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Brett Rheeder crowned 2-time Red Bull Rampage champion
Canadian Brett Rheeder won Red Bull Rampage once again to demonstrate the sport's progression in Utah – get up to speed with the legendary freeride mountain bike event here.
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To the unknowing eye, this Red Bull Rampage venue is another majestic mountain rising from the deserts of Utah. But freeride mountain bikers see these orange-hued spines and valleys a bit differently.
Rampage returned to a mountainside that was last used nearly a decade ago and which served as the contest venue for four competitions: 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Scattered at this location is a visual history of freeride's most iconic moments, which are still talked about years later.
The man-made wooden platforms that once characterised that site are now long gone, but for athletes and fans alike many can still picture Cam Zink's massive 360 on the Oakley Icon Sender or Kelly McGarry's 72ft canyon backflip that sent the crowd wild at the location. It was at this venue that Brandon Semenuk won his first Rampage title at the age of 17 in 2008.
Now, for its 16th edition, Red Bull Rampage was back at the 2008-2013 competition zone and it was time to create new memories and add a new chapter to the sport of mountain bike freeride.
Watch a replay of the full Red Bull Rampage 2022 broadcast below:
Finals
Red Bull Rampage 2022 headed back to the steep and unforgiving terrain of southwest Utah for wild freeride MTB action.
You couldn't have asked for better weather conditions for Red Bull Rampage 2022. For the first runs of the day, the windsock barely even bobbled. With no wind or weather, the riders had the perfect canvas to leave their mark on the sport. Dropping from the start gate were a mix of veterans and rookies. Sixteen of the original 18 start list would be taking their places at the top of the mountainside.
Some of the younger athletes remember watching wide-eyed as their idols soared over the biggest features they'd ever seen back at the last four Rampages at the site. They'd bottle that inspiration and use it as fuel to compete at the same weather-worn mountain nearly a decade later. Other competitors retraced their past, having competed, crashed and celebrated here once before.
Ultimately, three athletes claimed the coveted podium spots: Brett Rheeder first, Szymon Godziek second and Brandon Semenuk third. Watch their podium runs in full in the video player above.
Rheeder celebrates the win with his fellow top-ranking competitors
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
Brett Rheeder makes a dramatic comeback
Leading up to finals, Brett Rheeder was looking confident and smooth. He rode diligently during his practice days, repeatedly sessioning each feature until things felt right. The line was a massive undertaking and Rheeder and his team were still building the features until the last moment of practice.
Rheeder hadn't competed at Rampage since 2019, admitting that he missed being back in Utah riding at the event. Rheeder rode with the enthusiasm of being back here, wowing both the judges and the crowd with a flawless line.
After nailing his massive entry drop, Rheeder aced a flip can on his burly 48ft drop to tail whip his step up only seconds later. The Canadian kept the tricks coming, spun in both directions and linked together combinations like he was in a video game. His run was the perfect recipe of complex tricks and steep technical riding, rightfully earning him a 90.66 score to secure his second Rampage contest win.
Watch Rheeder's winning Red Bull Rampage run below:
2 min
Brett Rheeder's winning run
Canada's Brett Rheeder made more MTB history with a huge run to win at Red Bull Rampage 2022.
"I was pretty unsure what was going to happen this year. I had a lot of changes I went through as a person, and I didn't know if I'd ever get back to this level of riding. So, I didn't come out to win, to be honest. I just want to make sure whatever I do is for me. Only for me. Not for any sponsors, not for my competitors, not for any ego. I want to make sure it's for guiding the sport in the right direction and having a good time while doing it," said Rheeder when he spoke at the end of the contest. "It's the most positive I've seen [freeride]."
Rheeder's previous Rampage win came in 2018
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
I didn't come out to win, to be honest. I just want to make sure whatever I do is for me
Szymon Godziek's split second decision earned him second place
Brett Rheeder opened the door to complex runs, with Szymon Godziek trailing closely behind him. Godziek and Dylan Stark were the only athletes to ride Kelly McGarry's infamous canyon gap. The Polish freerider indeed made the late McGarry proud by linking together a run with no shortage of awe-inspiring moves.
Godziek set the tone by flying down his knife-edge ridgeline, throwing in a manual here and there. Once he got in the air, the tricks flowed. He threw a tuck no-hander, backflip, flat drop 360 before lining up for his double drop – the last feature before the canyon gap. The canyon requires full commitment – you won't know if you don't have enough speed until you're halfway over the chasm.
Godziek backflipping the canyon gap in finals
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
Godziek only heightened the stakes by throwing a 360 off his double drop. He stomped the rotation, and before he could soak it in, the rider was backflipping over the 75ft gap. To close things off, he did a backflip suicide hander on his lower trick jump. An elated Godziek pumped his fist in the air in celebration, knowing that he had achieved something remarkable. The judges felt similarly and awarded him the score of 86.33, landing him his first-ever Rampage podium.
"I wasn't sure if I should do the 360 in the first run or the second run. It was a last-call decision, and it was super scary. It was by far the scariest thing of my life. It worked out but it was super heavy. However, the backflip on the canyon gap was always the plan from the very first day. Once I landed the 360, I remember thinking, this flip is going to be easy," laughed Godziek after his run.
Watch Godziek's second-placed winning run in POV form below:
2 min
Szymon Godziek's POV
Join Szymon Godziek for a wild ride down his line on his way to second place at Red Bull Rampage 2022.
Brandon Semenuk, once again, stuns the crowd
Brandon Semenuk's line was the easiest to spot. Even from the finish corral, you could see his near-vertical run out plunging straight down from the start gate. Two other riders thought about the line, ultimately deciding against it. However, Semenuk always finds diamonds in the rough – deciding that the line was rideable and that he could start the run with a caveman air.
The four-time Rampage champion leaped from the start gate with his bike in hand, finding his pedals quickly in the 15ft drop. He flew down his start chute, kicking dirt behind him like a jet stream. He followed things with a bar spin into his canyon gap. He aired his signature tail whip on the flat drop, a move he introduced to Rampage only last year. Next, on the dirt-to-dirt trick jump, he aired a backflip, then a one-footed table.
Semenuk with that caveman drop to start his run
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
He finished his run with a 360 flat spin knack. His final score was an 84, and on top of taking third, Semenuk walked away with the Best Trick award. It’s clear that the caveman air will be talked about for a long time.
"The line shouted out at me. I wasn't the only athlete who looked at it, but I decided to keep going because I thought it could work. It was such a cool feature and hard to pass up because it was a unique opportunity with how they built the start platform, and you might not have that opportunity again. So despite being gnarly, it was worth the risk in my mind," Semenuk explained.
Semenuk doing what he knows best
© Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool
Contest called after first runs
Semenuk was among the many riders who wanted to drop in for a second run, eager to improve his score. The wind had other plans, though. No longer idle, it whipped up along the ridgelines, sending the windsocks into a constant frenzy. Agonisingly, the riders sat through a wind hold, hoping for another window to ride. There was no improvement, the event was called and the finishing spots would be taken from the first runs.
Rank
Person
Country
Score
1
Brett Rheeder
Canada
90.66
4
Reed Boggs
USA
82.66
7
Kurt Sorge
USA
74.00
8
Andreu Lacondeguy
Spain
73.00
10
Cam Zink
USA
66.00
11
Ethan Nell
USA
65.33
12
Tom Van Steenbergen
Canada
63.66
13
DJ Brandt
USA
62.33
14
William Robert
France
58.00
15
Dylan Stark
USA
53.00
16
Tyler McCaul
USA
37.66
Awards time
Beyond the top three riders, plenty of moments wowed the crowd. As mentioned already Semenuk won the Best Trick award. Jaxson Riddle claimed the Best Style award for the second year in a row for a run that was full of moto-inspired tricks. Freeride legend and the oldest athlete competing Cam Zink was given the Toughness Award for his perseverance and grit. For the McGazza Spirit Award, Tom van Steenbergen earned the honour for his incredible return to Rampage after his life-changing crash at last year's contest.
Riddle's motocross trick repertoire sure entertained the spectators
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
"[Kelly McGarry] was a great friend to all of us. Getting to be at the same venue he competed in was pretty special. I wasn't even sure if I was going to make it to [Rampage] or be able to put a run down the hill. It was an amazing feeling, and I obviously couldn't do anything risky, but I'm just stoked to make it to the finish line and be healthy for next year," van Steenbergen said.
Lastly, the Digger Award was presented to Rheeder's team of Phil McLean and Austin Davignon. With their hard work, Rheeder's run couldn't have been possible, and they helped to make magic happen on that line.
Looking onward
A lot has changed since those first four competitions at this venue, last visited in 2013. It's barely been a decade, but the sport's progression has been monumental in that time. The tricks are more complex, features are greater in size and gnar, and now single crown mountain bikes aren't unusual on-course as seen by their use by Semenuk and Rheeder.
But despite all changes, there's one common thread that's stayed consistent: progression. It's mountain bike freeride's cornerstone, and the 16th edition of Red Bull Rampage was proof of it.
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