9 Thoughts on Red Bull Rampage 2023
Gee sending his drop in practice. Photo: Ale di Lullo.
Gee being attended to by medical after his heavy crash in practice. So glad he's walking around in good spirits and on the road to recovery after attempting one of the scariest drops of all time. Photo: Ale di Lullo.
1. Really glad everyone is okay-ish.
We are so glad that Gee, Szymon, and Clemens are relatively okay after their horrible slams. Obviously they've all taken damage, taking some hard knocks, Gee with some spinal fractures and Szymon dislocating his wrist. They need to take their time in recovery, but considering the potential consequences of the impacts they took, everyone being on their feet and hanging out by the end of the event really is a best case scenario. Clemens' crash especially—in person we thought the consequences could be so much worse, so shout out to his Leatt helmet.
I blame Jaxson.
2. Jaxson Riddle is a fashion icon.
It's 2023 and all the kids here are wearing clear-rimmed glasses and JNCOs. I don't know how I feel about that, other than I'm old.
3. It's a miracle this event exists.
The logistics are incredibly complex, even for things like coordinating transportation into the venue for the massive convoy of staff and riders at 4:30am. The event is on public land, thanks to Utah's State Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), but getting in is private land and the spring water gets pumped in from Gooseberry Mesa BLM land. Crews are here for weeks out. Trusses, lighting, generators, tents, containers. Nobody will give me a number, but it has to be in the millions of dollars. And that's not to speak of the insurance, broadcast logistics, and Red Bull's willingness to accept the risk of an event like this.
Brendog added this terrifying Battleship feature to make the "easier" riders'-right line off the top more tech.
4. Frustration about judging has become disrespectful to the riders...
I totally understand people's frustrations, and I've been pretty critical over the years myself, but I'm disappointed to see so many vitriolic scoring complaints. It's not just Pinkbike, but on YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, everywhere. Comments like "X is paying off the judges," "Y is totally washed up," and "Z's run was lame he should retire" cheapen the achievements of the riders. Most of the riders had absolutely psychotic rides this year and there's no reason to diminish their runs—even if you disagree with the scoring.
5. ...but there's room for improvement with judging format.
We will have some lukewarm takes on Rampage judging at some point, but we'll probably save that for a future story. I want to watch the broadcast back and take some time thinking about it. But in the meantime, this will be my annual soapbox to call for holding the scores back during the first runs, then calibrating and announcing them before re-racking and doing second runs with live scoring.
Photo: Ale di Lullo
6. Bienve is awesome.
I really enjoy watching him ride, his riding reminds me of Lacondeguy, but taken to the next level. I also really loved his attitude in reaction to the scoring. There's been lots of frustration about his score, but he knows that his upper section needed more. I believe as soon as he adds some exposure/tech to his run, and maybe a big drop, he's got the potential for a winning run. The YT Mob freerider says that the most important thing from this year is that he's earned an invite for next year, where he can apply all his learnings from 2023 and come out even stronger. Love to see it.
2013. Photo by Sterling Lorence.
2023. Photo by Ale di Lullo.
7. Has it really been a decade since Zink's original Oakley Icon Sender flip?
I am old. Also, for the record, this year's Oakley-free version was way scarier than the 2013 version; the landing is ~10 feet further out now, and there's no real lip on that dirt takeoff versus the old wooden mini-kick. And I think Cam's 3 after the Icon sender flip is being overshadowed, but that is massive, and so risky after the adrenaline dump of the biggest flip drop of all time. Someone on Kyle's dig crew coined this year as "Grampage" for the old guys, and I'm running with it.
This has nothing to do with any of my thoughts but this was the best fan sign on course.
8. The broadcast was really, really good.
We got so lucky with a wind-free event, and the broadcast was a huge improvement over previous years. The FPV shots are great, almost nothing got missed, and it did about as good a job as you could in showing the scale here. The broadcast is a collaboration between Red Bull's production team, Freeride Entertainment, and a few other experienced folks, and they deserve a lot of recognition for bringing us a brutally difficult event to capture.
Darren, the legend himself, has sent every rider off the top since the very first event.
9. This might have been the best Rampage ever.
The level of riding was incredibly high, no weather issues, virtually no panicked building or untested lines, and there don't appear to have been any life-altering injuries. The talent pool was deep, and of the 18 riders competing, I felt like at least 10 of them had the potential for a podium. Massive thanks to everyone who took part, riders, diggers, broadcast crew, medical staff, and everyone else who made it happen for our terror/entertainment.
Izzy (photographer), Hannah (social media manager), and Alexa (photographer).
Slicko himself.
Izzy getting the goods.
Dan our favourite social media butterfly.
Early mornings and late nights for Kasen (left) and Stefan (right).
Tippie, our director of good times.
That's it that's all from us on the ground at Rampage 2023. We've got a few more pieces to publish (Izzy's still got an all-important Tiny Dogs of Rampage piece coming), but in the meantime we're headed home to wash the desert out of our sinuses and deep clean all our camera equipment. Huge thanks to our team this year: Izzy and Alexa on photography, Hannah and Dan on social, and Tippie, Stefan, and Kasen on video.
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- "yall disrespectful bastards"
- "ok judging could be better"
- "ok this one rider is my favorite yall shut up"
that.. escalated quickly lol. Honestly, it was a good Rampage. While I'd score differently, every single rider is nuts.
Why does everyone not give af that tricks are only 25 of the package?
Rampage is about gnarly lines, going big, and keeping it moving consistently/confidently.
Line difficulty, Amplitude, Fluidity, and style.
Where you do your tricks and where you don't do tricks matter.
Judge 1: Amplitude
Judge 2: Line choice
Judge 3: Tricks
Judge 4: Exposure/steep
Judge 5: Speed
Not saying these are the exact categories but by doing it this way, it's harder to play favourites as the judges are stuck comparing apples to apples. Otherwise as a judge I couldn't imagine trying to compare all categories at one time for each rider. They are all so different.
Or pass the judging notes to the presenters / experts for them to discuss (there's usually enough time with wind breaks!)?
That would inform spectators to assist in understanding the scoring AND (if done relatively quickly) competitors as to whether a second run is worth the risk.
There will always be controversy in sport, but it would help massively with transparency.
You seem very angry about all this... You do realise it's ok to not agree with people and have a debate don't you?
Please don't gloss over it and insult our intelligence by saying "it's hard" and "everyone rode well" - we know this! This community loves this event and is massively frustrated the judging is clearly very broken and compromised. It puts a massive negative on the whole event: Zink had a great run but it will always now have an asterix next to it in a lot of people's minds, Bren may never return much like Lacondeguy...
It needs someone like Pinkbike to have the balls to properly comment on it.
What happened with Rampage judging this year goes against the concept of the „rules“. The popular runs and riders didn’t get the spotlight and the spectacle suffered as a result.
As Brian Park suggests, the first run scores should be held back and judged against the totality of firsts and seconds because in the current format it is assumed riders will always do a second.
In a competition as gnarly as this that assumes a lot.
Say after your first run you are slightly injured, or the wind picks up (as usual) or, in the spirit of the competition, your 1st was such high risk, that it isn’t worth rolling the dice a second time ..you shouldn’t be penalised.
He laid down one of the most spectacular and dangerous runs in the history of rampage, with style, precision and confidence. And if that doesn’t stand on its own due to some imagined kitchen psychology then the entire format deserves to be scrapped and buried.
@slackedmtb The idea that they are deducted for having a "safe run" as the first run is silly. They are judged on the run they put down, not what could have been.
First runs are typically scored "conservatively" to allow room for the whole field to file into place as the runs continue. As they say, year after year, the number doesn't matter, it is the order that matters.
Don't get me wrong, drones can make things look really cool, but I think for rampage you need to be able to go in and out of scope of the entire mountain. I think the drone footage would be great addition for riders POV's and content put out after rampage is done, but not during the contest unless they're maybe previewing the riders' lines.
For me personally, the riders involved in those lines have created something new and crazy and should be rewarded for it. Knowing just how dangerous those lines were made you more invested in those runs (perhaps social media is also a big part in this, as some of the riders social media stuff was amazing?).
(Nb. TVS caveman and Zinks flip were crazy and hugely dangerous/technical, but they didn't feel new or as exciting to me. Every rider was amazing - I just didn't like the scoring...)
Not sure if I’m 100% right, but that’s my thinking.
I feel like this is actually what Brendog fell prey to. He went so early and nailed his run that I'm sure the judges were wary that they were going to score him too high and then "ruin the storyline". Whether they were consciously thinking that or not who knows, but it seems like that's what happened to me.
Amplitude /20
Exposure /20
Line choice/ execution /30
Speed /20
Trick difficulty /10
Not sure those are the exact metrics/ categories, but you get the idea. I think everyone forgets this, and most are enamored by a stand out move or section (like bienves lily flip into canyon fronty, or Brendogs canyon gap), and forget that it is a full run package deal you are judged on. Brendan was mighty close point wise to the podium. Rewatching Carson and TVS' runs, and they both had some PROPER steep gnar right off the top, and sent proper tricks off BIG features all the way down. Brendans battleship was high exposure, but was obviously not a difficult feature. His chute into his canyon gap and the gap itself was bonkers, and he flipped a smaller stepdown, but the rest of his run was relatively safe. Obviously, they were all scored closely, but I'm guessing that is what the difference was.
-seeing the judges celebrate zinks run because they are bff’s
-brendog and bienve getting screwed over
-bearclaw’s Instagram stating “we nailed the judging this year”
Thing that we’re awesome:
-the drone footage
-the commentators
-the riding
And you types are the problem. Imagine getting pissed off at watching the best freeriders in the world stomping their dream lines because "your guys" didn't do as well as you hoped because you don't understand what goes into the judging or the riders' lines. Grow the eff up. This was the best Rampage yet and still you kids find stuff to be pissed off about. LOL wow.
Also, maybe the format needs to be re-checked: why inviting riders as Jaxson when his riding style clearly doesn't match the riding/scoring criteria? This year he looked like he was forced to be there (marketing?). Also riders that "just" go down (I'm looking at Sorge here) without justification (injury, wind, mechanical issue, etc.) should be penalized and leave their spot on the following year.. It really just feels like a waste of time on a 4h broadcast (with all the respect that every rider that makes it to rampage diserves)
Some one correct me but it seems the centre lines are pretty much ‘pre-booked’ by certain Rampage regulars who guard theses lines and only really share them with their besties or if they need to do a bit of dealing to use a bit of someone else’s line.
So any new riders are pretty much forced to look for lines on the flanks. How is that fair?
The only solution is to find another venue, of which all the riders support instead of going back to previous ones.
" The risk factor is just too high on some features and it would be devastating to see one of my favorite riders die on the hill" This event has always had a high risk factor from the very first event. The only thing that's changed is more people who aren't really into freeriding, who cannot handle the idea of risky progression, are now watching it and are getting un-comfy. LOL
Yeah the coverage I thought was great. I think Cam/Rogatkin are great and will only get better if given the chance to work together more. I heard onsite Tyler was great.
Event was sick.
Glad folks are o.k. The 3 big stacks all 3 guys easily could have been much worse off.
Extra notes from me not that anyone but me cares...
- Gutted to not see Gee pull his run. I think he had a podium competitor there even with limited trick options.
- Zink's run was insane and my opinion the clear winner. I've knocked his positioning in years passed so I'm not some fan boy. The run was insane.
- Brendog score stunk but I felt like anywhere in the 2-4 slots was fine by me for his run. You can make reasons for higher and lower. For me... the 3-4 slot made sense.
- Godziek would have won even over Zink's crazy run... had he finished his run. Any part of his run that could have been boring he put trick variations into. And I'm thinking he does a big flip variation on the gap and had the double back planned. Would have been an all time run. Gutted for the dude.
- Emotions tell me Bienve should be on the podium. But his run reminded me of some of Zinks older runs. Lots of meh and traversing and a few big hits. The front flip was insane the back flip leading into it was sick. But he had a dull top half. He puts 1 more drop in there somewhere and he moves up a few spots. I hope he doesn't retire. I'd like to see what he can do now having a full pull under his hat and understanding a bit more about what a full line looks like.
- Emil deserves to be there. And I felt his run was appropriately scored. Was one of the biggest surprises for me to be honest. I thought he'd get a few free points. If anything he probably lost a few for using the Semenuk line and cutting out the gnarliest part.
- Wish Brett was still there.
- Missed Tyler
Thank the gods for putting the wind wand away.
All in all... we can bitch about judging all we want... and we will.... it should change... but lets focus not his... what we saw should not be happening and it is. EVERY person on that hill is a legend.
Bienve would have probably scored higher if he did more than kinda cruise the ridge up top.. A little more speed and a trick or 2 before that first Nac-nac would have helped his score..
I think Bienve is Spain's answer to Brett Tippie... His enthusiasm really came through on the broadcast.
Wish we could have seen Gee's whole run.. The report I heard is that it was ridiculous.
Emil is going to be scary in the future.. He'll have a win record like Brett and Brandon..
Does anyone in action sports do a better job at building the drama and suspense than Salema Masekela?
The Reggie Miller segment was a surprise.. I know that he's gone full bore into riding, but listen to him talk Rampage was listening to a fan..
Overall, it'd say it was a great event watching at home..
BRENDOG GOT ROBBED!!!
And sure, the judges "know" all kinds of shit we don't - how it looks on tv matters and nealry 10,000 Pb users combined went w/ Bren & Bienve over others.... thats significant
What seems insane is that 50% or so of riders are forced to the perimeter "bland runs" & middle is taken, so I find it tough to think:
1) Cam would've fronted that Bienve's canyon
2) that Bienve's "bland" upper line wasn't made up for 1000% w/ that sick drop to the canyon front (and then some) and
3) Cams run was a full 15 pts better than Bienve
I love all these guys but it is ironic that fans choice via Redbull, and PB fans leaned massively to Bienve & Brendog at over 8000+ votes for 1st and nearly 6400 votes for Bienve as best trick and over 5000 votes saying Cam was over scored
I'm not saying any of this is right or wrong - just that the judges & tv viewers (uh - dont we matter at all?) views are massively different. That seems like a big problem.
Actually no, your opinions shouldn't matter in the final results. That just means the more casual fans with little understanding of the lines these guys are hitting or how the event is judged are being the loudest online. Thank god its not mob/gaper rule.
seeing him anounce the riders year after year had me wondering long ago, but couldn't even even put a name to him until now
How did he get the gig? What does he do the rest of the year? Do they ever let him off the top of the mountain? Where does he get those shorts? Are pants an option?
I think an interview is due, @brianpark:
The broadcast was very clear the judges were out there all week looking at lines and talking to riders, why not tell them what the line could score.
Not really, other than trolls, its directed at the judging. Its not even directed at the judges but the scoring system. Most viewers come to see a freeride competition but the spirit of rampage is being lost as it becomes about slopestyle tricks. The main problem is that redbull isnt transparent around the scoring and how it works, thus everyone thinks it is too subjective. Maybe it is, but the only way to quash that is through transparency.
And while red bull do deserve credit for such a marque event, maybe they could pay the riders more than US10k to attend. As Ollie Wilkins mentioned in a recent podcast, that has to cover flights (for the whole crew), hotels, tools, transport, food. Essentially the riders are riding for free (or paying to ride if coming from Europe). Considering the significant media coverage of some of the biggest tricks that extends well outside the sport, they could and should be paying riders to ride....and risk their lives.
Props to AL for just refusing to participate anymore.
If you want freeride scored well, you got it.
Bienve definitely got robbed
Was cams run 11 points better than Brendogs? I don’t think so.
Those jeans aren’t gonna do well at their school.
You’re never going to win if your first big move is 30 seconds into your run.
I have mixed feelings about the risk/reward factor, but in the end it doesn’t really matter what we think, if they think it’s worth it. Who are we to tell them they can’t test themselves at the highest level of what they love and have dedicated their lives to pursuing? My only concern is whether they are always in a proper state to make a rational decision. Multiple concessions, adrenaline and dopamine addiction, pressure from sponsors and peers… I worry about that stuff.
The judging, mate, was utter crap.
As for judging - I'd love to see some transparency with the judging criteria - similar to what you see in other sports. Basically, the viewer should be able to roughly tally up the score themselves (number of jumps, features, exposure, amplitude, tricks, etc, and how those score relative to one another), using information provided at the beginning or throughout the broadcast. This would help both the competitors and the viewers.
In America of all places we are getting screwed, and it's free to the rest of the world through the Red Bull TV... how disrespectful to the core fan base.
That's my opinion. It was not perfect, but finally difficult and exposed lines and the size of the jumps were appreciated and not so much slopestyle tricks. Slopestyle is not big mountain.
To the criticism of the judging you have to say one thing: On the one hand, many people simply have no idea of the sport that is practiced there (Big Mountain Freeride) and by the way, the Internet keyboard heroes are also not on site. The judges are the whole week on site, know the lines, size and exposure. And this year there were also really people who bring expertise.
Was exactly the same play after Joyride, but this is far more egregious.
Zink and Strait literally taunted the other competitors with their 'we showed them' comments. It may have been overtly directed at 'the internet' but they'd not have been saying it had they been scored appropriately and had to accept that they'd been overshadowed on merit.
The judges, meanwhile, with their shameful 'we nailed it' post, congratulating Zink only. Grim.
The community are rightly angry with it all because it lessens the chance of seeing deserving and progressive 'outsider' riders at future events: it fails to reward creativity and originality; and it ultimately hurts the sport.
Also think scores for 1st runs shouldn’t be announced until the end. It’s the hardest event in the world to judge. That’s for damn sure.
Regardless old guys rule. Rampage is bitchin’ and God Bless FreeRide! Congrats Cam.
I suggest something like 5 categories scored out of 20: technical difficulty, variation, style, execution, innovation or whay ever else. Each judge gives their score. Drop the highest/lowest overall score and average the rest.
Right now it just seems like a roll of the dice.
In a competition as gnarly as this that assumes a lot. This isn’t a halfpipe competition.
Say after your first run you are slightly injured, or the wind picks up (as usual) or, in the spirit of this unique competition, your 1st was so gnarly and such high risk and perfectly stomped, that it isn’t worth rolling the dice a second time for a couple points.
The second run option is for riders like Zink who fluffed the first attempt. It is NOT for riders like Brendog to add a can can or something on the final hit. That is a misconception McCaul made in the commentary also.
It needs to relax and become more like a party or get together of elite freeriders. A few digging days and a main event.
Still produces plenty of media exposure for red bull and riders/sponsors. The riding, risk and scenery is epic on it's own.
Beinvenido is the rightful owner of that trophy. Not only did he did he throw down the nuttiest trick ever, he f*cking went right back up and stomped it again! he backed it up.....what a f*cking legend.
No point in beating a dead horse as social media and the PB polls speak for themselves. Maybe there’s more going on behind the scenes of this event regarding the riders/judges than we know about?
Having said that, maybe AI needs to have a turn judging?! The only thing the judges nailed was botching the scores. I can’t help but feel years from now the only thing that will be mentioned is how this overshadowed some very iconic runs/ moments from this years rampage. It’s weird when we’re all left feeling salty knowing the obvious
Then there’s the raw financial risk going through all the steps leading up to the event, only to have it shut down due to weather.
Yeah. I also think Bienve’s backflip INTO front flail followed by the super man is also being overshadowed.
I honestly don’t know how Zink can move around freely at this point with all these Old Boys hanging on his nuts.
when you are on Pinkbike for the wrong reason - and it´s not Fails for your friday!
Can someone please start a go fund me for 4th and 8th? It is time for the people to just go around these fools and corporations. At this point it is pretty hard to believe this inst' intentional weighting towards people with shared economic interest. You have managed to turn something amazing into figure skating. Congrats Pink bike and Red bull well done.
Again this isn't about taking away from other riders or builders.
yes, it was a big move. One, solitary big move.
Objectively speaking, Fairclough’s run was the winning run.
Subjectively speaking, the the judging need not change so much as the JUDGES should be changed. there’s clearly a bit too much emotion, bias, and subjectivity going on in the booth.
Cam’s run was a 4th or 5th place at best.
Non-mountain bikers tune in for the spectacle, oblivious to how the scoring is SUPPOSED to work. As evidenced by pinkbikes polling about who really won, true fans of the sport know, OBJECTIVELY, that Brendan won.
Only the concussion addled bro-brains in the booth think otherwise. They handed the win to their buddy, not the rider who actually displayed everything that Rampage is SUPPOSEDLY about.
Pinkbike and their staff have to be diplomatic about what they know is a shameful farce. But they also know, no matter how much their paycheck and their friendships and their business relationships will crush this knowing, that Brendan won.
It’s sad that no one at pinkbike will have the courage to say it.