Red Bull Rampage 2014: Nugs From The Qualies
RIDE THE LIGHTNING
Today started to feel like a flashback to last year's finals when the qualifiers were cut short mid second round due to weather. Clouds filled the sky for as far as the eye could see, then rumbles of thunder broke out and were punctuated by strikes of lightning. The qualifiers were optimistically put on hold while the event organizers performed a passionate sun dance, but to no avail. The call was eventually made with the delayed second runs being moved to tomorrow morning, that is assuming that the calls for further storms and flash floods have been greatly exaggerated. It will be a long night for everyone involved with the event, as they spend the night peering out their windows and trying to stay positive while considering the worse case scenario for weather damage and delays.
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 SRAM pits at 7:20am, with Evan Warner opening "shop". A few of the boys needed to pick up bikes after they'd been worked over by Evan. |
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| Waiting to start. |
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| Gully gets in a quick run on his line before the morning riders meeting. |
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| Morning riders meeting. |
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| Todd Barber going over qualifiers rules and logistics. |
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| Morning riders meeting. |
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| Tom hikes to the top of his qualifier run. |
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| Gully and builder/mechanic Kevin Soller, talk through Gully's run. |
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| Gulllevich hitting the on off step down. |
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| Possibly the best spectators ever. |
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| Yannick Granieri dropping in on a billy goat path. Granieri sits at 12 in qualifying and opted out of run two, meaning he's out of the final. |
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| Makken sits 16th overall after his first run. |
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| Makken hitting the canyon gap on his qualifying run. |
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| Aggy before he crashed in his first run. |
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| Chris Van Dine. |
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| Robbie Bourdon may have missed a Rampage back in '13, and he may have taken a bit of a crash yesterday in practice, but he's been at this Rampage zone since day one of the build process, he had a hand in building each of the wood features, so don't count him out. "I'm not in it for the win; but I'm comfortable in this zone and I'm here to have fun." |
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| Cam McCaull was riding Rampage after just having a newborn, and now it's Bourdo's turn. |
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| Bourdo always manages to suss out the gnar. This is his element and he was on the gas today. |
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| Robbie Bourdon |
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| Robbie lower down on his qualifier line. |
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| Bas Van Steenbergen has been helping out his brother Tom all week and dug the way for his path into finals. |
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| Tom Van Steenburgen hitting the Canyon Gap. |
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| The view from below. |
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| Bernard Kerr using his DH racing flow to link up a progressive line and get in the top mix for the day. |
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| Carson Storch getting his newbie feet wet with a suicide no hander off the GoPro sender. |
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| Carson hitting the lower section of his line. |
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| Will White |
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| Mitch Ropelato. |
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| Mitch whipping it out in qualies. |
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| Doerfling making us Williams Lakers proud out there today! |
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| James showing his passion for the rugged big mountain lines. |
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| James was sitting in 8th place after his first run. Worried, that he may not qualify he stepped it up in run two with this Indian Air. Unfortunately, he didn't quite make it and crashed on the landing. |
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| Ryan Howard |
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| Ryan Howard |
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| Ryan Howard |
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| No one thought we would see a trick on the canyon gap today during qualy's, but Szymon Godziek proved everyone wrong with a clean flip over the 75 foot gap. |
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| Szymon Godziek gets wrong side up over the canyon. |
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| Making history on the new canyon gap, Szymon Godziek styles this perfect backflip over the gorge. |
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| Mitch Chubey |
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| Brett Rheeder blasting upside down over Zion and into the first qualifier for today and guaranteed to ride on Sunday. |
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| Brett still upside down. |
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| Rheeder only knows one view. |
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| Paul Bas coming in hot off down the backside of the left ridge. |
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| Paul Basagoitia |
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| Mitch Ropelato |
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| Mike Hopkins in his first run. |
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| Mike Hopkins just out of the qualifier today and got intercepted by a TV crew member in his second run. Although he will technically have a re-run, weather will decide the fate of Mike riding on Sunday. |
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| Elliot Jackson done with the digging and ready to watch the riding. |
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| Todd Barber discussing the incoming weather with the riders; "We'll be going right back up again for round two of qualifying as soon as round one is over; so make certain you are ready to head back to the top immediately so we can get qualifying done." Evidently Rampage riders don't hear very well, as it was well over an hour after round one of qualifying was over before riders were headed back to the top, only to be chased off the hill halfway through round two by thunder showers. |
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| Rampage event staff wiping down the GoPro sender prior to round two. |
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| One has to wonder what look Mike Hopkins has on his face right now after getting interfered with on his second run by the videographer... Todd Barber calling in a re-run--the first ever incident of this nature at a Redbull Rampage. But the impending weather let loose as Hopkins was making the hike back up the hill, driving all the competitors and the specators off the venue. |
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| The soil here at the Rampage venue turns into clay when it's wet and while that makes for great building conditions, it makes the venue damn near unrideable until things dry out. Between the soaking and the thunderstorms, qualifying was postponed until tomorrow am. |
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| Dampen the dust. |
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| Kyle Jameson having some fun prior to the decision to resume qualifying tomorrow am. |
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| Then the rain came. |
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| With a severe weather system fast approaching, the qualifiers were postponed until tomorrow morning. |
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| When it rains. |
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| Aggy popping off a few afternoon rounds. |
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| Gully cleaned his run today and is ready for finals. |
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| Storms a brewin' and time to get out before the roads become a full wash out. |
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| As the Rampage qualifier day comes to a close, the lightning blasts continue to blow holes throw ghastly clouds. |
Check out all of our images from the Red Bull Rampage 2014 here.
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The bad weather is messing up the Round 2 of Qualifying and it's unlikely they will able to compete due to heavy rain. If that's the case then they are going with the Top 10 from the runs they were able to get in before the weather got bad. Also, two of the Pre-Qualifiers are out due to injuries before Rampage.... let's make some things right and Vote for 2 riders from the remaining Qualifiers who missed their shot at Round 2 (11-26 after Round 1)) who we think should be there! All in favor, vote now and maybe Rampage will take notice. Maybe we can Vote for the 2 remaining riders on Redbull.com or Pinkbike or....somewhere...
Looks like weather isn't cooperating to finish qualifying this morning. Going back to bed. #rampage
Could a rider swap bikes during his run? Do the upper section with DH bike but than in a shade of some rock swap a bike for slope style of and backflip-tail the canyongap?
Szymon backflip-tsunami over canyon would make my day