The latest edition of the biggest and baddest show in mountain biking went off on the rugged slopes of Virgin, Utah. Catch up on all of the highlights from Finals at Red Bull Rampage 2022.
I never thought I'd say the phrase "Semenuk got robbed", but that cave man into that chute was INSANE. As was Szymon's canyon combo obviously. The flip-can from Rheeder was also pretty mind blowing too, but it's about time we got a bit more insight into the judging, why so secretive? And what have they got against Lacondegue?!
What's the point of having 6 judges if they discuss and argue amongst themselves. They should make thier own scores and then average them without discussion like a normal panel
All the drone shots during the event really hide the size of the features. It looks so much more nuts when we have close up shots like these from people actually on the ground. I feel thats why rampage of old seemed so much more "raw", it was shot before drones so you saw all the little bumps and undulations that get lost when shot with a drone from a few hundred feet away. For example: Kurt Sorges drop in at 2:38 - the drone footage didnt really make it look that terrible, but in these close ups it was insane!
Hype machine was in action. Godziek or Semenuk #1. Also...WTF to the commentators "they're so excited they are doing push-ups" no sh*t that is for Jordie!
It’s secretive because there is no method, they go with their guts and that is hence open to being biased by whatever social dominance is in the voting group. Totally agree in that if rampage is to survive they better set some balanced directions for what awards points and what doesn’t. I realize it’s hard to judge this kind of event(!) but it’s just too messy in it’s current state, this year a dice would have given more or less similar point distribution.
No matter how "open" they are, people will still cry based on their bias. Never forget people bet on sports, so some of these voices crying foul are because they have something to lose.
Here’s something to ponder……… -Do Rampage judges dock points from riders who did something “uncool” on the site…but had nothing to do with the run?
For example: Semenuk didn’t help much with the building of the line…… would some judges dock points secretly off because of it? Every since Bizet got a super low score for a basically flawless wild run with a double backflip several years ago- I’m convinced the answer is YES. I forget exactly what he did but I think he used more than his allotted number of sandbags for building or something similar.
Semenuk: 1. Caveman drop (hc) 2. Barspin drop (hc) 3. Tailwhip drop (hc) 4. Backflip 5. Nac-nac 6. Backflip one ft
Godziek: 1. Sui nh 2. backflip 3. 360 drop (hc) 4. 360 drop (hc) 5. canyon backflip (hc) 6. backflip no-hander
Rheeder: 1. Flatspin drop (no lip) (hc) 2. Tailwhip 3. 360 drop (hc) 4. Tailwhip drop (hc) 5. 360 oppo drop (hc)
Rheeder had 1 fewer trick in total but plenty of variety / difficulty and 4 of them (all except #2) were high consequence. Semenuk & Godziek both had 1 more trick, but one fewer (3 total each) of very high consequence (i.e., large drops).
In a competition where 20ft drops are scoring you points (see Lacondeguy), argument could be made that the scoring / judging was in fact not arbitrary.
@mi-bike: all of Rheeders tricks were at the bottom of the mountain. He did nothing up top. The bottom of the course was closer to a groomed slopestyle and most of all it was out the wind. not like the upper mountain, 'HC' ridge lines and drops and hoping you make catch berms. Rheeder did nothing until he was safely out the wind.
It's funny, just watched the reply with my brother who's a total non sports person and he suggested the exact same thing because I was complaining the scoring was utter BS this year. Andreau was robbed so bad, but partly because his run was so early, so he suggested they score like you wrote. It's a good idea and personally I think would be much better.
Dude had a sick run. I now know he didn’t have a “drop over 20’”, but after first watching his run (after Storch no less) I was thinking he’s in the hotseat for sure.
All the riders were insane. Say what you will about the judging, it's gotta be tough. The one thing though, with an event this big that is supposed to be based on 2 runs, shouldn't there be some format to get in the second run regardless? The event and the wind canceled second runs which I get and was the right call but how about having provisions to do second runs the next morning? Yeah its gonna cost more money but I'm sure it could be built into the cost. When it's supposed to be 2 runs, riders strategize and maybe put in a safe run to get a score and then want to step up on next run. Or what about Tmac and his dig team? I'm gutted for them he didn't even get a chance to ride his entire line they just slaved over to get built, and pulling off on the first run was the right decision, because it's going to be 2 runs...right?
Great idea. Plan for a second day if needed. Crowds would totally show up again the next day. Most are camping and partying anyway and... it would be a Saturday. Why not?
@b-boyben: financially it is a cost but this is also media in an insta society surely twice the time (days) would add to the overall revenue. I don't really care about that. I look forward to this event and will watch it always in whatever form it takes. I would like to see a battle for the top step and every rider show what they want to
They used to be more lenient about wind delays. I suspect that this being an ESPN+ broadcast forced them to conform to a time slot a lot more strictly than in previous years.
How many years now where the wind has come in time for the second runs. How about starting a couple of hours earlier? I know it's not guaranteed to work, maybe others will point out flaws that I haven't considered.
I think what many (most?) peeople don't realize is this is not really a contest; it's a live event. They have small time windows with lots of coordination. You get what you get and then make a show out of it (then everyone on the internet gets upset).
@plyawn: and that’s fine, but then don’t pitch it as a contest with a 25,000 dollar purse. part of it being a contest is that sponsors want to sponsor athletes that win contests, and don’t want to sponsor athletes that lose contests. If this isn’t a contest, then remove that weight and pay everyone and provide insurance to the contractors riding for your show. Making it a contest allows the organizer to get away with a whole lot that they wouldn’t be able to if it were just a produced show.
Enough already ..one thing though ..the amount of times they reference other sports in comparison to mtb..is just sooo lame..own it ..sal has definitely lost his touch since living above the breakfast hut in Encinitas 25 years ago.. everything felt Soo forced ..move on
@sb666: ESPN wasnt even advertising it, i doubt that many people who don’t ride bikes were watching live in the middle of a friday morning. id rather have someone who actually knows whats going on and can get stoked on it than a nonsense surfing comparison.
@newbermuda: the CrossFit games had a similar community reaction to being streamed exclusively on ESPN+ and have since stopped doing so. Hopefully red bull pulls out of that deal as well. Their events aren’t worth the disney membership.
No 2nd run huh? So this whole event is reduced to +/- 5 days of cutting into rock formation to do 1 run that not all riders completed. Good call to adhere to weather but where's the competition? Hosting commentary: lame, comparing DH mtb to skiing / surfing... Really? Correct me if I'm wrong but I seemed as if ticket sales / packages were promoted as if it was a weekend event. Incredible riding overall but why not include men + women riders over the course of at least a 2-day spread... IDK. Underwhelming.
@newbermuda: notice that they brought in Nikolai rogatkin toward the end. I think they felt things going off the rails. To be honest, Cam’s commentary is only as good as him knowing the names of the tricks. He goes on stupid tangents all the time, even during runs, and doesn’t really add that much to the show. He’s even worse on the BC Cup. This year he was talking about what the men were going to do on corners as the women were riding the course. Incredibly disrespectful.
They should get Christian Peper to do the commentary. His instagram coverage this year was awesome, he's got a good voice and a great background in the sport.
Dear Red Bull, have the judges wait until everyone does a run THEN post scores. That way it'll be WAY easier to rate them and sort them in order of best to worst, assign a score AFTER you've seen everything there is to see. The first guys to drop in are always WAY underscored. Then do same thing for the second run. That way you can get it right. DJ, Jackson and Andreu were way underscored this year. Simon and Brett were definitely 1 and 2 depending on what you like. Also, Brendog got robbed last time. And Heal up Kyle!
Yeah I was thinking this the other day. They're always conservative on first few scores. It's gotta be hit to their confidence - Brant sui'd th canyon and barely scored above TMac who didn't even complete. Really harsh low scores on some. That said, I feel like they got the top 3 spot on.
So many chills watching Szymon's 360 into the canyon gap. Unreal. I wish they showed a different angle of Rheeder's massive tail whip. What an insane event.
Imo with all the film equipment and tech available they should do two rounds of judging, one prelim live, one final at halftime. That way it’d be easier for comparative value to emerge. Whatever you want to say Re the judging, consistent isn’t it.
Rampage is still rampage in the end, but IMHO they need to change the format.
Competition make no sense, stress the riders, make less safe and force them to go down in a relatively tight time window.
Plus to view it's a total pain in the ass.
Make it a jam format like every other big mountain freeride event, it will stimulate cooperations in the builds and make everything more fun.
1 week digging 1 week sessioning with awards for best line, triclk, build etc whatever.
Cheers
Basically like the Fest Series, that would be unreal!! Unfortunately I think ESPN and Redbull want the live competition format, even if it isn’t what is necessarily best for the riders or viewers.
They need to figure out how to film it better. So many shots where the rider went behind a ridge. The shots in this video really highlighted every single feature not just the 3-5 big drops or jumps.
What percentage of riders can even hit those chunky drops at the top, especially when they are completely exposed. All the drama of those are completely lost in the broadcast.
Totally agree here too. They had a computer simulated line to show in advance for every rider so the fk did the editor lose track of riders mid run? They had 8+ days to get the shots set up with helicopters and drones at their disposal. SMH.
And they've got to do a better job of illustrating how terrifyingly steep and gnarly the top is instead of focusing on tricks on the flat bottom sections that mean almost nothing in comparison. It's freeride - the gnar and amplitude is the highlight, not the run into the finish gate. Linking it all together in the crazy terrain is the highlight. The vid editor didn't even grasp that Godzi's 360 INTO the canyon chute was what gave him 2nd place, not just the flip itself.
Just to be clear, I thought it was a solid rampage and I love RB and everything they do, but get a vid editor who gets it, please.
If they made a one hour documentary style edit I think it would be a lot better. But that means you lose the live element. I think the formation video from the ladies show how good an edit can be. It means you can add pov footage a few more slow-mos and really show how steep and gnarly the lines really are.
@b-boyben: they should order the runs based on the left to right order of their lines. That way they could set up actual camera guys on the ground along the course like they do at every other mountain bike event in the world, and have them shift to each line between runs.
@presta07: easier said than done. I don't think there's much moving of cameras happening on that cliff face! And it wouldn't work for the second run when they have to go in points order. I'm not sure why they don't make more use of drones.
@b-boyben: they’re a multimillion dollar company that’s selling streaming rights. They can afford putting 10 camera crews on the mountain. They are cutting corners every possible way and milking rampage as much as they can. Remember, no one is getting a housing stipend or insurance coverage at this event. If a digger slips and breaks his leg, at least 3 people just spent all that time and money for nothing.
Everyone minus Rheeder was robbed. Half the announcers didn’t even understand mountain biking, judging was awful but i bet they have a strong opinion on Utah pizza quality. No second runs due to production timelines…. The riding was incredible but I’d feel poorly treated as an athlete in this event…. To risk your life only to see someone judge you poorly while mashing pizza is an insult in every way.
Does it really matter who “wins” or is more about what the riders are doing?
What I’m trying to say is if you took all tricks, the lines, and blurred them together in a video that was NOT a competition, how would you feel differently?
I think the competition aspect of Redbull Rampage is what brings it down, there’s an increasing emphasis on making it a sporting event, and in the process the riding becomes secondary.
After years of watching Rampage, what’s turned me off is all the talk and play by play. I don’t watch sports on TV, so perhaps my perspective is skewed, but all the chatter and banter takes away from the riding.
I doubt I’ll waste time watching Rampage next year.
Agreed with everyone on judging everyone's 1st runs once they have all been done. In addition, have separate booths for the judges so they can't talk to each other.
To bad they couldn't get the 2nd runs in because of the wind! Anyone else get annoyed when Cam / Redbull spoil the run showing the lines the riders take and the type of airs the plan on doing? After the first rider or two I would mute when it was showing the riders lines and jumps. I don't necessarily want to know what the riders lines or airs are going to be. It takes away from the spontaneity and excitement.
My favorite thing was Selema Masekela trying to shoehorn in the athlete's back story during their run. It's not like there was plenty of time between runs for that.
109 Comments
The flip-can from Rheeder was also pretty mind blowing too, but it's about time we got a bit more insight into the judging, why so secretive? And what have they got against Lacondegue?!
Can’t upvote this enough
Viewers need to realise that you have to be there to judge the insanity of each obstacle/line!
Also...WTF to the commentators "they're so excited they are doing push-ups" no sh*t that is for Jordie!
-Do Rampage judges dock points from riders who did something “uncool” on the site…but had nothing to do with the run?
For example: Semenuk didn’t help much with the building of the line…… would some judges dock points secretly off because of it?
Every since Bizet got a super low score for a basically flawless wild run with a double backflip several years ago- I’m convinced the answer is YES. I forget exactly what he did but I think he used more than his allotted number of sandbags for building or something similar.
That makes zero sense.
It’s literally more impressive he got the run done that he did with him not there to dig more.
The only thing you could argue with is the caveman and it was a single move at the start, relax
Semenuk:
1. Caveman drop (hc)
2. Barspin drop (hc)
3. Tailwhip drop (hc)
4. Backflip
5. Nac-nac
6. Backflip one ft
Godziek:
1. Sui nh
2. backflip
3. 360 drop (hc)
4. 360 drop (hc)
5. canyon backflip (hc)
6. backflip no-hander
Rheeder:
1. Flatspin drop (no lip) (hc)
2. Tailwhip
3. 360 drop (hc)
4. Tailwhip drop (hc)
5. 360 oppo drop (hc)
Rheeder had 1 fewer trick in total but plenty of variety / difficulty and 4 of them (all except #2) were high consequence. Semenuk & Godziek both had 1 more trick, but one fewer (3 total each) of very high consequence (i.e., large drops).
In a competition where 20ft drops are scoring you points (see Lacondeguy), argument could be made that the scoring / judging was in fact not arbitrary.
...and yet we're back here (almost) every year to watch, and will continue to do so.
>> 6. backflip no-hander
You have no idea what goes into that trick if you don't tag it as "high consequence". There's so much going on.
First round, 9am: every rider back to back, no judging until all first seeding runs are done before 10am.
30+ min long break, judges submit blind ballots and scores are complied.
Second round, 10:30am: runs are judged in real time like they do now to build up to the drama. All runs done well before 1pm.
Has he gotten even thicker over the years?? Looks like he spent all his off years vigorously chopping wood.
And they've got to do a better job of illustrating how terrifyingly steep and gnarly the top is instead of focusing on tricks on the flat bottom sections that mean almost nothing in comparison. It's freeride - the gnar and amplitude is the highlight, not the run into the finish gate. Linking it all together in the crazy terrain is the highlight. The vid editor didn't even grasp that Godzi's 360 INTO the canyon chute was what gave him 2nd place, not just the flip itself.
Just to be clear, I thought it was a solid rampage and I love RB and everything they do, but get a vid editor who gets it, please.
Where do the bars and whips belong people
The commentary didn't even notice it when he hit it.
Does it really matter who “wins” or is more about what the riders are doing?
What I’m trying to say is if you took all tricks, the lines, and blurred them together in a video that was NOT a competition, how would you feel differently?
I think the competition aspect of Redbull Rampage is what brings it down, there’s an increasing emphasis on making it a sporting event, and in the process the riding becomes secondary.
After years of watching Rampage, what’s turned me off is all the talk and play by play. I don’t watch sports on TV, so perhaps my perspective is skewed, but all the chatter and banter takes away from the riding.
I doubt I’ll waste time watching Rampage next year.
What an awesome event, congrats to all the riders, and podiums!
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