MTB
“I'm not there to win—I'm there for the experience."
Buoyed by an impressive rookie performance, JAXSON RIDDLE is ready to keep the stoke going. Here he explains his true aspirations at Rampage.
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This story is one of the 3-part series, Leaps of Faith, from the November/December double issue featuring 2022 Red Bull Rampage riders.
Growing up 20 minutes outside of Virgin [in southwest Utah] with Rampage in my backyard, I’ve kind of watched all my heroes growing up. Receiving that email with the invite is one of my biggest dreams come true. And to have that opportunity in my hometown is pretty surreal. I definitely think growing up with that terrain gave me a big advantage. Riding all that stuff feels normal to me.
I’m familiar with this year’s zone. I’ve ridden it for years now, so I’m not too nervous about finding a line. That zone has a huge variety of stuff. And it’s the second-oldest Rampage venue, so there’s definitely been erosion. That opens up a lot of opportunities for new lines. I think some of the guys will revamp their lines. I’m going to just do the same thing I did last year and figure it out.
I know how the weather works. When you’re starting at noon, that’s usually when it starts picking up. And you’re looking down at the windsocks and they’re just ripping. You have to play the game of being calculated and knowing the risk you’re taking and just try to go about it as safely as possible.
Last year, as a rookie, all the other dudes out there had lines from that site. So I was kind of left with the slim pickings. I tried to stay away from other people’s stuff out of respect, and tried to find something that suited my style to make my way to the bottom. It’s difficult, not having a full fresh line to choose from, but you’ve got to work with what you’ve got.
Riddle electrified the crowd with his run at the 2021 Rampage.
© PARIS GORE/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
I look for opportunities to build big jumps, features to do big tricks on, because I am really inspired from freestyle motocross. So I try to see my line to incorporate high-speed, fast-paced tricks from that world.
As I’m building my line, I’ll have an idea of what I want to do, and in the start gate I’ll close my eyes and just run through my line and pick out what tricks I’m going to do and visualize it.
Rampage is based on people’s past success. It’s big drops, big cliffs—catered more toward backflips and the big eye-catching stuff. The tailwhips and bar spins are going to score higher than what I’m doing. I’m just doing my own thing, tricks no one else is doing, which is why I do them. I try to steer away from what everyone else is doing and have my own style.
I talked to my diggers and was like, “Dudes, you know I’m not here to win.” The style of riding I do most likely will never win, but that’s not why I’m there. I’m there for the experience. I’m there to make memorable times with my homies. That’s what’s most important to me. I’d rather go to that event and just have the most fun in my life, with my best friends, versus putting all this pressure on myself and blocking out the fun aspect. At the end of the day that’s why I started riding bikes. And that’s what I want to keep it as.
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