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Jaxson Riddle moves mountains to set up huge 100ft MTB jump
The jump might grab the headlines, but getting it built was a challenge in itself. Discover the mammoth construction effort behind Jaxson Riddle's gigantic 30.5m dirt jump in Utah.
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American freerider Jaxson Riddle has pushed the limits of mountain biking after nailing a huge man-made dirt-to-dirt jump. Ahead of this year's 25th anniversary edition of Red Bull Rampage – which takes place on October 8-10 – the 24-year-old clocked a speed of 47mph (75kph) as he pumped his way down a trail carved in the Utah ridgeline, before launching into the 100ft (30.5m) jump.
Following injury and a four-month layoff after his first attempt, Riddle finally realised a dream he'd had for over a year and reinforced his reputation as one of the world's most distinctive mountain bike freeriders. Watch how it happened below:
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How Red Bull Rampage inspired Riddle to go bigger
The remote Utah jump required a month of hand-built work
© Logan Chase Gallagher
Riddle, who started out riding motocross before moving into BMX and mountain biking, has never lost his fascination with the sport and still draws from it constantly. At the 2025 Red Bull Rampage, he stunned the crowd with a heelclicker backflip, a trick more commonly seen in freestyle motocross, which won him the prestigious Best Trick award:
But his vision for freeride mountain biking is bigger than just tricks. It’s about terrain. “[FMX riders] use the landscape and the natural terrain and can make jumps out of anything,” Riddle said. “That’s something I’ve always been inspired by.”
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How Jaxson Riddle built his huge 100ft MTB jump
Jaxson Riddle and his team spent weeks shaping the jump by hand
© Logan Chase Gallagher
Determined to emulate that natural motocross style, he set out in the mountains of St George, Utah, to find something he could mould into a 100ft jump. “You want to work with the terrain and what’s naturally there. I try to find a natural run-in and two hills that line up perfectly,” he explained.
Unlike most jumps of this size, Riddle opted to build the entire thing by hand. Getting heavy machinery into the remote desert backcountry is no easy task. More importantly, he believed it was achievable with just a shovel and some sweat. Watch the journey below:
Inside Jaxson Riddle’s huge jump
Watching from the run-in was a friend and fellow freerider, Tyler McCaul. “I always have the most respect for the person who hits the jump for the first time and unlocks it for everybody,” McCaul said.
For a jump of this scale, every factor – a brake tap or tailwind – matters, and Riddle knows this first-hand. When he first attempted the jump in April 2025, he came up short, crashing on the knuckle. It resulted in a small fracture in his talus (a major bone in the ankle) and four months off the bike for rehab. Despite the setback, he remained steadfast in his belief that he could take his mountain bike on the same kind of jumps that dirt bikes ride.
Friend and fellow rider Tyler McCaul witnessed the epic feat
© Logan Chase Gallagher
The build required roughly about a month’s worth of hand packing, and his team spent eight to 10 hours on the shovel per day. After Riddle crashed on the first attempt, they reworked the run-in, extending it another 400ft (122m), so he could generate the proper speed. He also got deep into the mathematics involved and used the crash footage and speed gun test to calculate the speed needed to successfully clear the gap.
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Turning a setback into success
With those changes addressed, Riddle revisited the jump and brought a new tool: his dirt bike. He used it to get a feel for the jump, gaining confidence with each run. The dirt bike allowed him to understand how the landing would look and feel from the air. “I’ve never had the opportunity to use that as a tool,” he said.
A dirt bike helped Jaxson Riddle visualise the jump before the real run
© Logan Chase Gallagher
Running through all the factors, Riddle felt ready. He had the speed, the take-off was fixed, and he knew how it felt in the air. The only thing left was to put it all together. He dropped in and went for it, gliding over the 100ft gap before his tyres met the landing exactly where he’d hoped.
Before he could get off the jump, he was swarmed by his friends who erupted with cheers. Rather than call it a day and celebrate, he went back up for a second run, adding even more style. Now he’s dreaming of hitting it again to add tricks.
Beyond dreaming up massive sportive challenges, Riddle is taking freeride mountain biking into a whole new frontier. “I found my way back to the one thing that raised me through mountain biking,” he said, and the possibilities for tricks or even bigger jumps feel endless.
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