mountain biking wasn’t direct, as she only started riding at the age of 18. Growing up in the Scottish Highlands, she spent her winters in the mountains, skiing and working as an instructor.
However, mountain biking came naturally thanks to her skiing background. “I loved [mountain biking] the minute I started,” she explains. With the iconic Fort William World Cup track right in her backyard, she quickly aspired to ride the gnarly track and all the jumps.
Racing downhill came next and she progressed on the World Cup Circuit in 2019. One of her biggest highlights was competing at her home venue, Fort William, and placing fifth at the 2020 World Champs in Leogang. Her time racing was the first step to becoming a freerider. “You’re riding so many tracks, and you’re riding your bike so much that it gives you a lot of experience in different terrains and conditions," she explains.
In 2025, Parton stepped away from World Cup racing, as the 29-year-old wanted more time to learn tricks and hit new jumps. Then she watched her first Red Bull Hardline race, and left the competition thinking, “I want to do that.” The next year she returned to Red Bull Hardline in Tasmania to compete and walked away with the prestigious Rider of the Week award.
Red Bull Rampage felt like a natural goal after racing. She always enjoyed watching it, and when the event expanded to include a women’s category, it became a dream. Having decided to walk away from racing, she used the off-season to develop some tricks. She headed straight to the foam pit and put in the repetitions. Three weeks later, she stomped a backflip at Dyfi Bike Park.
That backflip was one of the first steps towards her Red Bull Rampage ambitions. Months later, she flew from her home in Wales to Virgin, Utah, to experience the terrain and ride some past Red Bull Rampage features, stacking the clips to build her submission video.
Now set to compete at her first Red Bull Rampage, Parton is clearly relaxed, joking: “I just need to remember it’s not a race."
04
Natasha Bradley
Natasha Bradley
© Courtesy of Natasha Bradley
Of all the bike disciplines Natasha Bradley has ridden - BMX, 4X, enduro, DH - freeride has called to her the most. Between its non-competitive spirit and limitless riding opportunities, freeride kept drawing Natasha in. “You can kind of do anything - big jumps or steep tech - which I really like,” she explains. Quickly progressing from racer to fully-fledged freerider, Natasha now catches some of the biggest air possible on a mountain bike and loves to “send,” as she puts it.
Natasha's journey with bikes started with riding the local BMX track at eight and racing by 12. She competed for four years, eventually progressing into 4X until she was 21. Despite loving 4X, the sport was too niche to find support to keep racing, so she pivoted to downhill. DH didn’t fill her cup the same way, so she stepped away to refocus on fun. In 2022, she moved to the cycling paradise of Queenstown, New Zealand, solely to ride as much as possible after work. As she explains, “[Queenstown] is the best place I’ve ever been to.”
Natasha thrived and her pursuit of fun naturally led her to freeride; she attended her first major event at Reece Wallace’s Invitational in 2023. That same year, she also attended Casey Brown’s Dark Horse event and won the “True Blue” award. “[Dark Horse] stands out as one of my favourite events I’ve been to,” Natasha reflects. Dark Horse brought together some of the leading women in freeride and a crop of up-and-coming talent, creating the perfect environment for riders like Natasha to progress. “Women are the future of freeride. Fact,” she says, pointing to the progression we’ve seen in Red Bull Rampage, Red Bull Joyride and Red Bull Hardline.
What began as a hobby evolved into an amazing freeride career, with 2026 being her biggest year yet. Natasha competed in the 2026 Natural Selection after winning a spot in the Dream Ticket qualifying event. One of her favourite parts of the event was lapping the course as much as she could, since it’s not every day you get access to features on that scale. “By the [last day], I was so cooked because I did so many laps,” she jokes.
Another highlight for this season was earning Queen of Darkfest and Best Moment for being the first woman to hit the massive Falcon Heavy jump. The 110ft (34m) jump was the newest addition to the jumpline, and it sent riders flying. Not only was Natasha the first woman to hit it, but she also helped the other girls unlock it. A Darkfest fan for the past decade, she considers those accolades among her proudest mountain biking accomplishments.
The idea of riding at Red Bull Rampage took shape when the women’s category was added in 2024. The terrain always intrigued Natasha, but the thought of competing felt real once she saw her peers dropping in. “It’s been amazing living in Queenstown because a lot of the [Red Bull Rampage] girls come out there, and to ride with them and then watch them on the live feed has been incredible.” While she loves riding everything and anything, she’s hoping to have a steep chute, a lilypad drop and a canyon gap in her 2026 line. “I want to lean more into a natural course, as I think that’s what's going to show my skill set more, and it would be sick to build a canyon gap,” she explains.
05
Kaidan Ingersoll
Kaidan Ingersoll
© Kaidan Ingersoll
The jumps at Highland Mountain Bike Park in New Hampshire laid the foundation for Kaidan Ingersoll’s career as a mountain biker. Now the American from North Yarmouth, Maine, has progressed from the bike park and backyard jumps to some of the biggest features and jumps in the sport. His fluidity, control and depth of tricks make him a threat as a slopestyle and freeride athlete.
At four years old, Ingersoll’s dad first brought him and his brother to the bike park. He distinctly remembers watching the Claymore Challenge, a slopestyle event that hosted Red Bull Rampage veterans like Cam Zink and Brandon Semenuk.
“It just inspired me to ride,” he says. The event left a deep impression on him and 17 years later, Ingersoll is one of the professional riders lapping Highland’s many iconic jumps. He competes in the FMB tour and has a second-place finish at the 2025 Crankworx Rotorua Maxxis Slopestyle already to his name. Earlier this year, he won Natural Selection MTB in Queenstown, New Zealand, with a run full of technical moves.
“Building is a huge part of my career, and I’ve been around the trail crew at Highland my whole life,” he says. Now he plays a role in helping design some of the features at the park. He also has his own jump compound at home in Maine.
Since childhood, he's been digging alongside his big brother, Nate, and the two still dig together. In fact, he will even help out at Red Bull Rampage. “We’ve grown up with this dream to be in Red Bull Rampage digging together,” he reflects.
Prepping for Red Bull Rampage means riding anything and everything as much as possible. This past year, he’s been traveling all over the globe. When he’s home, Highland has most of what he needs: big drops, step downs, jumps and technical lines. “For me, it’s having your bike control dialed and feeling super comfortable on your bike. If I’m comfy, then I can show up anywhere and ride,” he explains.
His Red Bull Rampage wishlist is to link a chute into a drop or step down. Given his slopestyle background, he’s also eager to play with tail whips, bar spins, supermans, and other tricks during his run.
06
Paul Couderc
Paul Couderc
© Paul Couderc
The Goblin drop is one of the most iconic features in Red Bull Rampage history: a massive step down with a no-fall zone landing. As part of his submission video, Paul Couderc attempted a caveman drop on the burly feature - a move where the rider jumps on the bike midair.
While Couderc didn’t ultimately land the move, it speaks to his approach to mountain biking: bold, creative and headstrong. The rider is known for his progressive style and world-firsts - like the half cab flair - and he’s bringing that energy to the desert.
The Goblin Drop is one of the most eye-catching features at the venue
© Paris Gore
The Frenchman's passion for two wheels started with racing motocross as a four-year-old. When he got his first mountain bike, it didn’t take long for him to get in the air and attempt tricks. “My dad built me a jump, and I fell in love with the sport,” he shares.
Couderc pursued slopestyle, drawing inspiration from the original New World Disorder films. He found his stride, placing second at Red Bull Joyride in 2023. When he began to feel limited by slopestyle, freeride piqued his interest. “I can express myself more in freeride. When I came to Utah the first time, I thought, ‘I want to do this',” he explains.
On top of riding, Couderc loves to dig. “I dig as much as I ride,” he says, and so freeride felt natural to him. Four years ago, he dug at his first Red Bull Rampage for Thomas Genon. The whole process - the training, the digging, and the competition - left a big impression on him. “The morning of the finals, I remember watering one of the jumps, and I almost had tears in my eyes because I was so excited,” he says. In 2024, he made it his goal to ride at the event, and he has been training and working towards it ever since.
His submission video played a big role in making the roster. Couderc packed the short video full of drops, ridgeline slashing and tricks. Beyond being a worthy submission, the cinematography and editing feel like something from an MTB film. One of the standout moments was a stylish one-hander backflip.
“I’m stoked on the one-hander flip. That was inspired by motocross and I learned how to do that right before going to Utah to film,” he explains. Drawing from other sports is one of his favourite ways to find new inspiration and he hopes to showcase his unique set of skills during his time competing at Red Bull Rampage.
