MTB
With practice approaching, both the men and women are primed to test their creations. Get a sneak peek of their bold creativity and daring builds set to redefine Rampage this year.
Gazing up at the 2024 Red Bull Rampage venue, two start gates stand tall on the mesa for the first time in freeride mountain bike history. One gate leads to the men's venue, previously home of the 2018 and 2019 competitions and the steepest of all the prior courses. Looker's left of the men's starting gate is the women's start, which connects to an entirely new section of the mountain in Virgin, Utah, ready for the first-ever women's competitors to carve out their lines.
For the past week, the riders have toiled in the desert to bring their visions to life for what's shaping up to be one of the most memorable Red Bull Rampage competition yet. Here's a sneak peek of a few of the mind-boggling drops, near-vertical chutes and massive jumps we'll see on game day.
01
Women's dig days
The athletes are working with a completely blank canvas for the inaugural Red Bull Rampage women’s competition. Their course is the first new venue introduced since 2018. Similarly to the men's course, the mountainside is steep and tall., the mesa steps as it progresses downhill providing plenty of cliffs to transform into drops, chutes and step-downs.
One cliff generating buzz is Casey Brown and Cami Nogueria's opening rock roll drop, which is just rider's right from the start gate. Nicknamed the 'Laundry Basket and Laundry Chute', the feature is a highly technical drop due to its exposure and precision braking. The riders will have to stop on a dime to avoid a massive drop-off.
"It reminds me of the British Columbia style of freeride features, where speed and braking control has to be precise," explains Nogueria, who loves adding an element of spice to her riding.
Brown and Nogueria teamed up to complete the build and have been chipping away at it every day. "This feature has taken at least 100 collective hours," says Nate, Nogueria's digger. Given the steepness of the drop, the team has been battling against losing building materials to gravity and, at times, needing to get roped up to build the takeoff.
Riders right from the start gate is where Chelsea Kimball is headed, teeing-up a cliff drop she has all to herself. The left side of the course consisted of more steep terrain and Kimball’s preference was for a drop. "I looked up at the mountain and saw my upper drop… and it just looks crazy," she says. It's only one of many drops throughout her line.
Midway through the course, many of the rider's lines – Vero Sandler, Vaea Verbeeck, Georgia Astle, Vinny Armstrong and Robin Goomes – converge on the main ridgeline, which is like a spider's web of takeoffs and landings.
"Everyone has done super well to work together in a tight zone," Sandler explains. She used this part of the mountain to build a whale tail jump, one of the features she's excited to ride.
The whale tail is one of two trick jumps in Sandler's line, which also features janky steeps, loose scree for slashing and flat drops. Being able to craft her own line from scratch has been a highlight for her, given her background as a trail builder.
"I dig a lot at home and love to do it, so to be out here and involved in an event that combines both digging and riding is the dream for me," she explains. One of her favorite parts of digging in Virgin is the dirt – it's so malleable you can shape it into whatever you imagine with some water and hand-packing.
To be involved in an event that combines digging and riding is the dream for me
Overall, the riders have made incredible progress with their lines. Going into the mandatory rest day, most lines are rideable and the prominent features are completed.
"I'm super excited to guinea pig some stuff," Sandler emphasises, with Monday's first practice day approaching. History will unfold when the women arrive with their bikes. For the first time, the women will make their mark at mountain biking's most prestigious event, adding their chapter to freeride history.
02
Men's dig days
While the women are building their course from scratch, many of the men are returning to a familiar venue and looking to take their run to the next level. Crafting a line is a strategy game that requires time management, collaboration and a bold vision. The building process can be relentless, with athletes working on their lines until the very last minute, sometimes not linking a full top-to-bottom run until they drop-in to compete. However, returning to a previous venue changes the equation because many riders can reuse parts of old lines.
14 of the 18 athletes have previously competed here and a pool of veteran riders are opting to use their original line from the 2018 and 2019 competitions, hoping to level it up even further. Brandon Semenuk, who won in 2019, is making some small reroutes and enhancing his existing features.
The digging has been cruising along. I'd say we've been fairly productive
Additionally, some athletes have teamed up, finding strength in numbers. For example, Cam Zink and Kyle Strait have collaborated and on one of their landings, they knocked it out in two hours. It's the fastest the diggers have seen the features come together ever at Rampage, boding well for practice sessions.
"It's a testament to how much better we're all getting at building," explains Zink, who finished his line for the first time ahead of the rest day. Wrapping up the line early means more time to be on the bike and get comfortable with the line's complexities.
Then there's the group of riders looking to shake things up by adding new features or completely changing major sections of their line. Reed Boggs has reworked most of his old line, evolving it into a straight shot. On top of revamping big sections, he's directed his diggers' time and energy on a new drop.
"It's the biggest build we've ever done," explains Boggs's digger Alan Mandel, who's been building with him for the last nine years. This year, they've spent most of their time pickaxing rock daily to widen the landing. "If we put our mind to it, we can do it," says Boggs, who's hopeful they'll finish the feature by event day.
Another ambitious build is the landing for Clemens Kaudela and Bienvenido Aguado's step-down canyon gap. The landing juts up like a giant wedge and has been in the works for the last three days, requiring 128 sandbags.
"We're pretty happy about it, it's been a massive build," explains Aguado. For Kaudela, who's coming in as a new rider at this venue, finding a way down the mountain can be challenging amongst all the pre-existing lines. Their canyon gap felt like an opportunity to make a bold mark on the mountain.
This year, canyon gaps are a common theme, appearing in Tyler McCaul and Tom Isted's run. McCaul first found the step-down canyon gap in 2018 and joked about jumping over it with Ethan Nell, but at this year's course walk, McCaul saw the potential to bring it to life. The feature measures about 72ft (21m) from the takeoff to the sweet spot in the landing and required 75 sandbags to build it.
"It was a big build and we tackled it first, but I have an insane crew and we smashed it out in two days."
With practice day looming, all eyes will be on these lines as the riders look poised to set the stage for an unforgettable contest.
Red Bull Rampage 2024 takes place in Virgin, Utah, with the women's contest taking place on Thursday, October 10 and the men's final on Saturday, October 12. You can watch both events live on Red Bull TV.
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