October 2008 Archives

For Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution, a few course elements were constructed for the first time in Red Bull Rampage history to help the riders push even harder for the progression of big mountain riding. Ted Tempany (at left in photo below) and his build crew endured a few weeks in the harsh desert, resulting in some wild obstacles that brought out some big moves, including Thomas Vanderham's Best Trick-winning no-hander. Read on to find out what Big Red Ted and his crew went through.

We threw a few questions at the podium dudes amid the media pandemonium after the Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution awards ceremony went down. See what they have to say about the event...

A huge element of every Red Bull Rampage event has been capturing all of the insane action on film, and Freeride Entertainment's Derek Westerlund has plenty of experience doing just that. Freeride has been a part of Red Bull Rampage since the beginning; in fact, their five-disc Red Bull Rampage Retrospective is currently available on the iTunes store for only $9.99, so grab your copy to see how the event unfolded from 2001 to 2004.

For Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution, Derek was tasked with assembling an elite film crew to record the gnarliest big mountain event ever. You'll be able to get your hands on the official DVD in November, and NBC's Jeep World of Adventure Sports will be airing a Red Bull Rampage feature piece on November 8th between 3:00 and 4:00pm EST, so set up your TiVos now. We checked in with Derek during the event to find out what it takes to make the magic happen.

Immediately after Sunday's Qualifying round at Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution, most of the riders climbed right back up the mountain to scout and build lines on the previously untouched canyon between the first and second start gates (Qualifiers were held between the second and third gates). The digging resumed early Monday morning and continued for hours as every athlete searched for his own unique path to the finish line, one of the founding tenets of Red Bull Rampage.  

Different strategies emerged, with riders like Darren Berrecloth and Michal Marosi working hard to construct a line that would make themselves stand out, while others like Cedric Gracia and Gee Atherton took to their bikes earlier, dialing in big drops and smooth landings.

A segment featuring Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution will appear on NBC's Jeep World of Adventure Sports, airing on November 8th from 3-4pm EST. Set your TiVos and DVRs now!

Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution is officially wrapped, with 17-year-old Brandon Semenuk earning the title. Semenuk tore through a high-speed line and dropped some progressive moves to finish on top of the hugely talented Red Bull Rampage roster.

Results are below; new photos and another video are up, as well. Full results and a recap will be up soon. Feel free to post in the comments to give these riders some props or tell everyone what it was like if you were there.

1. Brandon Semenuk - $10,000
2. Kurt Sorge - $3,500
3. Thomas Vanderham - $2,000
4. Mike Kinrade - $1,300
5. Cameron Zink - $700
6. Mike Hopkins - $500
7. Cedric Gracia - $400
8. Graham Agassiz - $400
9. Kyle Strait - $300
10. Darren Berrecloth - $300
11. Robbie Bourdon - $300
12. Paul Basagoitia - $300
13. Cam McCaul
14. Michal Marosi
15. Gee Atherton DNS (did not start)

Check out the photo and video sections for some brand-new additions from Sunday's Qualifying round.

Mother Nature did a little housecleaning in Utah to mark the triumphant return of Red Bull Rampage, but she definitely could have done a better job of reading the calendar. After a couple of days of practice in ideal weather, the skies opened up on Saturday. Thankfully, the rain zapped the choking layer of dust that had been blanketing the event site, but it also caused a postponement of the Qualifying round and a subsequent revenue spike at the local watering holes.

Qualifying went down today under sunny skies, and the following 15 riders made their way into tomorrow's Final (it was supposed to be 14, but there was a tie for 14th, so both riders squeaked in. Check back later for photos and more info from today.

1. Cam McCaul
2. Brandon Semenuk
3. Gee Atherton
4. Darren Berrecloth
5. Kyle Strait
6. Michal Marosi
7. Dan Atherton
8. Cedric Gracia
9. Paul Basagoitia (tie)
9. Robbie Bourdon (tie)
9. Cameron Zink (tie)
12. Kurt Sorge
13. Graham Agassiz
14. Mike Hopkins (tie)
14. Thomas Vanderham (tie)

Here's the plan for Sunday; all times are subject to change depending on the weather conditions throughout the day.

10:00am - 12:30pm: Course inspection and practice
1:00pm: Qualifiers (28 riders, one run each)

As of now, the Finals (14 riders, two runs each) will go down on Monday, October 6th.

9:30am - 11:30am: Practice
1:00pm - 2:30pm: Finals Run 1
3:30pm - 5:30pm: Finals Run 2

A killer video covering the highlights of the first two days of practice at Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution just went up, so check it out while we're waiting for the course to dry up. 

Due to rain and a flash flood warning for Zion National Park and the surrounding areas, the qualifying round for Red Bull Rampage originally scheduled for Saturday, October 4th has been POSTPONED. Weather forecasts call for continued rain throughout the day and potentially into tonight.  As a result, Red Bull Rampage will resume Sunday, October 5th at an earlier scheduled time of 9am (weather dependent).  Formats for qualifying and finals will be determined tomorrow morning in order to adjust for the revised schedule, so cross your fingers for some sunshine.

Please check back tomorrow for further updates. In the meantime, check out our photo galleries to see what's been going down here so far. Thanks.

The Red Bull Rampage staff.

Here are a few updates to the Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution roster: Steve Romaniuk is out, and Kenny Smith, Michal Marosi, and Logan Binggeli are in. 

Day 2 at Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution saw riders charging the biggest lines they've been putting together for the last few days, as well as a slew of tricks over the center step-up. Cameron Zink dropped in on a steep-ass line he and Kyle Strait had been grooming and unfortunately took a rough slam; he popped back up, but he's getting checked out for a possible mild concussion just in case. Gee Atherton and Cedric Gracia have been ripping full-throttle down the outside ridge, and Chris Van Dine came out with a few surprises, including a 360 attempt on the step-up. When the whistle blew on the session, he made his trip down to the parking lot count with a barrel roll attempt, aborting at the last minute.

Everyone's been feeling out the course for the last few days, and all the plans they're keeping under wraps will become public knowledge once they drop in for the qualifiers tomorrow. 14 of the 28 riders will move on to Sunday's final round, so we're definitely in for some killer moves.

We just put up another truckload of snaps in the photo section, like this one of Geoff Gulevich - look for even crazier images tomorrow night...

Even though it's been four years since Kyle Strait clinched the Red Bull Rampage title in 2004, he's still the defending champ. Back then, Kyle delivered a solid all-around run with a stalled no-hander over a massive 65-foot step-down gap, and he's planning on using a similar strategy for Saturday's qualifying round. "I definitely think the judging will be roughly the same," he says. "It's a different set of judges, but I think they're still going to like the Rampage style of fast, flowy big stuff, small stuff, smooth riding - a little bit of everything."

It didn't take long for Kyle and Cameron Zink to pick out a super steep and scary line, which they fine-tuned for almost a full day while the other riders worked on their own sections. "Our line should be one of the gnarliest on the course, so I'm feeling pretty good," he said. He pulled the trigger on Friday afternoon, rolling past the point of no return and nailing the burly double drop. Is it an indication of what's to come? Stay tuned to find out what Kyle throws down on Saturday in his quest to bring home another Red Bull Rampage title.

More than half of the field this year is made up of Red Bull Rampage rookies, and most have never tackled an event like this before. Alex Prochazka is one of them (at center in the photo below, between fellow rookies Graham Agassiz and Matt Hunter), and spent most of his first day building out his own line on the course before taking a couple hits in the lower section. Read on to see what he thinks of his first day at Red Bull Rampage.


How does this compare to other events you've done?
It's totally different. Here, everyone grabs tools right at the start and just builds their own lines. Everybody has his own thing so you're not going to see a lot of the same stuff. At other contests, people are taking the same lines. Also, here it's big mountain stuff, you know? Big drops, steep stuff, and not that many jumps so you're not doing that many tricks. It's more about how big you go and how fast. How technical your line is. I think that's really good, and it's a cool way to go.

How is the course shaping up for you so far?
It's good, I built a line; it's pretty gnarly and I haven't hit it yet, so I think I'll hit it on Friday. I hit some other gnarly lines, but I'm not used to riding in this sand; I'm used to riding in mud and roots in BC. A lot of the landings are really, really soft, so you have to watch out.

Have you noticed anyone else who's looking good today?
Most people are looking strong. A lot of people have been just digging so far, so people are mostly hitting the generic lines today, but everybody looks pretty strong and confident. It looks like everybody's having a fun time out here.

Bing, bang, BOOM! 36 new photos from day one of Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution have just been posted, so roll on over here to see 'em.

Cedric Gracia took home the Red Bull Rampage title in 2003 by charging the course with his downhill chops and no hint of hesitation. He's back in 2008, and judging by the way he attacked the new venue on the first day of practice, nothing has changed. We threw a few questions at him as the sun was setting, and he gave us an idea of what to expect for Saturday's qualifying throwdown.

You pulled the win in '03; what's it going to take to make it happen again here in '08?
The same: Big Balls. Different lines straight down the hill, big stuff, steep stuff, not only dirt-jumping. Flat-out on the really technical part; make it look easy, and it's done.

How did the course come together for you today?
Good. I've made everything so far. I jumped everything in like an hour, so I'm pretty stoked. I need to talk to Barber (Todd Barber, event producer) about a line in the middle, I want to know if we can go straight down and hit this big gap - everyone wants to hit it.

So you're happy to have Red Bull Rampage back?
Yeah, I love riding like this. I know it's dangerous, but you know what you can do, and crashing is just part of the game. Just don't be stupid, don't try to ride over your shoes or over your head. There are other people here, so don't make yourself look stupid. Know what you can do and do it, and if you can't, just chicken out. It's not bad to be a chicken on this kind of course.

The Red Bull Rampage building crew has been on-site for a while now, ratcheting up the "pucker factor" on an already insane course, so the riders who plan to tackle this sucker better be packing some brass cojones and have them polished to a lustrous shine. Check out some of the madness in our latest photo gallery.

Make sure you check back often, because we'll be posting all the latest happenings until the new Red Bull Rampage king is crowned on Sunday.