Red Bull Rampage: Final Round Throwdown

Gee would periodically bomb down the course a section at a time, prompting the builders to stop mid-shovel stroke to watch him size up drops that looked more suitable to BASE jumping, then he'd fire them out with style. He was beginning to look unbeatable when, just minutes before the Final kicked off, he went down hard and popped his shoulder out, forcing him into the role of spectator for the rest of the day. His brother Dan had already pulled out of the Final early that morning after the previous several days' worth of punishment on the course had taken its toll on his ankles. They'll be back, no doubt.

Mike Kinrade was brought in to replace Dan, and in his first run he attempted the massive drop that took Gee out, safely scrambling out of what could have been another nasty crash. In fact, many of the riders struggled to keep it on two wheels in their first run, which wasn't exactly a huge surprise given the difficulty of the things they were going for. Brandon Semenuk, Cameron Zink, and Paul Basagoitia all tried to spin 360s but had no luck with the landings.

The 800-pound gorilla on the course proved to be the massive 60-foot canyon gap; only Cam McCaul, Thomas Vanderham, Mike Hopkins, and Kurt Sorge were eyeing it up, launching it with varying levels of success in practice. The crowd's anticipation was directed heavily to McCaul to drop something big over the gap, but he cut his first run short after a mistake high on the course took him off his bike. They'd have to wait for run number two.

Sorge landed the gap in his first run, and that combined with a direct, ballsy line from the ridge helped to put him in the top spot after everyone's first runs were in the tank. Vanderham was also strong in round one, weaving through a complex line up top before launching the canyon gap. Speaking of complex, Berrecloth took a unique line that even included a wall ride high on the course, but ending up sailing over the next drop without his bike. Cedric Gracia delivered a fast, clean first pass with an x-up and a no-hander, and Kyle Strait charged down the top of the ridge, carving a killer pocket air. Marosi got on a wild line early in his run but ended up having to jump off the bike, then crashed on a double drop a little further down.

Robbie Bourdon kicked off the second set of runs with a big drop high on the ridge and was looking good until he cased a drop in the middle of the course and couldn't set up for the step-up hip that came directly after it. In fact, quite a few people had trouble landing that same drop, including Berrecloth. He really got the crowd going in his second run as he powered through the technical line from his first run and cranked toward the drop. He also got served on the landing and couldn't make the hip. He got up and attempted a 360 drop into the last canyon, but unfortunately, the damage had already been done.

Kinrade had better luck, landing the massive drop from his first run perfectly, and Graham Agassiz, who stacked on a no-foot can off the banana ramp in run one, opted for a perfect no-hander on it in run two. He couldn't have touched the brakes for the rest of the run, screaming over another drop and a stylish table into the last canyon. Vanderham let a no-hander fly over the canyon gap but added to the list of riders to eject over the hip, and Zink nailed the 360 at the end of his run.

Sorge had been pushed to second after Semenuk's final run, which featured solid speed and tricks over every gap (no-handers, a no-foot can, and a 360). Kurt went for a superman over the canyon gap but couldn't find the pedals on the landing. All eyes turned to first-place qualifier McCaul to bump Semenuk out; Cam hit the canyon gap with a quick no-hander and seconds later fell into the jaws of the drop that had taken so many riders out already. Cam took it the worst, but was eventually able to walk away with a few birdies circling his head.

Young gun Semenuk is having a great year, topped off with this huge win at Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution. The vets once again basked in the glory of the world's premier freeriding event, and the rookies got firsthand experience of the event they had heard so much about - and were blown away. "It's way gnarlier than I expected," Sorge commented. "You watch it on DVD and you're like, 'That's sick!' but it's so much gnarlier in person. I'm so stoked!"

Red Bull Rampage came back bigger and better than ever, with everyone and everything involved - including the riders, the crew, and the mountain itself - working together to create an epic event. Keep checking back for more photos, interviews, and info, and make sure to catch the coverage of the event on NBC's Jeep World of Adventure Sports on November 8th between 3:00 and 4:00pm, EST. Give us your thoughts in the comments, and enjoy the ride.

Check the results, photos, and video from the Final round.