After weeks of relentless digging, the hard work is starting to pay off and riders have begun to session their features. Feast your eyes on some of the raw clips from the first practice session at Red Bull Rampage 2019.—Red Bull Bike
@endlessblockades: This sounds ridiculous but Ive been lurking on here forever but I wanted to make an account to tell you I laughed hard at this, it hit me just right I guess. Cheers!
I am praying too the biking gods for no wind for the weekend & this will be the best Rampage yet! They have built a huge dirt skate park with near perfect trannys!!!!!!!! But can go very wrong in the wind!
A day of diminished productivity. All my coworkers know to stay away from my cube unless they say SIIIIIQ. This is my stupor bowl. I am going next year, solo, boozehound, desert camping. Might shroom. USA
@owlie: personally, ive never been id'd there in 4 years I've gone. Kaybe different as i get mine at the friends of redbull tent..? Usually a guy or two ends up not going and ive given that ticket away onsite by telling so and so to say xyz name. Maybe things have changed this year..?
@soNoToShmoles - I hear ya- groomed and big like fest, definitely not about riding natural lines anymore- more about how you can build trick to trick to trick features.
All this shit is mad, groomed or not. If you disagree go there and see for yourself. Those riders want to be stoked on that they ride not worrying about plummeting 60 feet off a cliff. I love the vibe and feel of the course this year and it looks like the riders are going to shred the ffffffffff out of it
@Yetimylove: it is definitely more groomed than in the past but that’s ok. It’s still gnarly and building like this is what allows the riders to go as big as they do and stay as (relatively) safe as they do. Watch the video of Tyler McCaul posted earlier. He says in the beginning how when he first went to watch Can in an early rampage event he thought is was stupid because it was just guys hucking shit and wrecking all over the place. Things evolve, often for the better.
@endlessblockades: Seriously. As if anyone on this forum could ride that stuff, it's the "it's okay" comments that kinda stick in your throat, like gee, glad you think these riders are okay to ride absolutely sick stuff that you can't even dream about riding. f*cking cubicle riders.
@nurseben: if i could pay for up-votes i'd use them for that statement. people are spoiled by fifty edits a week and have totally lost touch with how utterly ludicrous rampage is.
@JamesGTi: Of course; every rider has their own take on it and is building something they want to ride.
Equally, everyone watching will always prefer one rider's take on the mountain over someone else's. I'll be honest; I preferred Brendog's line last year and am no big fan of FEST style events anyways. Others live for FEST style big mountain / slopestyle events and that's why the MTB crowd is a good crowd, there's something for everyone.
Want to win it though? Then you'd probably best forget natural lines.
The winner's line will be tricked out and smoother than my firstborn's butt cheeks only with crazy levels of consequential exposure that I'd feel nauseous just walking. At the current rampage, more natural lines will never beat super-stokey rad-filled whoopy-doopy, woooooo-hoo-yyyeahhh-ness, especially when everything is performed in front of the media outlets honed to catch sunset-back-lit huge jump lip-action.
I hope there ne'er comes a day mind, when Rampage's judging criteria evolves to such an extent that riders like Brendon reject the invite. I say that would be a sad day.
@orientdave: I don’t think riders will ever stop showing up. These guys definitely want to win but at the same time it’s just as much about the exposure they get just being there and riding the event, regardless of where they finish. I mean you mentioned Brendon, he got hosed and has probably gotten just as much exposure from not winning as he would have if he won the contest.
Agreed, Rampage has turned into a groomed slopestyle event, riders are still top notch hardcore, just missing the natural lines that Rampage was born from.
@Rm344231: Pretty much is. Just set on a gnarly hillside. If it wasn’t, then downhill riders would have a chance of winning but they don’t, due to tricks on massive jumps scoring the highest marks. That is essentially slope style. Just packaged up as something else
@Tombola27: How many slope courses have you been to that have massive completely blind drops that require technical breaking and turning immediately before and after? What do you think is gnarlier, riding a gnarly chute, which many of these lines still have, or turning your back and 3ing/flipping said drop? Way less margin for error rotating these features, hence why it makes sense why tricks are weighted highly. Also if its so smooth, why do some of the stiffest bikes in the world still nearly bottom out upon landing?
Andreu's bike is that way per Vital's Bike Check
They have built a huge dirt skate park with near perfect trannys!!!!!!!!
But can go very wrong in the wind!
this is my stuper bowl also ...... sick AF
-Ian
Equally, everyone watching will always prefer one rider's take on the mountain over someone else's. I'll be honest; I preferred Brendog's line last year and am no big fan of FEST style events anyways. Others live for FEST style big mountain / slopestyle events and that's why the MTB crowd is a good crowd, there's something for everyone.
Want to win it though?
Then you'd probably best forget natural lines.
The winner's line will be tricked out and smoother than my firstborn's butt cheeks only with crazy levels of consequential exposure that I'd feel nauseous just walking.
At the current rampage, more natural lines will never beat super-stokey rad-filled whoopy-doopy, woooooo-hoo-yyyeahhh-ness, especially when everything is performed in front of the media outlets honed to catch sunset-back-lit huge jump lip-action.
I hope there ne'er comes a day mind, when Rampage's judging criteria evolves to such an extent that riders like Brendon reject the invite. I say that would be a sad day.