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Cam Zink on the 360 Heard Around the Universe
Riders voted his Oakley Icon Sender 360 in 2010 as the best Rampage moment ever. Cam Zink responds.
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Cameron Zink rocks Red Bull Rampage
Watch the run that put Cam Zink on top of the podium at Red Bull Rampage 2010 in this video.
Last week, we asked Red Bull Rampage competitors what they considered the most memorable moment in the event’s history. Cam Zink’s massive 360 off the Oakley Icon Sender in 2010 was the overwhelming winner (see it go down in the video above).
Zink had actually called out the 360 as soon as he saw the Sender on site. We spoke with him to get the story behind the history-making move, and to find out what he's calling out for 2013.
On being selected by so many of his peers:
It’s an honor to hear everyone say that, because I wasn’t going to say myself. But obviously, it’s my most memorable moment -- for me! I’ll remember that feeling for the rest of my life.
I call out moves before contests and it makes me more committed.
On claiming the 360 off the Sender before practice: It’s not being cocky or arrogant. It’s what I do for me. I call out moves before contests and it makes me more committed. If I kept it close to my chest it’d give me a way out -- if I tell everyone then I have to do it. I guess inevitably, it builds hype. That’s not the goal. That’s not why I do it.
There’s a lot of secrecy in slopestyle contests. No one will tell you their run, but often it’s easy to guess what the other riders will do. I figure, why not tell everyone?
On crashing on the first 360 attempt:
After I crashed, I didn’t even know if it was possible. The first attempt was absolutely perfect and I ate shit. I was like, "What the hell happened?” It was as good as it could have been.
We looked at some photos and we could see that my rear suspension's reaction after the impact -- it had bottomed out and kind of bounced up harshly -- forced me over the front wheel. We could see the back end coming off the ground, so we cranked down the end stroke rebound a couple clicks and I knew I just had to hold on as tight as I could.
...I ended up landing straight, which is what really matters.
On the second successful attempt:
The second try actually wasn’t nearly as good. The way I popped off, it didn’t feel nearly as clean or as dialed, but I ended up landing straight, which is what really matters. Then I just held on and our adjustments worked -- the suspension did its job and the back wheel stuck to the ground.
On what he chose as the most memorable moment:
I would have said Kyle Strait’s suicide no-hander over the Bender Sender, which we re-coined the “Man-sized Gap.” That was -- at the time -- the biggest jump ever done in mountain biking. He sealed the deal with it for the win.
[See Zink backflip the Man-sized Gap in the video above]
It’s going to be the most stressful week of my life.
On potentially becoming a new daddy during Rampage:
It’s going to be the most stressful week of my life. Rampage is stressful already. I’m going to have a satellite phone and be on call. My baby’s due date is four days after finals.
Derek Westerlund (Freeride Entertainment filmmaker) has said I could potentially have a helicopter ride home from Virgin, Utah, to the top of the Reno, Nevada, St Mary’s Hospital. Hopefully I can be [at Rampage] all week, come home right after finals and even have some time to chill before the baby comes. But the reality is: you can’t predict when a baby is born.
It’s stressful, but this is what pays the bills. The majority of my salary goes into riding this contest.
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On his approach to life and riding:
My strategy? Plan as much as you can, put yourself in the best position and then don’t worry about it. Worrying only hinders your chances of achieving the goal. If you’re worried about getting hurt, it’s going to take away from your ability to focus, do it, and not get hurt.
I love what I do. I’m as healthy as I was when I was 18. I actually feel more healthy and I don’t see any signs of slowing down. I’m willing to go out there and do the work. I feel like I am a better bike rider than I have ever been.
...hopefully I can flip it. Once again, it'd be the biggest step-down flip ever.
On this year’s plans:
The judges score the face leading into the Icon Sender -- that Semenuk and others rode -- really high. Other than the Sender feature, that area is kind of whack. There’s not much to offer over there.
I want to go over the big face to the largest Sender drop -- a 40-to-50-foot step-down. I want [the builders] to put a lip up there so hopefully I can flip it. Once again, it'd be the biggest step-down flip ever.
Watch Cam ride at Red Bull Rampage during the live webcast of finals on October 13, 2013, starting at 1:00 p.m. MT on the Red Bull Rampage site.
