Bike
MTB
Jaxson Riddle pushes freeride mountain biking with a 100-foot jump
Inspired by motocross, Jaxson Riddle devised and rode a 100-foot natural mountain bike jump. Battling injury and uncertainty, the American broke a world record and has no intention of stopping there.
Dust billows behind Jaxson Riddle as he weaves down an 1,000-foot trail carved in the ridgeline. 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 (75kmh) as he pumped his way down a trail carved in the Utah ridgeline, before launching into the 100ft (30.5m) jump.
Before he was on a downhill bike, Riddle rode a dirt bike, learning to ride at the age of four. He loved it, but ultimately pivoted to BMX because he could ride right from his doorstep to the skatepark. Growing up in St. George, Utah, meant he was right in the epicenter of freeride mountain biking. When he started riding the old Red Bull Rampage venue with his BMX at the age of 15, he swapped bikes and committed everything to mountain biking. Quickly, he progressed, becoming one of freeride’s most creative talents, competing at his first Red Bull Rampage in 2021.
The remote Utah jump required a month of hand-built work
© Logan Chase Gallagher
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From Red Bull Rampage best trick to 100-foot distance
He’s never lost his fascination for motocross, drawing from that sport constantly. At the 2025 Red Bull Rampage, Riddle 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 explains. “That’s something I’ve always been inspired by.”
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How Jaxson Riddle built a 100-foot 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 mold into a 100-foot 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 explains. 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. But more importantly, he believed it was achievable with just a shovel and some sweat equity.
Watch the journey below
Watching from the run-in is 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,” Tyler explains. For a jump of this scale, every factor—a brake tap or tailwind—matters, and Riddle knows this firsthand. When he first attempted the jump in April of 2025, he came up short, crashing on the knuckle. It resulted in a small fracture in his talus and 4 months off the bike for rehab. Despite the setback, Riddle remained steadfast in his belief that he could take his mountain bike on the same kind of jumps that dirt bikes ride.
Friends and fellow riders like Tyler McCaul witnessed the record attempt
© Logan Chase Gallagher
The build required roughly about a month’s worth of hand packing, and his team spent 8 to 10 hours on the shovel per day. After Riddle crashed on the first attempt, they reworked the run-in, extending it another 400 feet, so he could generate the proper speed. He also dove into the math and used the crash footage and speed gun test to calculate the speed needed to successfully clear the gap.
With those changes addressed, he revisited the jump and brought a new tool: his dirt bike. Riddle sessioned the jump on his dirt bike, 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 reflects.
A dirt bike helped Jaxson Riddle visualize the jump before the record run
© Logan Chase Gallagher
Running through all the factors, Riddle felt ready. He had the speed, the takeoff was fixed, and he knew how it felt in the air. The only thing left was to put it all together. Riddle dropped in and went for it, gliding over the 100-foot gap. His tires met the landing right where he was hoping to land. 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 2nd 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 explains, and the possibilities for tricks or even bigger jumps feel endless.
