The best example: Nicholi Rogatkin. He hurled himself over a cliff, fell 10 metres and escaped with a scare. In the first four rampages, the raw character remained, only then did the competition change. At first, the organisers placed artificial features in the terrain. The Oakley Sender, an insanely high drop tower made of wood, and the Canyon Gap, a ramp jump over a railing channel, are the best known. In subsequent years, the athletes were allowed to use diggers. These construction crews shaped runs in the Utah Mountains that were reminiscent of a slopestyle course with levelled landings, flattened tracks and jumps out of sandbags. But these changes made today's super tricks possible in the first place. A development that not everyone welcomes. The best-known critic is the Norwegian Brage Vestavik. "I miss the freeride spirit!" says Brage, "I'll only take part in the Rampage again when it becomes rougher and more original again". But the competition has remained true to itself in one respect over the years: The Rampage is a constant supplier of hair-raising moments.
The top 10 moments of the Red Bull Rampage
1st place - Cam Zink
Cam Zink backflips the Oakley Sender 2013. The stunt manifested Cam Zink's reputation as the "All or Nothing" daredevil in the scene. Only two riders dared to perform the superdrop at the 2013 Rampage: Kyle Strait in the Suicide No Hander and Cam Zink in the flip.
2nd place - Tom van Steenbergen
Last year, Kelly McGarry flew over the canyon gap in a backflip, in 2014 the Canadian Tom Van Steenbergen threw himself forwards in a frontflip. We have to admit: We have a weakness for front flips. This stunt left us breathless and made our hearts skip a beat.
3rd place - Robbie Bourdon
Robbie "Air" Bourdon dares the flat spin. The Canadian from Nelson was one of the wildest fellows during the freeriding boom. He caused a furore with the statement "I drop anything" and was regarded as simply crazy. In 2010, Robbie wanted to repeat what he had achieved in the action film NWD: a flatspin over an XXL distance. Although he realised his chances of success were slim, the fearless Bourdon dared to attempt the bone-crushing stunt... and crashed. We say: awesome stunt!
4th place - Nicholi Rogatkin
It was his debut at the Rampage. Slopestyle ace Nicholi Rogatkin wanted to show that he could transfer his acrobatic tricks to the Utah desert on a big bike. But high up on his run, the front wheel slipped and the US boy skidded over the cliff and crashed. Rampage spectators around the world held their breath. But thanks to Utah's crumbling rock, Nicholi escaped with a scare and without any injuries.
5th place - Tyler Klassen
The super T-drop. Here we honour the stunt instead of the rider. In 2002, Canadian Tyler "Super-T" Klassen found this cliff and performed the almost impossible in the final. He dropped over 10 metres into the depths and managed to tame the bike again on the following rodeo ride. In 2004, several riders jumped this difficult drop. For example Josh Bender (crash), Lance Canefied (photo) and Gee Atherton. Back then, the landing was still largely natural - that was the difficulty.
6th place - the steepest descent of the Rampage
The steepest descent in the history of the Rampage - and at the same time: "The most underrated" stunt in Rampage history. In 2017, Kyle Strait, Cam Zink and Pierre Edouard Ferry built the steepest descent. The guys had to rope up when they prepared the line and it was obvious: if you fell here, you fell all the way down. The Frenchman was the first to dare to tackle the 63-degree steep run and test whether theory and practice go together. Ferry was more in free fall than the tyres touching the ground. Zink and Strait also rode this line in the final. We say: brutal! It's a shame that the judges only awarded a few points for this test of courage.
7th place - Drop XXL
In 2013, Kyle Strait became the first rider to win the Rampage for a second time. This super stunt was responsible for the victory. Kyle not only managed this huge drop, no, he conquered it with his signature move, the suicide no hander, and landed deep down in the slope. We also opened our eyes and hung our chins in amazement. And you?
8th place - Front flip drop
We were torn: should we take Tom's Caveman Drop, with which the Canadian had started his 2017 run? Tom stood there on the cliff, held his bike in the air by the saddle and handlebars, jumped off with his feet and swung himself onto his bike in the air to land four metres further down. Or should we take this blatant, albeit tragic, front flip drop? Tom van Steenbergen would probably have won the Rampage 2021 with it, but unfortunately he crashed during a subsequent backflip and suffered a serious injury. Tom is probably the only person in the world to jump a frontflip drop like this. Ultra sick!
9th place - Canyon-Gap without bike
It hurts just to watch. Cam Zink "gets bucked" as the Americans say. The jump kicks, the tail rises, the handlebars sink. What should he do? All he can do is squat over the handlebars and fly over the monstrous canyon gap without his bike. But the flat, concrete-hard ground awaits Cam Zink, who falls from a great height. You can barely see the fall. But a miracle happens: Zink survives. What's more, he only twists his ankles! WTF? Cam said afterwards: "So if I survive this, then I can do a lot more!"
10th place - world's highest 360 drop
And Cam Zink once again. In 2010, the American from Nevada wins the Red Bull Rampage for the first and only time. In his final run, he performed the world's highest 360 drop and set the scene alight. This is all the more incomprehensible because he crashed on his first attempt. Anyone who sees the crash can't imagine attempting a second run afterwards, let alone trying the stunt again. We say: soooo sick!
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
