Red Bull Rampage
Discussion
Its that time of year again!
Finals have been pulled forward to today due to poor weather forecast Saturday and Sunday. Coverage on RB TV from 5:30 this afternoon: http://www.redbull.tv/videos/event-stream-556/moun...
Qualifying has already seen some fairly insane lines.
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-antoine-bizets-...
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-aggys-qualifyin...
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-berrecloths-qua...
Finals have been pulled forward to today due to poor weather forecast Saturday and Sunday. Coverage on RB TV from 5:30 this afternoon: http://www.redbull.tv/videos/event-stream-556/moun...
Qualifying has already seen some fairly insane lines.
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-antoine-bizets-...
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-aggys-qualifyin...
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-berrecloths-qua...
Have you seen this crash? Jesus.
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video--crash-nicholi-...
Edit; Great minds eh
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video--crash-nicholi-...
Edit; Great minds eh
missing the VR6 said:
It was amazing watching Claudio's course preview, really put it into perspective. As he was coming up the canyon gap ramp I just thought wow that's a long way.
He's not shy on a bike either, normally full of enthusiasm and whooping, this time he did sound scared, but it did show how insanely narrow and heigh it all was.Quite a lot of backlash from this years Rampage - from Zink in particular, but a lot of the riders, and the bike companies seem to be chiming in with their concerns about the event itself.
It's just getting stupid - Paul Basagoitia looks very much like he could be permanently crippled from his off having smashed a vertabrae and no longer having any feeling in his legs.
Not to mention Bizet's horrible broken arm, Herbetson's broken leg, McCaul's severe concussion and Vink's broken ankle (from a line which was just straight up f
king insane).
Rogatkin's crash down the cliff was horrible - could have easily been paralysed or killed from that - and for the organisers to let him continue down the mountain was just fking stupid - they needed to have stepped in and stopped him from doing that - he could have had all sorts of horrible injuries that the adrenaline was masking.
I love Rampage - it was what inspired me to take up freeriding - and I'm in awe of the guys who ride this stuff, but it's getting stupid now. I don't want to see these guys connfied to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives - or killed - and that is just a matter of time with the trajectory of the event.
A week to build a line - some of which isn't 'hittable' until the day of the event, the lack of new real estate to build on, the frankly unfathomable judging and the exposure is now driving riders to take bigger and bigger risks - most of them making a loss to ride the event. Jesus - even the top prize of $100k for riders genuinely risking their lives is scant reward.
Rampage needs a total re-think. I believe that many of the top riders will look elsewhere - the Fest series showcases the very best of Freeride today - but in a non-competitive format and in a way which removes the insane risks that the Rampage riders are having to take.
Rampage is the epitome of big mountain freeriding - but I don't want to see the riders I admire enormously getting killed doing it.
It's just getting stupid - Paul Basagoitia looks very much like he could be permanently crippled from his off having smashed a vertabrae and no longer having any feeling in his legs.
Not to mention Bizet's horrible broken arm, Herbetson's broken leg, McCaul's severe concussion and Vink's broken ankle (from a line which was just straight up f
king insane).Rogatkin's crash down the cliff was horrible - could have easily been paralysed or killed from that - and for the organisers to let him continue down the mountain was just f
king stupid - they needed to have stepped in and stopped him from doing that - he could have had all sorts of horrible injuries that the adrenaline was masking.I love Rampage - it was what inspired me to take up freeriding - and I'm in awe of the guys who ride this stuff, but it's getting stupid now. I don't want to see these guys connfied to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives - or killed - and that is just a matter of time with the trajectory of the event.
A week to build a line - some of which isn't 'hittable' until the day of the event, the lack of new real estate to build on, the frankly unfathomable judging and the exposure is now driving riders to take bigger and bigger risks - most of them making a loss to ride the event. Jesus - even the top prize of $100k for riders genuinely risking their lives is scant reward.
Rampage needs a total re-think. I believe that many of the top riders will look elsewhere - the Fest series showcases the very best of Freeride today - but in a non-competitive format and in a way which removes the insane risks that the Rampage riders are having to take.
Rampage is the epitome of big mountain freeriding - but I don't want to see the riders I admire enormously getting killed doing it.
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