Photo Epic: Women Made Freeride History at Red Bull Formation 2021
Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Every single rider at Red Bull Formation 2021 made the freeride mountain biking world proud.
Hannah Bergemann pioneered The Ovary to the Fallopian Tube, which is no joke. Vaea Verbeeck stomped her technical double drop. Chelsea Kimball built and rode a brand new drop to canyon gap. Cami Nogueira also built a brand new technical roll to drop, and even after hitting the dirt hard on the first try and pushing through another couple of wild attempts, she repeatedly picked herself up and tried again until she succeeded. She's tough as nails. Jess Blewett sent huge jumps with arguably more style and amplitude than anyone. Vinny Armstrong was the first to trick the step-up in the first riding session. Casey Brown rode the gnarly Fallopian Tube line, and then, even though it would have been completely reasonable to call it a day after that burly accomplishment, she hiked back up with Sam to support Sam's first attempt at the line, dropping in to demonstrate with even more speed and finesse than the first time. Sam Soriano sent the big double drop at the bottom bigger than anyone else and set the standard for steadfast bravery every time she stood and looked at a line, admitted she was scared, and dropped in powerfully regardless.
Each women's mountain bike event like this one chips away at the barriers for women that have cemented in the sport over the last few decades, but this one did more than just chip away. Though we don't have official records for this type of thing, it's safe to say that Red Bull Formation 2021 included several of the gnarliest female freeride accomplishments... ever. This is a huge step forward.
Each rider received a personalized Formation plate for their bike. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
18-year-old New Zealander Jess Blewitt absolutely crushed it on her first trip to Formation. Here, she drops into the Fallopian Tube. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
The landscape is full of possibilities. Chelsea Kimball drops down the ridge leading to her big drop. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Hannah Bergemann spent the first two ride days sessioning pieces of her line before stitching it all together as the first rider to ride a complete line on the final day. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Hannah working her way down. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Casey and Hannah figured it out together. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
After some scouting and testing, the crew went back to work before the line was finished. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
The riders all worked hard digging, too. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
The Ovary rock roll to the Fallopian Tube was a crux move on the upper mountain. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Even the easiest path up the mountain is a bit steep. Vinny Armstrong, Michelle Parker, and Hannah Bergemann make their way up. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Harriet "Haz" Burbidge-Smith, an alternate rider, made the jumps look easy. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Cami Nogueira showed this week that she's equal parts skilled and determined. Despite two gnarly crashes on her first three attempts at riding her line, she kept trying it until she nailed it.
Cami drops into the trickiest spot on her line for the first time. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Gotta go up to come down. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
The riders worked together to put together their lines. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
Pro skier Michelle Parker was a crucial digger/supporter/cheerleader/stoke leader throughout the week. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
The New Zealand girls are clearly very comfortable in the air. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
Vaea Verbeeck's line is full of technical drops. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
All the Formation ladies are remarkable riders, whether on the ground or in the air. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Cami Nogueira prepares to ride on the final day. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
This photo of Jess Blewitt really puts the scale into perspective. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Chelsea Kimball's drop was something new. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
A send and a celebration. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
The canyon gap. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
Hannah Bergemann sent it all the way down. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
Vinny Armstrong has style for days. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Casey Brown was a valuable mentor for all the ladies throughout the week. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
Cami Nogueira putting it together. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
Cami was a force this week. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
Vaea Verbeeck's double drop gave no room for error. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
The upper section of Vaea's line also required quite a bit of precision and commitment. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
Jess Blewitt hitting the so-called Plastic Bag Drop. Re Wikstrom / Red Bull
The absence of a competition at the event helped foster an incredibly supportive, collaborative environment. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
At the end of the week, riders voted on the rider they thought most embodied the Red Bull Formation values of collaboration and progression. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull
The winner of the Arc'teryx Evolution in Action award, voted on by the riders, was none other than Queen B herself.
To call it a successful week would be an understatement. Women's freeride keeps picking up momentum, and after seeing what went down in the last week, we can't wait to see what happens next.
Find other coverage from Red Bull Formation here.
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Must Read This Week
I want a poster of that.
It's been said a million times but pictures don't get close to showing the gnarliness of the area. It's basically a cliff.
Thanks to all the ladies for crushing it so hard & being an inspiration for everyone.
To all those with opinions, I suggest you read the articles (this one and the others). The organizers have explained why this event was hosted the way it was.
But come on RedBull, the only people at the event were the riders and the builders. How about a little promotion of the ladies event?????
Very sad to see no one out there cheering them on.... We can do better!
Did it ever occur to you men that these women don't need or want to be 'judged' (by who, a panel of men?) to be fulfilled by this event? Maybe stop trying to be such a patronizing white knight and read the captions under the excellent photos like this one, for example: "The absence of a competition at the event helped foster an incredibly supportive, collaborative environment. Catherine Aeppel / Red Bull"
To be honest, I also missed this point. I thought it was supposed to be a kind of female rampage, however without competition element it’s of course not. I wonder if the female freeriders would like to take part in a big ‘judged’ event like rampage or if this is really not on their minds at all.
At the end of the week, riders voted on the rider they thought most embodied the Red Bull Formation values of collaboration and progression.
Think you are missing the point
Stoked for these events to finally be taking off, we are ready for it!!
Even more pumped for @womensfreeridemovement / @wfmbike events to feed right into this!
Lets hope for some Live Coverage next year. @redbullbike
Amazing women
Amazing humans!
This is so good to see - it takes a lot to be a good rider but it takes so much more to be a pioneer... and these women are pioneering women in freeride as we know it and it can only explode from here! Is it crass to refer to our sick sisters in MTB as sick-sters? Looking forward to the edit
No pic of Robin Goomes' backflip?
.It's riding groomed terrain. Free riding to me means no digging
in the dirt You just ride what ever is on front of you.