Finals Photo Epic: Kickstart My Heart - Red Bull Rampage 2018
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch Red Bull Rampage in person? Jill Kintner was on site for her first time this year and described the experience phenomenally: "This is the first time I've seen Rampage in person; watching on TV you don't really get the whole vibe, you don't get the process, you don't get the fear, or the textures, or the smells, or the heat, or how these guys all work together and bond together. It's such a completely different experience in person. I had to see if for myself. Just looking at the size of everything, I know they have progressed into this, but I can't fathom doing something like that. Even someone who can ride bikes, they're just so brave and they have to brave their own lines.
'You empathize with everyone and you can feel what they are feeling and you're so scared, but you can't say anything because you want to be supportive. But they are so comfortable and it's a process from start to finish, you can't just come in for the final and really understand what this place is about. You need to be here a few days to watch them build, to watch their team work together, to watch the guy on the next ridge cheer them on when they hit it for the first time. And you have to see the sunset and feel the dirt and how light it is and how well it packs and it's just a different place and a different vibe than you get on TV. And plus, they've been out here for like eight days, I've been out here for two-and-a-half and I feel so roached and burned and tired from hiking around. But eight days in a row? And then to have to do this at the end of it? Impressive stuff."
Full moons and lunatics, the story of Rampage 13. Early morning arrival.
 | I actually spectated for number 2, 3, and 4 and I haven't been here since then. It's crazy because back in the 'olden days' literally people would just come, kick a couple of rocks off the end of a cliff and be like 'looks good, let's ride this line.' Now, watching them build everything up, I think it's just pushing the level of riding so much more. They have more confidence because they know what they are landing on is a good solid landing, rather than mushy sand. |
First light over the ridge warmed frigid riders.
The drone clearing fly-by early in the morning. Just to make sure the crowd was awake.
A little extra wind check never hurts before attempting to fly.
A couple well-placed rocks mark the spot and make certain that landing is well lined up.
Today is the day. It's time to Rampage.
Practice started in near dark. It was cold and windy. Practice was extended. Finally, nature cooperated.
Unfortuntalely the wind had other ideas and most of the biggest features stayed unridden until the last 30 minutes of the extended practice session.
| It looks absolutely incredible. You're never quite sure what to expect when you see a new site because I've not been here for a few years as well, I wasn't sure how it had changed, if it had kind of advanced a bit and seeing the new site, it looks amazing. That kind of freedom to push even harder, that freedom to go a little bit bigger on everything, it's shown in their riding today. There were so many runs that were so impressive. Adolf Silva's run was pretty cool, it was a run I like to watch, big, fast, simple, and clean. It wasn't overly complicated, it looked like he was having fun. It looked like if I jumped on a bike and done his run it would have been a blast! |
Brandon Semenuk contemplates his line on the final morning of practice.
Brett Rheeder was on a mission.
Jordie Lunn was pensive before his run and rightfully so.
Andreu Lacondeguy
Judge Kyle Jameson before the competition.
| The hardest part about it is that you don't ever want anybody to get hurt, so you just get really nervous for, not only your significant other or the one you love, but for all the guys out there because you become friends with them. You know their abilities and sometimes you question what they are doing and wonder if it's safe. At the end of the day you know they can do it but there's still that hint of fear inside of yourself. I was surprised when I first got out here and everyone was saying 'that person is crazy' or 'that person is doing something insane over there.' But I knew they would all figure it out and they did. And no one got seriously hurt, which is all that you can really ask for. There were minor injuries, but they were all able to walk off from them. And Kyle made it down two times really well, which was super cool! I was really happy. Everyone is safe - that's the number one priority of Rampage, everything else is second. |
Brendan looking forward to a feature-filled line and in the luxurious position of having test ridden it all by dark yesterday.
Andreu's Motley Crue vibe Tues ready to send.
Eye of the tiger.
Tyler McCaul
Aggy kept it fun on his way back to full strength.
Nell with the equal best day of his young career ahead of him.
| I did exactly what I planned to do. I just barely held on at the bottom, my helmet shifted, and my nose was inside of my goggles, so I couldn't see anything after that flip drop because that impact was so heavy. But I put it back on and shook my head a little bit and still went for the flip and made it to the bottom. It feels amazing [to have everything done]. It was one of the hardest weeks ever to do all the digging and then doing the heaviest things you've ever done in your life after. It's pretty crazy, but I'm stoked that I'm not hurt. We got pretty bad luck with the wind and the rain helped and didn't help because we got up in just the afternoon one day, we missed a bit of digging but we made it work. |
Kurt Sorge
TVS
Nell and Lunn lament during the traditional mandatory riders' meeting.
Sorge waited for over an hour for the wind, but stayed calm and collected as ever.
Nell waits for the wind and feels the fear.
| I really love this event and it's been really cool to see the progression. I can't remember how long ago it was when Gee [Atherton] gapped onto this wall at one of the venues. Everyone thought it was the biggest deal, no one could fathom how he had done it. And then the next year, everyone could gap onto the wall and it's just because the progression is jumping so much. And each year and each venue there are these massive leaps of progression and I think witnessing that is really special. |
Tom with the biggest backflip of the day.
Well, no one expected that from Van Steenbergen even if he is a wildman. Best trick for TVS.
Brendan Fairclough took tenth and the Kelly McGarry Spirit Award.
Brendawg soaring like an eagle over his canyon for the McGazza spirit award.
Brendog scoping out the clip of his massive backflip.
Szymon Godziek front flipping for the crowd.
Godziek spotting the landing for his 360.
Man of the match today was arguably Adolf Silva. Completely undeterred after one of the biggest slams at this year's event in training he stuck everything on his line as soon as the wind dropped before the final, including this excessively proportioned step-down.
Adolf Silva was more than impressive as a rookie. He also took the People's Choice Award.
Hi Ho, Silva, away!
| First time ever here, so I'm super happy I made it top to bottom, I showed what I can do. I had lots of stuff in mind, I just hope to be back and prove to everyone that I can step it up. |
Sorge finally gets a wind window and heads for his mid-run super-sender.
Kurt Sorge had a solid first run, but due to a crash in practice, he opted out of riding a second time.
Jordie couldn't quite put a full run together, but he's still a crowd favorite.
Jordie Lunn bows his head in frustration over not being able to ride the terrain on his terms. Time had run out and the digging wasn't done. Practice on the lower section never commenced due to high winds.
Carson Storch sends a massive three but couldn't hold the run out of the landing.
Carson went down hard after this 360, but he would have ridden it out if the landing were a couple feet wider.
Carson after his crash.
Aggy was just having fun on his bike. No stress, no injuries, just get down.
| I achieved my goal. I just wanted to have as much fun as I could. I was really worried about my shoulder. On that first run, I overshot that step down at the bottom and I thought for sure I was going to explode - and that's what I was worried about the whole time being here. It held on, I guess that whole week of digging was good physio and I got some strength back. I just came out this year to have as much fun as I could and cheer on my buddies. It all worked out and I'm stoked. [I took last year off because] I was getting burnt out. To give it 110% and go for the win, you put yourself in a mindset that isn't very comfortable and the decompression from that is horrible. You're depressed afterward, it doesn't make sense but it's because you are holding yourself to a high standard the whole time. I was over it, it just sucked. I hated being in that position and feeling that way. This year I came in with a completely different mindset and I had the most fun I've ever had here. I'm pretty thankful right now. |
DJ Brandt had one of the sketchiest top lines on the mountain and out it down without a hitch. He finished his run with this huge flat spin but unfortunately couldn't keep the wheels under him.
Brandon Semenuk slaying his rock tapper and roosting into the next section.
Not the day Brandon Semenuk was hoping for.
Tommy G had a solid showing today, and this flip helped solidify a top ten finish.
Ethan Nell came out shooting for the moon and takes third at his second Rampage.
Local boy and third place finisher Ethan Nell with a suicide no-hander off the final money drop.
Nell hucks perhaps the sketchiest build on the hill featuring a kicker on a fractured piece of cliff.
Nell celebrates an inevitable third place with only Rheeder and Lacondeguy left on the hill.
The man of the hour Brett Rheeder. Longtime competitor, first-time winner.
McCaul gets ejected from his catch berm at high speed, but lives to tell the tale.
T-Mac hucks a big one to take sixth place on run number two.
T-Mac threading the needle on his big drop.
T-Mac's line certainly had podium potential, but despite some top-drawer riding it didn't quite come together and he would settle for 6th place.
| Today went pretty darn well. I had more planned. On the first run I kind of wussed out on flipping off of the first thing and then I just screwed up in a pretty sketchy spot. I was fine, but I was insanely angry. In this event, when you screw up there's just so much work before at home, preparing, and it's not just yourself, it's your whole dig crew helping and two weeks in the desert. When you just blow it like that at the top it feels like such a waste of work. But then on my second run, I made it down the hill. I didn't want to let that hill beat me. I didn't do everything to plan, but I ended up in sixth which I wasn't expecting, so I'm pretty darn stoked! |
Andreu put down one of the best Rampage runs we've seen in a while and secured second place.
Andreu spinning like a boss on his stormer of a first run.
Andreu attacking hard for the top step on his second run.
Andreau had such a massively good run, tricking nearly every feature.
Another ferocious attempt at the win would come unstuck just moments later on the final jump.
Tommy G had a solid showing today, and this flip helped solidify a top ten finish.
Young gun Reed Boggs with flip for the fans.
Reed Boggs was on a burner of a second run until a crash after the last feature.
| My day went pretty well compared to last year when I didn't even get to compete. And this year successfully cleaning one run and going for it on the second run, unfortunately, crashing on the last feature, but on all in all a good day. I can't wait for next year! There were definitely hardships for the build week, there was just so much to do, we were kind of stressed about if we were going to finish everything, but when it came down to the finals day, everything worked, and everything worked perfectly. We are just so excited that we got a run top to bottom and we are looking forward to next year to improve. |
Kyle Strait suicide to seventh place.
Kyle Strait into superhero mode for a 7th place finish.
| I've been doing it a long time and the diggers and the lines I choose [help manage the time for building] - basically I know how much time it takes to do certain things. We teamed up with a couple of teams too, with Carson and Cameron, so that helps out a lot by itself. Instead of just three guys, it's nine guys. And everybody that we teamed up with also has really good diggers and when you know what you're doing things go a lot faster. Experience is huge. We aren't the first here, but we work the most efficiently. [Having been at all the Rampages] I think it gives me an advantage in that I can see a line before someone else and that I also know how much time it takes and if we can do it in time. There are a ton of things - even mine and Cam's line last year when we went down the chute, we wouldn't have been able to do that without Aggy cutting in the traverse at the bottom. If we had to do that and make the whole chute ridable we wouldn't have had time. With knowing what you can and can't do, and also, some athletes get eager, some athletes are unsure. It's just knowing, it's just knowledge. But for me, I enjoy it and that's why I'm here. I also like to win but there's nothing I can do on the other side. I do everything I can and then it's in the judge's hands. I'm going to have fun with it no matter what and just enjoy it. |
Vinny T dropping the ultra-techy hipped lilypad he shares with Genon.
Remy on his final drop before his road gap.
Remy's huge road gap. Notice the clipless pedals.
| It was surprising because I had been here in 2014, I was injured but I still came. Since the first time I competed at Rampage, I've come here whether I was injured or not. I was injured in 2014 and I remember when finals started I wanted to ride so bad and now I'm discovering the new site and talking with all the guys and looking at everything from the outside perspective. Also, I can't wait to ride it, to be honest. Hopefully, I will make it next year. I enjoyed it so much and in a less negative way, I thought this new spot is beautiful and I just can't wait to go back. |
Sign on the dotted line...
The victors go the prize money, the champagne and the scorpions.
| It's always so nerve-racking watching. I was confident that they would all have a good run. Unfortunately for Brandon, it wasn't his day. But for Tom, having the run that he did and ended up fourth with Best Trick, and I think he could have been a bit higher there. And then for Bret to have the morning that he had. He slammed and had a big battle. But he got back up there and put down a run that was phenomenal and he won it. He's been doing this thing since 2012. It's just so hard to win, so for him to win I was just over the moon for him. It was a massive win. |
Brett, Andreau, and Ethan take the top three spots at Rampage.
Rheeder takes his first Rampage win in 2018. What a run.
What a day for Brett Rheeder. This will be one he won't soon forget.
Andreu feelin' the crowd vibes!
Top 3 for the day!
Mission accomplished and one immense career goal accomplished for Rheeder.
A full Fox podium of Rheeder, Lacondeguy and Nell, doing the business here at the 13th Rampage.
The wheels have fallen off for now.
That's a wrap from the desert. See ya'll in 2019!
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-Aggy just sitting on roll-in is at 160BPM heart rate
-"Sal you're a fitness guy, what does this mean?"
-"He's just chillin"
(even though Rheeder spins in both ways so easily, ha...!)
I mean Adolf was flying when he hit that booter, and the others were rolling slowly off the lower tier... just crazy committed. but no reply of that thing up close.
T-Mac hucks a big one to take sixth place on run number two.
T-Mac threading the needle on his big drop.
"It's crazy because back in the 'olden days' literally people would just come, kick a couple of rocks off the end of a cliff and be like 'looks good, let's ride this line.' Now, watching them build everything up, I think it's just pushing the level of riding so much more. They have more confidence because they know what they are landing on is a good solid landing, rather than mushy sand. "
Some people are asking what rampage seems to be lacking / not liking that it has become a slopestyle competition - why not have it go back to a no build up just ride it event like it originally was?
While I love watching video as much as the next guy, I really appreciate the context that a well captured still shot can add to any situation.
Thank you (and all the shooters) for the solid effort and work you do!
- two last days before finals just the rider and his bike/shovel.
Google his 2010 run, the guy can easily handle the big stuff.. at serious pace too!