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Freeride heroine Hannah Bergemann is ready to make Red Bull Rampage history
After an injury sidelined her from the 2024 Red Bull Rampage, Hannah Bergemann is ready to drop into mountain biking's gnarliest event in 2025. Here's how she became a freeride mountain biking star.
Silence permeated the desert, broken only by Hannah Bergemann's footsteps. She trekked uphill, her 16kg downhill bike on her shoulders as the sun crested the dusty ridges of Virgin, Utah. It was Red Bull Formation in 2019, the first-ever progression camp for female freeriders who aspired to compete at Red Bull Rampage one day. Bergemann was one of six riders there and arguably the dark horse of the group. She was emerging in the mountain biking world with notable finishes in enduro racing, but still had to balance a day job with her mountain biking aspirations.
Suddenly, the whir of the tires and hubs spinning echoed around the canyons. Bergemann was on course, testing her line – the first rider of the group to put tires to the dirt. Over jumps and along exposed ridgelines, she weaved her way toward the grand finale – an imposing double drop. When she returned to the base with a beaming smile, it set the tone for the rest of the event. This moment was a defining point in her career, where she also took home the camp's Evolution in Action award. Now, six years later, she’s writing the next chapter to this story by competing at her first Red Bull Rampage during the second year of women's competition.
Bergemann turned heads at the very first Red Bull Formation in 2019
© Paris Gore/Red Bull Content Pool
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From enduro to freeride: Hannah Bergemann's road to Red Bull Rampage
Bergemann's love for the outdoors was sparked from a young age. Growing up in the outdoor playground of Hood River, Oregon, she spent most of her childhood in the mountains and on the water. Her first foray into action sports came in freestyle skiing, where she competed in slopestyle, rail jams and halfpipe. Bergemann especially loved the process of learning new tricks and being creative.
Then, in high school, her father Tim introduced her to mountain biking, gifting his old bike so the pair could ride together. The father-daughter duo began a tradition of racing together and each race deepened Bergemann’s enthusiasm for cycling. In 2018, she turned pro on the Enduro World Series circuit and the following year she won the Trans BC Enduro, a race known for tackling some of the most harrowing terrain in British Columbia.
While Bergemann was on track to have a successful career racing enduro, winning races wasn't the underlying motivation for her riding. It was the pursuit of progression. "I'm naturally drawn to progression. My skiing was the same thing; I always wanted to push myself to the next level," she recalls. "This mentality seamlessly translated over to biking."
For fun, she rode deep in the woods with her pals, hitting daunting drops, riding scree chutes and building new features. Racing felt like the only viable path to being a professional rider however – until she got the call for Red Bull Formation. From that point on, she's been fully committed to freeriding.
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Rampage to Hardline: Hannah Bergemann rides it all
Since Bergemann’s breakout performance at the 2019 Red Bull Formation session, she's grown from being an up-and-comer to a true leader within the freeride community. She returned to Red Bull Formation in 2021 and 2022, notably riding a revamped version of Brett Rheeder's 2014 Red Bull Rampage line. Alongside Casey Brown, Bergemann skillfully hit the many cliffs and jumps that weaved down the top-to-bottom line.
Bergemann also joined the first group of women to ride at Red Bull Hardline in both Tasmania and Wales,as well as joining jump jams worldwide, regularly hitting behemoth gaps spanning up to 30m (100ft). Her riding has even lit up the big screen with standout performances in mountain bike films like Teton Gravity Research's Accomplice and Anthill Films' Anytime.
Throughout all this, Bergemann's ultimate goal has always been Red Bull Rampage, though. In 2024 she was slated to ride in the historic debut of the women’s category at freeride moutain biking's biggest event. However, six weeks before the event that dream was put on hold for another year. A deep landing on a drop whilst training tore her Achilles tendon, dislocated her perineal tendons and tore her lateral ligaments, requiring surgery and a lengthy recovery.
Undeterred, Bergemann diligently worked through rehab. Five months later, she was competing again, hitting massive jumps and adding tricks to her repertoire like Backflips. Recently, she rode during the practice sessions at Red Bull Hardline Wales 2025, offering a glimpse of the precision we'll see in the Utah desert.
Riding places like the Atacama desert have kept Bergemann Rampage ready
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
For this year's Red Bull Rampage, Bergemann plans to build a line she'll be proud of. "For me, that includes all the variables that are important to be a strong freerider: gnarly, technical, steep, requires brake control, big and includes tricks. If I had all of those elements, I'd be happy,” she explains.
She’s especially inspired by the massive canyon gaps that have made history at previous events. With this vision and her skills on the bike, Bergemann's run in the finals is sure to leave her mark on freeride mountain biking.
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How to watch Red Bull Rampage live
Red Bull Rampage: Women's livestream
12 female MTB athletes compete in this invitation-only freeride event, showcasing their skill and creativity.
Due to weather conditions, the Red Bull Rampage schedule has been updated as follows:
- Women’s broadcast: Friday, October 17 at 10.30am MT (4.30pm UTC / 6.30pm CEST) live on Red Bull TV and the Red Bull Bike YouTube channel.
- Men’s broadcast: Sunday, October 19 at 10.30am MT (4.30pm UTC / 6.30pm CEST) live on Red Bull TV and the Red Bull Bike YouTube channel.
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