5 Things We're Expecting to See at Red Bull Rampage 2022
Multiple riders throwing bar spin and tail whip combos.
With multiple riders opting for capable single crown forks on their Rampage bikes, including Dylan Stark, Brett Rheeder and Brandon Semenuk, we're expecting to see a huge uptick in the variations and combo tricks come finals day. We've already gotten to see some of the tricks riders are comfy with like tailwhips and bar spins but that's just the beginning as they have one more full day of riding left before the big show on Friday.
Riders to get inverted on the 70+ foot canyon gap.
Szymon Godziek very quickly early on Tuesday dropped in and cleared the canyon gap, no problem. In fact, he hit it a few times. Later that day he and his dig crew decided to adapt the takeoff and add some extra kick at the top. Dylan Stark and Szymon are the only riders venturing that far riders' right and taking on this iconic, rebuilt feature and they're both known for going huge, so we can only speculate but perhaps there are some plans to get inverted.
Features that have yet to be unlocked on finals morning.
It seems like every year we say THESE are the biggest features yet, THIS is the most ambitious build ever. Truly though, some of the builds, and particularly landings, the dig crews have taken on are behemoths. No single rider has a complete top to bottom run established yet and quite a few are further behind than others with hot, dry days not helping much. It's not unusual to see riders tick off features for the first time during practice on finals morning but we have a feeling it will be more than "just a few." Were the ambitions a little too high?
Bigger overall amplitude than years past.
With a stacked rider field of 18 athletes, the talent pool is at an all-time high and the eagerness is there after seven gruelling days digging on the mountainside. Multiple features on the hill, including drops, step downs, step ups and the canyon gap itself, are measuring over 60 feet so the hangtime is going to stack up quickly. Lower down on the course Thursday evening we got to see William Robert hit his Fest Series size jumps just after the sunset so who knows what he has planned once he gets comfortable.
Rider(s) start their run NOT on their bike.
There's no missing the giant gnar-wall that drops directly under the start gate, and that is where Brandon Semenuk is heading...straight down the face. Aside from that feature alone, there are still 17 other riders that need to enter onto the face of the mountain to begin their runs and of course style points matter. From the top, it's so steep that the thought of "riding" off doesn't even make sense in our minds so what about jumping off?
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13. Dolly bird interview at the finish gate "Talk us through your run". "I'm just stoked to get a full run in".
14. Cam doing his best to cover up the other commentator's shitness.
*5-panel hats
Will TVS toss another 50 ft front flip drop?
Could we have all single crowns on the podium?
Will any alternates get a shot?
Will Jaxson spin/get inverted to compliment massive supermans?
Blimps/airships on the other hand would be suitable, they have so little effect on the ground that they can be used in mine detection. If only a tyre company had an airship that tours sporting events…
(see my comment above)
www.pinkbike.com/news/reviewed-nikki-rohans-favorite-womens-mtb-riding-pants-by-season.html