How? What? Where? Has it really been 20 years since the best MTB freeriders in the world in the rocky desert of Utah gathered to crown their champion? Back then, there were neither shaped landings nor construction teams. Trial & error was the motto of the first edition of the Rampage 2001, which was inspired by super-dropper and Utah local Josh Bender. The Rampage has taken place 14 times so far - with a long break after the 2004 event. Back then, the organisers decided that the risk to life and limb of the athletes was too high. The Rampage was revived in 2008, for the first time with gigantic wooden stunts such as the Oakley transmitter or the legendary Canyon Gap, only to become more "natural" again from 2014. The concept of the event (judges assess two runs by each athlete) still works and makes the Rampage one of the biggest, if not the biggest spectacle in the sport of mountain biking.
These are the Rampage favourites of the FREERIDE editorial team:
20 years of Rampage: A look back with freeride inventor and 2001 Rampage winner Wade Simmons
Wade, you won the first Rampage in 2001. Are you travelling to Utah to watch the event?
I should be, but I'm a bad spectator. If I walked around there, I'd go from one small talk to the next. I'm a doer, not a talker. Standing there clapping my hands is not my thing.
What do you expect from Rampage 2021?
(laughs) For me, freeriding is all about the unexpected huck. I want to be surprised with extreme stunts in rough terrain. Recently, the terrain has been manicured and polished. But that's not freeriding, it's creating a downhill track like in slopestyle. I enjoy watching the riders who go a bit crazy and dare to do the unexpected: Andreu Lacondeguy, for example, or Kurt Sorge.
What moments do you remember from the 20 years of Rampage history?
Kyle Strait's fat no-hander over the Bender transmitter in 2004 immediately comes to mind. Or Cam Zink's 360 drop. That was totally surprising. Zink hadn't practised it, he just pulled it off. That kind of thing fascinates me. Kelly McGarry's no-hander over the Canyon Gap was also a stunt that nobody had ever done before. I remember all the "first time" stunts.
Do you still get credit for your victory?
Yes, all the time. Back then, everything was still new and raw. Nobody built landings and levelled approaches. We hiked through the rocky landscape and puzzled over the best place to jump down. Most of the time we didn't even know if it was possible to do what we were doing - because nobody had done it before. I even fell on my run and still won. That would be unthinkable today.
Is the Rampage the raddest bike event?
The Rampage is the pinnacle of freeriding. Because there you have to do something with the terrain yourself. The terrain takes centre stage, even if the riders are allowed to prepare it a little.
Can you still remember your prize money?
It was 5000 dollars. Now it's 15,000 dollars for the winner or even more. That is also appropriate for all the risks that the drivers take.
The livestream of the Red Bull Rampage 2021 is available at redbull.tv - It starts on 15 October at 7 pm German time.
