Red Bull Rampage 2019 has come to a monumental end! After 8 days of digging, the world’s wildest freeriders put down the tools and got back on the saddle for a final that we will never forget. Taking his third Rampage crown, Brandon Semenuk stamps his name in MTB history with a seamless first run, scoring an unbeatable 92.33.— Red Bull
2. Brett Rheeder: 91
Big tricks paired with precision but we’d expect nothing less from this guy. Brett Rheeder launched down an aggressive line filled with big drops, flowy features, launching backflips, and sending massive drops with a whole lot of speed, earning himself the second place spot on the podium from Red Bull Rampage 2019.— Red Bull
3. Tom Van Steenbergen: 89.66
Locking in third place on his first run of the day, was Canadian MTB guru, Tom Van Steenbergen. With an incredible flat drop front spin to kick off his run, it was bound to be a wild line.— Red Bull
Yeah I would even go so far as to say I can’t think about anything other than the spectacle of Andreau’s two runs. They were the highlight of rampage for me. What a warrior. Only he could possibly consider such a short distance, flat, flip having only been on the ground for like 1 second. Legend. Probably a gladiator in a past life..
One of the most awesome aspects of Rampage is the VARIETY of riding styles and approaches.
Semenuk is freeride as precision performance art
Andreu is so loose, so aggressive, it’s like watching a wild animal hunting
VanSteezeberg is doing the stuff all the original freeriders wanted to do. Everything massive.
Brendan makes freeride somehow still look like mountain biking, not a totally different sport!
I’d say we shouldn’t mind disagreeing with the absolute ranking too much, so long as the judges keep scoring well for all versions of rampage, including the ones we haven’t seen yet.
@SL13: i can. easy to see. TVS went huge thrice. First ever landed fronty drop flip at rampage, harder flip variation on comparable trick jumps, both had tech chutes, and a huge flat drop flip.
Brendogs run was amazing and exciting to watch but when you add up the 4 categories, the story is easy to read.
Obviously well beyond my abilities Not critical of any of the riders but I’d like it if the really good creative lines weren’t totally dismissed or overlooked for riders who are just shoehorning in backflips everywhere. The backflips been done to death I don’t think at this point it really adds anything. I can’t do it but everyone at rampage can so let’s stop penalising them for not flipping everything and see what they come up with instead.
@thenotoriousmic: can't give points for freeride. Anything with numbers attached to it isn't really free. So it's an event on two levels, one abstract and the other ticking boxes. Both are valid, but have to know how to appreciate each run for what it is. Forget about the judging. It's arbitrary and if it spoils anyone's enjoyment then I don't understand (I used to a bit, but life's too short). Watch the runs with the sound off, do something else with the 3 hours each score takes to come on screen and be happy.
Yeah, you can come to that conclusion when you only pay attention to the tricks and not their actual lines.... I think the fanboys are projecting their thoughts onto the judges and assume the judges think the same way.....
@thenotoriousmic: its like snowboarding in the late 90s early 2000s. Every kid could throw a rodeo flip but could not spin flat, style out a method or ride powder and steeps. Just more incentive to find our own fun in the woods. Not trying to denigrate the riders at rampage its insane and they are all amazing riders but more the focus of the event and yeah the flips are kinda boring.
I think rampage should change the focus and change the rules. Why not do a rampage were tricks are not allowed? Were riders are judged by style, fluidity and amplitude? Were the whole contest is about line creativity, riding style and big jumps/drops? We already have slopestyle for the insane tricks I think it should be a refreshing thing to see ????
@NordstomMax: i think the judges could fix and make equal all of this...slope riders who have oppo 360's on lock for example should be scored the same a free riders that do reg 360's and so on. Amplitude should be 90% of the score! This is RAMPAGE!!!!!
@Dropthedebt: lol -I know but where’s the vault of other cool emojis? I do think it is applicable for the “Rampage is too slopestyle” deadhorse tho. Thx bro.
If you have listened to podcasts from Mccaul or Zink’s I’m not sure that’s totally true. It’s so hard to judge what the gnarliest lines are from home. Semenuk backflipping into the lily pad feature was insane as well.
Great show by all the boys. Shit may be more groomed these days, but it was one of the better Rampages as almost everyone made it down and allot of that has to do with the level of building these days at Rampage. I think they got it figured out now with the pre-pro...
Don't think enough credit was given to the actual lines by the judges. Almost feel that tricks now outweigh the diffulculty of the line.
Semenuk crushed it and deserved the win. His line had speed, tech, gnar, slope and tons of steez
Brendog's line and riding was insane, but he def got robbed.
Andreau charged harder than anyone, he was my favorite rider to watch, but since he did not finish a run we will never know his true score.
All and all it was a killer Rampage. Thanks to the riders and builders for the show...
I'm curious, how would you have ranked/scored the runs? I liked TVS better than most: Semenuk TVS Brendog Rheeder 4th?
4th for anyone in this comp, including Brendog is super accomplished. We are lucky to see 10 clean runs in most any comp. In this one we had Mr. Smooth operator Emil land a run and take 12th!!
Robot and Overlord.. literally the two words that came to mind last night! If it was 2058 he would be in a separate category competing against Boston Dynamics latest A.i. freebot!
All these people forget that this event is awesome. Sure it has evolved and is less DH and more groomed. But it’s still some of the best Mtbers literally risking their lives to entertain us and push the limits of the sport. Oh and it’s free to watch.
I know i shouldnt but i always find Rampage really boring to watch. Would far rather watch the World Cup downhill runs than this. Hardline is even better.
@RussellTinka: just needs to update it’s format. Less competitive and more of a jam format. Everyone’s got their favourite rider / run / trick / feature and nobody really pays much attention to the score anymore, it’s all about who gets the most views, comments, clicks. Leave it to the riders make it less structured and watch the fireworks go off.
I quite enjoy the spectacle of it but I have to be honest.. while I wait for the scores I always think ‘this is why people love DH, the stopwatch doesn’t have an opinion’. Judged stuff is always going to be flawed, doesn’t matter if it’s breakdancing or horse riding. I like the clock. Clock don’t lie!
See where you're coming from.
But never the less. It airs the perfect time in the UK for having mates round for beers to watch it.
I think I've had people round mine for the last 5-6 Rampages.
If you talk to anyone that has actually been there they say it’s the craziest thing they have ever seen, but most of the keyboard cowboys think it’s just some groomed DH trail. Can win em all I guess.
Got to spin it to win it. That is the big difference between top two and next 2. Three athletes where I was holding my breath: Fairclough, McCaul and Godziek. That to me is why I watched. Happy to see they all made it down w/o crash.
Brendog killed and I'd bet money if he'd done even minor tricks on the hips and drops, the judges would have given him the top spot. I think everyone was hurting to not see Andreu make it to the bottom. so BEAST.
Rampage should be judged like a game of H.O.R.S.E. Everyone has to at least ride the other guy’s line, no tricks required. This would prove that guys like Brendog have a bigger pair than Brandon. If you can’t at least ride off of Stait’s huge drop or Brendog’s rock, you prob should at least have an H instead of a W.
They mistitled it - they meant "podium runs". . . . .. like you said - both Brendog and Lacondeguy runs are definitely my favourite ones, along with Nell's
@bakunin: must’ve got down voted by a ‘Bren got robbed’ person. I know what you’re saying, lining up right behind three out and out freestyle riders is a MASSIVE achievement.
They need to add some natural features requirement. I mean did any of the top 3 ride more than a few feet of something had not been manicured in some way? I wanted to see a bunch of flips and spins I would go watch Joyride.
Disgusting how they all want landings that will support them, rampage would be so much better everyone just grabbed a toboggan and slid down the whole mountain instead of building a rideable line
exactly bro...so much anticipation then this. I've posted exactly the same about 20 times and received soooooo many neg props. This is Rampage not Joyride. Riders will stop risking their lives when tricks get scored to high and Rampage will not be the one off event it once was. Amplitude should be 90% of the score then we'd be back on track. I can't trick shit, but when it comes to drops I'd like to think I'm like Jordie (RIP)...although I'm not even close, but yeah. I want my nerves to be fried after watching a dangerous run and then that person to win!
@src248: You can ride natural chutes but the judges made it clear they could care less about that. Didn't Zink and Straight have one last year that they ditched because they found out its not worth anything points wise? You dont need your entire run to be a weird downhill slopstyle course.
@mfoga: True, but Semenuk, Rheeder, and TVS did all have a steep natural section in their line. Semenuk even had an on-off boulder (but I do think Fairclough and Rheeder should switch positions)
@src248: They did? I they jumped over natural sections, I didnt see there wheels on these sections for more than a few feet at a time. Honestly the move on the rock was the only part that was cool about Semenuks run. I could watch runs like Brendogs and even Straights from last year all the time. Most everyone was doing the same sh*t.
How many of the riders would backflip that canyon gap with more horizontal flight than vertical? And how many of the riders would flat drop backflip? That's what the judges missed with Brens run...
There were some ridiculous runs this year though, so fair play. That Semenuk lily pad back flip and the on off manual! So stylish!
I watched this really late and I don’t know if I was dreaming but I am pretty sure the new commentator this year said “Brendan Beereclough” when Fairclough was taking off for his first run. Oh and apparently Semenuk is from Squampton, BC, according to his notes....
And yeah Brendog, Lacondeguy and Godziek were the highlights for me
Those three runs deserve poduim. For all those who says its groomed... only jumps are, many of the top riders go steep as f*ck.
Semenuk run is perfection. A flip to double drop... not Freeride ? Come on poeple, WAKE UP !
Those guy’s take insane risks, dig for a week under blasting sun... then put their life on the line as tired as there are. Just get them the respect they deserve. If I was one of them and read all your non sense comment, i would be pissed as f***.
to me this was disappointing, no one could compare to the top two except lacaneguy, whether it is skill or line choice it was so anti climatic. Kyle strait, cam zink, etc just can't get there anymore and the new guys have zero change since the whole mountain was already flattened out and there are no lines left.
Thought the judging was pretty on point this year- I don't think anyone else could have ridden Semenuk's line like he did- so a fair and well earned win.
@BenPea: Don't know if he snapped it but he certainly came up short on the canyon jump in practice. There's a clip on YouTube of it, on Deaks' channel. Worth a watch just to see how big Brendog's balls must be.
@samfr1000: He was swapping bikes all the way through that clip, pretty sure he hits the last jump on both bikes. I dread to think what would've happened if he'd been a couple of feet shorter on that canyon gap
@samfr1000: Could well be, other articles have stated he definitely snapped the alu frame on the canyon gap, so I guess either he didn't realise straight away, or as you say, down to the editing.
I thought this was a freeride comp not a slope style comp? Tricks are cool, but the top three all looked like they were riding down manicured four lane highways.
No, just no. That was boring. Not only the judgement, but anything else. This venue is no good, not too much variations, and I hate the rule that riders stick to only one line! Also I like slopestyle stuff, wooden features make sense, but hey, they're gone,check lines, not tricks...
I though rampage shoul win somebody who jump biggest drops, have a style and cool run to watch.....why is semenuk first? he was still breaking a then made few flips and thats all???
Rampage just felt like a gnarly slopestyle course with a few big ass drops kinda boring to watch for more than 30 mins, It seems like this the event that people that dont even mtb will watch so its gotta just be flip after flip marketing machine. They should take a yr off shit wasn't that exciting
129 Comments
Your missing Brendog and Lacondeguy...
Yea might start calling him Robbedog
One of the most awesome aspects of Rampage is the VARIETY of riding styles and approaches.
Semenuk is freeride as precision performance art
Andreu is so loose, so aggressive, it’s like watching a wild animal hunting
VanSteezeberg is doing the stuff all the original freeriders wanted to do. Everything massive.
Brendan makes freeride somehow still look like mountain biking, not a totally different sport!
I’d say we shouldn’t mind disagreeing with the absolute ranking too much, so long as the judges keep scoring well for all versions of rampage, including the ones we haven’t seen yet.
Brendogs run was amazing and exciting to watch but when you add up the 4 categories, the story is easy to read.
We already have slopestyle for the insane tricks I think it should be a refreshing thing to see ????
m.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=72182
Today I bestow the secrets of the script.
Don't think enough credit was given to the actual lines by the judges. Almost feel that tricks now outweigh the diffulculty of the line.
Semenuk crushed it and deserved the win. His line had speed, tech, gnar, slope and tons of steez
Brendog's line and riding was insane, but he def got robbed.
Andreau charged harder than anyone, he was my favorite rider to watch, but since he did not finish a run we will never know his true score.
All and all it was a killer Rampage. Thanks to the riders and builders for the show...
I liked TVS better than most:
Semenuk
TVS
Brendog
Rheeder 4th?
4th for anyone in this comp, including Brendog is super accomplished. We are lucky to see 10 clean runs in most any comp. In this one we had Mr. Smooth operator Emil land a run and take 12th!!
Three athletes where I was holding my breath: Fairclough, McCaul and Godziek. That to me is why I watched. Happy to see they all made it down w/o crash.
There were some ridiculous runs this year though, so fair play. That Semenuk lily pad back flip and the on off manual! So stylish!
And yeah Brendog, Lacondeguy and Godziek were the highlights for me
Semenuk run is perfection. A flip to double drop... not Freeride ? Come on poeple, WAKE UP !
Those guy’s take insane risks, dig for a week under blasting sun... then put their life on the line as tired as there are. Just get them the respect they deserve. If I was one of them and read all your non sense comment, i would be pissed as f***.
I dread to think what would've happened if he'd been a couple of feet shorter on that canyon gap
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