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Erik's inside report from Red Bull District Ride
Wow, so many people! I have the feeling that there have never been so many spectators at the District Ride. So many fans. In 2017, I was the underdog, unknown to most people. This year the pressure is on me. A huge event in Germany and me as a German rider with hopes of a podium.
I'm interviewed and questioned, sometimes with funny questions. But despite the pressure, I enjoy it. I keep waking up at night, I can't sleep well. That's why I go out with the boys on Friday to party a bit, it helps. I often find that I can't sleep before events, but the distraction is good.
The attention of the fans is nice, but sometimes annoying. Especially in training, especially when things aren't going so well. In Nuremberg, you train in the centre of the city, among the fans. That makes training difficult. If the tricks don't work out the way I want them to, I really can't sign anything. My nerves get frayed and I say: "Sorry guys, not now!" The fans might think: "Phew, he's unfriendly!" But that's not true. The fact is: nothing works without concentration. My colleague Nicholi Rogatkin doesn't mind so much. Nicholi definitely has the strongest nerves among us drivers. He's been doing it for a long time. I think he's been on the slopestyle circuit for eight years and that experience pays off. You can also feel that in his interviews: Nicholi reels them off routinely, is funny and quick-witted.
Erik Fedko: Two days of training at the Red Bull District Ride are not enough
Training for a competition like this is always a tricky subject. This time, too, we don't have enough time to practise in detail. The District Ride is special because the course runs through the centre of the city. The course with all the obstacles and jumps has to be set up and taken down quickly, so there's not much room for manoeuvre. Some of the jumps don't fit, so they have to be changed, which eats up time. And then there's the rain. For my taste, two days is not enough training.
So Thursday training and then the announcement about the forecast rain: We have to do a competition run on Friday. Great! I've just ridden the entire course three times and now I'm supposed to do a competition run? This causes tension among the riders. Everyone is disappointed, everyone gets nervous. In the end, the weather holds - a huge stroke of luck. Because the cobblestones are treacherous in the wet. In any case, there's a huge difference between reeling off your tricks on your home spot and having to transfer them quickly, quickly, quickly to an unfamiliar course. No matter how much you practise and plan your run. It's always different on the spot. If a jump doesn't fit, it throws your run into disarray. This time Nicholi flashed me with his performance, because he hasn't done so well in competitions for quite a while. That's why I'm super stoked for him that his run went so well.
Read the following articles about the Red Bull District Ride:
Nicholi is a master of the cash roll. It's crazy where he unpacks the spinning top. The cashroll is an extremely difficult trick in terms of rotation - boah! I've practised cashrolls so often, but I can't do cashys. That's why Nicholi can't do decades. At least I haven't seen him do any yet. So it balances out. I jump a Decade in training. It's the trick I'm having the most fun with at the moment. I've also learnt double decades, so 360 double downside whips.
Gathering thunderstorm at the District Ride - and no winning pants
Emil Johansson is awesome. He's as strong as ever in Nuremberg. I'm often asked whether Emil can still be stopped. But if you take a look at the points, you can see how close we all are. Rogatkin even takes the lead at times. That shows that Emil is already beatable and that we can put him under pressure. Nicholi wants to give it his all on his last run; unfortunately he crashes. I also want to attack, but I can feel the thunderstorm coming up on my last run; it's getting really windy. From the outside, it might look like I'm admitting defeat, but it's not like that. I weigh up the risks and decide there's no point. After all, the Crankworx events in Australia and New Zealand are coming up. That's why I say to Emil on the start ramp:
"Oh come on Buddy, let's do a Steez run down to the old town together."
We slopestylers are all friends, so there's no nasty competitive battles with elbows out. We go out to eat together, we celebrate together and are happy for each other when the tricks work. Clearly: happy slopestyle family.
Of course, everyone deals with competition tension differently. My friend Paul Couderc, for example, is completely focussed, plays through his run in his head and is barely responsive. Others, like Nicholi, cover up the tension with showmanship and fun. For me, it's a middle ground. To get into the "zone", as I call it, before a run, I try to concentrate. I don't have any rituals. I used to have some. I could only put my protectors on in a certain order, I had my winning pants and all that rubbish. But I got rid of those quirks. Because at some point I forgot my winning pants and still did well. Rituals are stressful. If you forget something, you have to keep thinking: Oh dear, I've put my underpants on in the wrong order. A bad omen? So no winning pants this time, but for Nuremberg I had customised special clothes together with my sponsor YT - a district ride outfit. Casual, right? Casual style in bright white, to match my bike, which I also scribbled on with signatures and other stuff.
Instincts take over - 360 Indian Air and Backflip Superman Seatgrab sit
My heart beats the fastest on the way up to the start ramp, calms down again and starts racing again just before the start. The "Oh shit, oh shit, what am I going to do now?" thoughts flare up briefly, but then I think about how well everything worked out at home. That relaxes me. Why should what worked at home and worked well in training go wrong now? The heart rate boost before the run, on the other hand, is a must. It's positive stress. It puts the body into attack mode! And then you're off! Tunnel vision. Instincts take over. Trick follows trick. I tick off. One district after another rushes through. Then the 360 Indian Air somewhere in the middle of the run. Everything has to be right for it to work. A little too much rotation - bad! Jumped off a bit wrong - bad! The 360 Indian Air is one of my signature tricks, but also one of my hardest tricks. When I land clean, I breathe a sigh of relief.
And another moment of shock shoots through my brain - during the final jump. I set off for the backflip superman seatgrab, but feel: Oh dear, you're turning far too slowly! But I land safely and all the stress falls away. What a feeling! That's happiness! Cheer. Raise your arms. So stoked, run down well, 3rd place, on the podium! The coolest moment for me is when I can hug my parents and grandparents straight after the run. They came to Nuremberg to cheer me on. Oh, they are so proud of me. That's great!
Winning champagne: drink or pour?
The winners will soon have to travel on to Australia and New Zealand for the Crankworx Slopestyle. Only there will it become clear who has collected enough points for the title: Slopestyle Champion of the World.
Statement from Emil Johansson
"I may seem cool, but I'm nervous like everyone else."
"This is a 360 tailwhip to barspin to opposite downside tailwhip. I can't practise a trick like this because there are no jumps this big anywhere else. I practised parts of it and put it together into a jump for the first time in Nuremberg. I hadn't planned the trick combo and didn't know twice whether it would work. It just happened - just before the jump, my pulse switched to turbo. But that's good, because then your body adapts to what's coming!" - Emil Johansson
Interview with Kathi Kuypers after the Red Bull District Ride
For the first time, women competed in the best trick event at the Red Bull District Ride. We spoke to Kathi Kuypers (32) from Bad Aibling about her experiences as one of five female starters.
"Had my trousers full"
FREERIDE: Kathi, congratulations on your appearance at the Red Bull District Ride. How did the idea of women riding the course come about?
Kathi Kuypers: Red Bull approached me in the winter and told me about the idea. I was flabbergasted. I found it difficult to assess it because the course is very technical. On the one hand, I thought it was too early for us slopestyle women. On the other hand, I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity. So I told the organisers: no problem.
However, the women were only allowed to ride the course in training and take part in the best trick event - so they were treated a bit neglected, weren't they?
That was my idea. Red Bull asked me for my opinion, they actually wanted to have their own women's classification. It was too hot for me - the risk of the premiere going down the drain was too high. We were five women, imagine if two had injured themselves in training and only three had contested a final. That would have been embarrassing. But wait and see, the progression for us women is enormous. We'll be ready for our own ranking at the next District Ride.
Did you ride the entire course?
Yes, step by step. There wasn't much time. Nicholi Rogatkin was a real help. While the other drivers were absorbed in their training, he took his time and gave us tips. Unfortunately, we only had just under five hours of training in total. I would have liked to have ridden more.
Which moment do you particularly remember?
During the Best Trick Award, just before I took a run-up for the final jump. You're standing up there, people are cheering, and I had to accelerate at V-Max onto the 3.5 metre high kicker. Completely new for me. I had my trousers full for a moment. But doing it anyway probably gave me the best day of my life.
Outlook for the next Red Bull District Ride
One thing is certain: The District Ride is coming back to Nuremberg. In three years' time at the earliest, however, i.e. in 2025, the organisers are considering a whole District Ride series. This is in line with the trend. Following the expansion of the Crankworx series, the big bike slopestyle Proving Grounds is now to be pumped up into a series, as is the extreme downhill race Red Bull Hardline. Offshoots are planned in Canada and New Zealand. Now that sponsor Red Bull has had to relinquish the World Cup, resources are being freed up, making such scenarios likely. We say: Nothing better could happen to gravity sports; the future looks bright!
