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This is why Red Bull Rampage is the Super Bowl of mountain biking
If you've never heard or seen the spectacle that is Red Bull Rampage you're in for a treat. Learn what the event is all about and what makes it so special.
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For a very select few of the world’s best mountain bikers, the clock has been inexorably ticking ever downward to their date with destiny when they get to drop in at Red Bull Rampage. The leading event on the calendar, it's the competition that every pro mountain biker wants to ride and the one where every mountain bike fan will stop everything they are doing to watch.
Read on below to find out all about what Red Bull Rampage is, how it works and the essential information you need to know about the 2025 edition of this special event.
01
How does Red Bull Rampage work?
1 min
What is Red Bull Rampage?
Ever wondered what Red Bull Rampage is? Here's everything you need to know about the ultimate freeride event.
To put it quite simply, Red Bull Rampage challenges mountain bike athletes to make it down the steep rocky mountainside in one piece by riding a line of their choice. While it isn't a race, there is a start and finish line. Red Bull Rampage contenders and the two helpful shovel-wielders who'll help them get a number of days to link the two via building a creative and spectacular line as possible.
44 min
Red Bull Rampage
Get a shot of adrenaline as you look back at the very best moments of Red Bull Rampage through the years.
Once the event starts on finals day, athletes have two runs apiece in which to nail their lines. Red Bull Rampage has very much developed from its early editions, and runs now see athletes add complex bike tricks such as backflips when they go down their line. The athletes are judged by a panel of their peers on how creatively they came down the mountain, receive a score and then have simply to hope that they have done enough. In short, it’s the most spectacular event in global action sports.
11 min
Every winning run, ever
Take a look back at every outrageous winning run in Red Bull Rampage history.
02
What makes Red Bull Rampage so groundbreaking?
Red Bull Rampage was born in 2001 at the forefront of the pioneering freeride movement of mountain biking that emerged in the late 1990s. Freeride mountain biking wasn’t interested in how fast you could go or who you could beat in a race to the line. It was about riding trails and pushing boundaries, to ride, jump, drop and gap further than ever before on terrain that was, at first glance, probably unsuitable. Ground-breaking film series such as New World Disorder helped fuel the imagination of riders.
What Red Bull Rampage sets out to achieve is to bring this form of riding out of the woods and high mountains and onto people’s televisions. It proves what's possible and inspires a whole generation of riders to think bigger, jump further and push the limits of their riding. This year will be the 19th edition overall.
2 min
The Evolution of Red Bull Rampage Competition
Darren "Bearclaw" Berrecloth breaks down mountain biking's most prestigious competition: Rampage.
Discover more about Red Bull Rampage
03
Do I need to be a fan of bikes to enjoy Red Bull Rampage?
Hell no. This is a competition that goes beyond sporting borders. Red Bull Rampage is the ultimate action-sports competition. Red Bull Rampage can be high adrenaline stuff for anyone watching. You're watching some of the best bike riders in the world riding down gnarly and often risky terrain while they throw some of the biggest tricks ever seen.
Sign at the ready?
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
Everyone loves to see tricks, and whether it's done in motocross, on skis, skateboards or even football, there is a thrill in seeing athletes doing things that we mere mortals wouldn't ever consider doing. You can't fail to be excited and be on the edge of your seat when you see these athletes perform.
04
What's the difference between Red Bull Rampage and a slopestyle mountain biking event?
You may have come across mountain bike riding where athletes perform tricks on a purpose-built course full of man-made features, like wooden jumps and big drops. This is commonly called slopestyle mountain biking. Slopestyle looks very similar to freeride mountain biking to the uninitiated, but they are actually very different.
Slopestyle is less about the gnarly terrain that freeride takes place on. The man-made features, like wooden jumps and big drops, are big and difficult, but the terrain is smooth and easy to ride. The riders also use much smaller mountain bikes: less suspension, some even use hardtails (with no rear suspension). The bikes are as light as possible, so they're easy to spin and kick around in the air, and they have slick hard-pumped tyres to roll fast and avoid punctures.
A MTB Slopestyle course vs…
© Scott Serfas/Red Bull Content Pool
…the venue for the freeride event Red Bull Rampage
© Peter Morning/Red Bull Content Pool
At Red Bull Rampage, you will see similar tricks that are seen at slopestyle events, but everything is done on some of the world’s most technical terrain. The event has been held on rocky, unforgiving desert where the mountainsides are full of cliffs, huge exposure and near-vertical chutes.
This Red Bull Rampage course is big and steep from start to finish
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
The ground can be loose with very little grip. Instead of racing on the same course, the riders pick and dig their own lines down the mountain and, even if they occasionally join together, the lines are all unique. The riders use sturdy downhill bikes with a lot of suspension and big tyres with a lot of grip.
It's true to say that Red Bull Rampage organizers have in the past built a set number of 'pre-fabricated' obstacles (such as the huge canyon jump), but the event has returned to its freeride roots where everything is about carving/gouging out more natural lines.
Legends of Red Bull Rampage
05
Where's it held?
If you're going to hold an extreme event, you may as well hold it in an extreme place, right? As a result, all of this two-wheeled lunacy takes place on the ochre cliffs of Virgin, Utah.
High-fives and epic dirt abound in Virgin, Utah
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
06
Why do the riders need a dig team?
Casey Brown digging her line before Red Bull Rampage 2024 in Virgin, Utah
© Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
Diggers before Red Bull Rampage 2024 in Virgin, Utah
© Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
Vinny Armstrong working on her line before Red Bull Rampage 2024 in Utah
© Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
Brandon Semenuk working on his line before Red Bull Rampage 2024 in Utah
© Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
The riders all compete on lines that they have scoped and built themselves. This is hard, time-consuming work. Therefore each rider is allowed to bring two diggers to be part of their dig team. Together they shift and shape the dirt and rock to create some of the gnarliest lines in mountain biking.
Rider and dig teams get four days to start building their lines and just dig. After these dig days, riders are allowed to practice their chosen line over a four day period, where they are also allowed to continue to work and dig on it. The athletes have one day of rest to recover from the physical toll of digging and practicing.
On some features, riders and their dig teams collaborate to save time and create even bigger things.
07
So can they build anything, anywhere?
Yes, they can build anything they want as long as it's within the marked out area. They can only use hand tools like shovels and picks – no heavy machinery is allowed – and they can’t build using any outside material. Riders are allocated 75 sandbags and have to use the natural terrain to create their runs. No wooden features are allowed anymore.
15 min
Dig life at Red Bull Rampage
Dig Days are upon us and the crews have been relentlessly scoping, digging and building some insane lines.
08
How do the riders get judged in finals?
As we've said, there is a start and finish line for finals day. In between those, the riders are free to do whatever they like, but they have three minutes once leaving the start structure to complete their run, so speed can be a factor. During finals, each rider has two runs, and the best score from those determines the ranking. Basically, the riders are judged on a score from 1 to 100 based on four main criteria:
- Line choice degree of difficulty: The more points scored, the steeper, gnarlier, and more difficult the line choice.
- Tricks and style: Tricks, added style and nailing the landings are things that will score high and give lots of points.
- Fluidity and control: The smoother, faster and more aggressive, the higher the final points will be.
- Amplitude: Air time – how big does the athlete go, and how much do they make of the airtime?
5 min
Risk, Reward & Red Bull Rampage: Elements of Style
Risk, Reward & Red Bull Rampage: Elements of Style.
09
Can the weather play a part?
In short, yes. The event is, of course, held in a desert which tend to be places famed for their extremes of weather. As you can no doubt tell from the somewhat arid looking imagery, precipitation isn't the issue, it's instead wind.
Checking the wind direction before a run is super important
© John Gibson/Red Bull Content Pool
Being on a mountainside, there is a huge total vertical drop from the start arch to the finish line. As such, there is zero tree line or foliage capable of breaking any wind. In the past, this has forced riders into an interesting quandary: risk it all on run one in case conditions turn or get a banker in and see how the points shape up before risking it all in your second.
The consequences are too high at Red Bull Rampage for strategy and run management not to be factors, and in turn, they add an extremely interesting dimension to the event.
Making an impact
Watch the 2024 Men's and Women's livestream replays below:
Men's competition
The world’s toughest big mountain freeride mountain bike competition continues to progress the sport.
Women's competition
The world’s toughest big mountain freeride mountain bike competition continues to progress the sport.
10
What are Red Bull Rampage's biggest moments?
In reality, there are far too many of these to list. Virtually every run contains something epic worthy of a mention under that heading. Nevertheless, here is a selection of some of the biggest and baddest moments in Red Bull Rampage history.
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