Bike
Confused? Bamboozled? Here's everything you need to know to get you clued-up on Red Bull Rampage.
Describing Red Bull Rampage to somebody who doesn't know anything about it, or is simply just pretending to be interested to spare your feelings, is never easy. It's really an amalgamation of some of the craziest things mountain bike freeriding can produce all mixed together, and kicked into the desert surrounding Virgin, Utah.
When it comes to describing Rampage there are then a few words that should help to explain things...
1. Insane
Now, this is a word that can get tossed around a bit much. Hot Dogs, for example, are never insane to eat, they're just hot dogs. Insane when it comes to Rampage however means riding push-bikes down near 80ft drops and backflipping over canyons. This is a lot closer to the dictionary meaning of the word than a sausage.
2. Lines
There's a start hut and a finish hut, with a load of man-made obstacles in between them, but the riders don't have to necessarily use them. The riders and their teams all dig individual lines over the course of the week with the aim of impressing the judges with varying degrees of difficulty. Some will have built smooth(er), fast(er) lines for maximum tricks, while others will be creeping down terrifying shelves of rock because... well, just because.
3. Riders
Of course, hosting a mountain bike event without riders would be a bit limiting but Rampage brings together one of the widest spectrums of talent in the sport. UCI World Cup downhill racers, FMB World Tour trick ferrets and big mountain freeriders all inhabit the start hut before taking on the brutal cliffs.
4. Judging
Judging something of Rampage's magnitude is always going to be tough. There are no points for speed between the start and finish but the riders are judged on the general insanity of their lines...and making down in one piece.
5. Winners
Winning Rampage is a BIG thing, just ask Kyle Strait – the first ever two-time winner. However, even if the judging doesn't go in your favour, a wild line can capture the imagination of the general public far outside of mountain biking. Kelly McGarry's finals run last year is a good example.
To see if any of these words are of any use, stay tuned to the official Red Bull Rampage site, which is also where you can watch the webcast of finals on Sunday, September 28, starting at 1:00 p.m. MT.
You can also watch the finals on Red Bull TV through its iOS and Android applications, as well as on Apple TV, Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Samsung Smart TVs.
Join the #Rampage conversation — follow Red Bull SLC on Instagram and Red Bull Bike on Twitter and Facebook.
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