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Freeriding Learns Backflips at Rampage 2003
Look back at the year Rampage went upside down thanks to dig teams and a new building style.
Czech Republic's Michal Marosi: Bail from fin gap
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull
The 10th edition of Red Bull Rampage on Oct. 17, 2015, is fast approaching and to celebrate the legend of the world's premier freeride mountain bike contest, let's take an introspective look back at 2003.
Watch the best highlights of 2003 in the video below.
In its third year, Rampage made the jump from being an extreme — and extremerly obscure — mountain bike competition, to a larger stage. The world was starting to notice these brave riders for three key reasons:
1. Dig Teams
In 2003, big drop savant Josh Bender and Irishman Glyn O'Brien were the first two riders to show up for Rampage week armed with dig crews. It has since become necessary to have a team of four or five people to help dig your line the week before the event, but back in the day riders showed up, scratched a rudimentary line into the mountainside and went for it. Although Bender detonated on a seemingly too-massive drop, O'Brien's preparedness put him on the podium in third place.
2 min
Best of Rampage: 2003
Watch all the best highlights from year three of freeride mountain biking's premier event.
2. Lip Service
Canadian Steve Romaniuk accelerated the progression of the event arguably faster than any other move in the history of Rampage. How? By building lips on top of the drops and cliffs, allowing riders to "pop" in the air. The new style of approaching vertical drops made it possible for a bounty of tricks during riders' runs. No one looked back after Romaniac's run — ten years later, Cam Zink would build a small lip on the Oakley Sender in order to throw one of the largest tricks in Rampage history when he backflipped it.
3. Year of The Backflip
Frenchman Cedric Gracia famously won Rampage 2003 after learning backflips for the first time during practice a few days before — with help from a teenaged Kyle Strait and freeskiing superstar Seth Morrison. It was Gracia's modest mid-run backflip that would spark the fire of trick-heavy runs in the future. After 2003, competitors couldn't even see the podium if their exposed line or gnarly gap wasn't punctuated with a big freestyle-inspired trick.
Who will shine in the spotlight at Rampage 2015? To find out, watch Rampage finals LIVE on Red Bull TV on October 17.
Can’t wait to get your gut-wrenching, nail-biting freeride fix? Head over to the official Red Bull Rampage event page to see highlights of the first nine competitions, as well as more exclusive videos, photos and stories:
• The Most Viral Moments in Red Bull Rampage History
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