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5 things you need to know about from Red Bull Formation 2022
The week-long women’s freeride mountain bike event is now complete, so relive some of the best moments from Red Bull Formation and catch up on all the big stories.
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The third edition of Red Bull Formation is officially in the books and what an incredibly wild ride it was in the deserts of Utah, USA. Historic firsts, gutsy lines and tight-knit camaraderie defined this week-long event. Every athlete and dig team dazzled, which makes picking highlights a near impossible feat. If we had to choose, though, here are five things we thought stood out from the event.
18 min
Full recap from Red Bull Formation 2022
Here’s what went down at the third edition of the women’s freeride MTB progression event at Virgin, Utah, USA.
01
Formation is getting bigger and better
2022 marked the largest field of athletes yet, with 12 riders getting the invite to the women's freeride progression session. The expanded field also meant that one third of the roster were Red Bull Formation first timers.
8 min
The perfect freeride training ground
Casey Brown, Robin Goomes and Cami Nogueira prepare for another year of progression at Red Bull Formation.
Scotland's Louise Ferguson had the distinction of being the only athlete to have never been to Utah before, making her cool confidence on one of the steepest lines in the venue that much more impressive. Two rookies, Harriet Burbidge Smith and Robin Goomes, teamed up on a creative and playful line that made them look like Red Bull Formation veterans.
Harriet Burbidge-Smith and Robin Goomes work a take-off on their line
© Re Wikstrom/Red Bull Content Pool
Louise Ferguson and Katie Holden react to a test run on the mountain
© Re Wikstrom/Red Bull Content Pool
Georgia Astle provided inspiration to all the diggers, making the jump from digging in 2021 to receiving that hard-earned athlete invite. She and Veronique Sandler shared a line that was a playful mix of tech and stylish airs.
Georgia Astle getting wheels on dirt for the first time
© Emily Tidwell/Red Bull Content Pool
02
It was a week of collaboration not competition
One of the defining characteristics of Red Bull Formation is how it’s not a competition, but a collaboration between everyone involved. Athletes and dig teams work together to push the progression of the women's freeride scene to new levels.
All the athletes and helpers of Red Bull Formation 2022
© Robin O'Neill/Red Bull Content Pool
With Sandler, Astle, Casey Brown, Vaea Verbeeck, Hannah Bergemann and Ferguson all finishing their line in the same spot, the dig teams came together with leadership from Sandler to build a new step-up trick jump. The effort took several hours to build and was fine tuned across multiple days in the lead up to the final ride day.
This was one of many collaborations that happened during the event, but it quickly became a favorite feature for riders to session. So much so that athletes and diggers returned the day after the event to jam on it together and eek out one last memory as a group.
1 min
Best drone moments from Utah
Watch some of the best drone moments as Red Bull Formation returned to the desert of Utah.
03
Camila Nogueira's courageous line
Steep, raw and committed, it was impossible to miss Camila Nogueira's top-to-bottom line. Throughout the practice days, Nogueira took two substantial falls, so to problem-solve she made tweaks to the line leading up to the final ride day to help her control speed as she rocketed down the cliff side. Her first attempt on ride day ended in another hard fall, but, undeterred, she immediately hiked back up and stomped the line top to bottom.
Nogueira attempted some hell-raising drops this Formation
© Emily Tidwell/Red Bull Content Pool
Her courage and infectious energy during the week earned her the rider-voted, Spiciest Line award presented by Industry Nine. In classic Nogueira fashion she stated: 'This is an award for all of us."
Those hell-raising lines were duly recognised by her fellow athletes
© Robin O'Neill/Red Bull Content Pool
04
Robin Goomes's historic Backflip
Robin Goomes has been stomping Backflips in events across the world for the past year, so there were rumors building that she would incorporate the trick into her top-to-bottom run. With little fanfare, she quietly threw one on the practice days, signaling to everyone it was game on.
Robin Goomes with that historic Backflip
© Robin O'Neill/Red Bull Content Pool
She completed her first top-to-bottom run, but didn't nail what became her two defining tricks of the line: a No Hander on her marquis drop and her Backflip on the final jump near the finishing corral. Knowing she had it in her, she was one of the few riders to take advantage of a second run, hiking back up to the top of the mountain. This time, she crushed her line with all of the bells and whistles, including the Backflip.
2 min
Red Bull Formation – Robin Goomes full POV run
Watch Robin Goomes full line from the 2022 edition of Red Bull Formation for her point of view.
05
Casey Brown and Hannah Bergemann stomp Brett Rheeder’s 2015 line
One of the heaviest moments of the week came when Casey Brown and Hannah Bergemann teamed up to resurrect Brett Rheeder's 2015 Red Bull Rampage line. The drop-in required a substantial rebuild, but with high expectations from the two veterans, all of the participants were anxious to see them successfully ride this line.
Bergemann drops in to the Brett Rheeder line
© Robin O'Neill/Red Bull Content Pool
Brown boldly going for a transfer to a landing and getting some air
© Robin O'Neill/Red Bull Content Pool
The energy at the venue was palpable when Brown and Bergeman started lining up the feature on the practice days. After several run-ins, both athletes successfully managed the drop, but a harsh landing bounced Bergmann, forcing her to bring her bike to a controlled crash. With the new beta on the landing, Bergemann and her digger fine-tuned the landing the night before the final ride day, setting the stage for what would become one of the defining moments of this year's Red Bull Formation.
2 min
Red Bull Formation – Hannah Bergemann full FPV run
Watch Hannah Bergemann's full run at the 2022 edition of Red Bull Formation.
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