MTB
This year’s roster is full of familiar veterans and rising talents. Learn more about their journey to the biggest stage in mountain biking.
There is no clear-cut path to Red Bull Rampage. As one of the most creative and unique events in mountain biking, it draws a talent pool spanning all kinds of riding disciplines. Since the riders can design and ride their line, the event has hints of influence from DH racing, slopestyle, motocross, big mountain skiing and snowboarding, and more. It’s not hyperbole to say there’s nothing else like it on two wheels.
Red Bull Rampage’s ever-evolving canvas and format means there’s no stereotypical Rampage rider. Competitors ranging from World Cup racing legend Gee Atherton to slopestyle phenom Emil Johansson to freeride pioneer Kyle Strait all drop in from the same platform. This blend of skill and style lends itself to the yearly progression on these dusty, ochre cliffs. Each athlete’s vision plays out on the knife-edge exposure, giant cliffs, and massive jumps, making it justifiably the “Super Bowl” of mountain biking.
Making the roster is an accomplishment in itself. This year’s 18 riders are regarded as the best freeriders in the world, and the road up until this point differs from athlete to athlete. For some, digging at the event is the best way to get a foot in the door. For others, they bet on themselves. They move to Utah or buy a plane ticket with their savings and toil on the terrain, hitting one feature after another, proving they have what it takes. Regardless of the path, every Red Bull Rampage athlete shares some common denominators: passion and a bold vision. We sat down with a handful of this year’s rookies to learn more about their journey to the greatest event in mountain biking.
01
Talus Turk
Talus Turk is a rising talent, born and raised in the biking haven of Bellingham, Washington. Quietly and diligently, the 21-year-old has honed his craft, letting his riding do the talking. Progressing from his local jumps in Washington to behemoth 75-foot to 100-foot senders at events like Loose Fest, it’s evident that Turk is no longer the “local” grom but a freeride athlete in his own right. This past winter, he relocated to Hurricane, Utah—just outside of where Rampage is held—to spend more time in the red dirt. Driven by the desire to see what’s possible with his riding, Turk began checking off notable features on past Rampage venues. Most eye-catching was a step-down cliff that measures diagonally to about 30-50 feet. The average single-story home is about 15 feet.
Turk started riding around 7th grade, doing laps on Galbraith Mountain on a clapped hardtail with rubber rim brakes. At first, Turk wasn’t hooked immediately but kept with it, eventually falling in love with jumping. He was a regular at local haunts like the Cedar Dust jumps, later stepping up to the pro-sized jumps of Blue Steel. At 20, Talus went pro, and his growth has been explosive. Two years ago, he did his first backflip; now, he’s hitting step-down flips on 40-foot cliffs in Utah. “That’s why I want to do freeride events; there’s so much opportunity to ride different features, which leads to progression,” he explains excitedly. As he progressed, so did his bag of tricks ranging from 360s, flip variations, and more. Beyond his natural talent, Turk’s growth stems from his drive, which resonates with the community and freeride legends like Cam Zink and Tyler McCaul. Turk fondly recalls riding at Cam Zink’s freeride invitational and getting recognized by the legendary Rampage veteran. “It was crazy to see someone I’ve looked up to my whole biking career give me a shout-out and that these veterans are stoked about the next generation,” he says.
Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest and always ridden secluded in the woods, the terrain in Utah immediately felt like a game-changer of what could be done on mountain bikes. “The mesas and ridgelines trickle downwards, creating these perfect features to build,” he says, and his first time riding the terrain was in 2021. The landscape initially felt intimidating, but Turk systematically and methodically built confidence by chipping away at one feature and ridgeline at a time. One of the biggest learning curves was getting used to the blind features, where a rider can’t see the landing when approaching the jump. “Having features that are blind and exposed makes this place what it is,” he explains, and doing the first hit on a feature is the most humbling and nerve-racking. The only way to know if a feature works is to commit and drop in, which is why Rampage riders take such a calculated approach.
Curiosity drives much of Turk’s progression and is why he’s excited to be part of Rampage. He’s coming into the competition with an open mind, eager to have fun and learn. He’s hoping to have one stand-out feature and then a mix of jumps throughout his whole line. Regardless of what he builds, he’s elated to dig with his friends in the desert. The rest feels like a bonus.
02
Clemens Kaudela
For some, being part of Red Bull Rampage takes a leap of faith. Austrian freerider Clemens Kaudela’s leap of faith was literal: a massive step down that measured 97 feet diagonally. To put that distance in perspective, that’s just over one-fourth of a football field. This feature and more were part of a heavy-hitting video submission, The Minister, emphasizing Kaudela’s creativity and skills as a freeride athlete and accomplished builder.
His first taste of freeride mountain biking was a VHS tape of Cranked 3, where early pioneers rode built and natural features. Shortly after, in 2001, a one-of-a-kind event, Red Bull Rampage, debuted, sparking Kaudela’s dream of riding on those fabled ridgelines. But Kaudela knew the road to Rampage would be challenging growing up in Vienna, far from the mountains. There are no bike parks and few trails, inspiring Kaudela to make his own, starting at 13. Eventually, he cultivated a career by building courses for slopestyle and freeride events while competing as a slopestyle and freeride athlete. After years of competing and building at some of Freeride’s most notable events, Kaudela realized that his dream of Rampage wasn’t a crazy notion. In 2019, he made his first trip to Virgin as Szymon Godziek’s digger, cementing his dream to compete. In 2023, he put all his bets on Rampage, using his savings to fly out from Europe to Utah and film an edit in February. Halfway through filming, Kaudela crashed and knocked himself out, putting a hiatus on the film, and Kaudela flew home to recuperate. After six weeks off the bike, Kaudela returned in May to finish his segment, which was chock full of Rampage-worthy feats.
Out of all the places he’s been, Utah left a considerable impression on him. “Only once you have been there and worked with the dirt can you understand why this has been the place where Freeride has evolved,” Kaudela emphasizes. You can build features by hand quickly; anywhere else, you’d need a machine to do something comparable. The combination of hero dirt and slate rock makes it a builder’s paradise. Still, whether you’re a rookie or a veteran, Rampage demands respect and awe. “The takeoffs are always blind,” Kaudela explains. When riding a new feature, he always uses the landing as a gauge for speed. At Rampage, you must visualize and ride into the feature with your best estimation, which is why first hits are so gut-wrenching.
This perspective as a builder is constantly informing Kaudela’s riding. “I have a written collection of every track that I’ve built, and it has heights, lengths, angles, takeoff angles, landings, and feedback from myself and other riders,” he explains. He regularly references this database, giving him confidence in what he makes from scratch. “I find that this kind of approach works right away almost every time,” he emphasizes, since it takes much of the guesswork out of building. Competing, he has a few different ideas for his line, but the biggest item on his wishlist is at least one big huck like the step down that was in his video.
03
Alex Volokhov
Alex Volokhov’s quest for Rampage has been ten years in the making. It started in 2013 when he dug for Garrett Buehler. Hooked, he continued to dig for three-time Rampage winner Kurt Sorge for six years. Last year, he graduated from digger to rider having received an official invitation to compete, carrying a wealth of experience to make his mark on the event in what would have been his rookie year. His debut was looking strong, having built an impressive line with Sorge. But a crash the morning of finals while testing his last prominent feature halted his momentum. Heartbreakingly, he opted not to ride, so this year is all about redemption in his first Rampage competition.
The term “backcountry” goes hand in hand with Volokhov and his riding style. He evokes big mountain snowboarding through the raw, steep lines he bikes hidden deep in the mountains. Growing up in Nelson, British Columbia, Volokhov is a product of the gnarly, exposed trails he routinely rides. While this corner of British Columbia may not be in the desert, Nelson’s precipitous, exposed riding parallels many of the same aspects of the Rampage terrain. “It’s pretty similar to Nelson—but with no trees,” he says, and riding in Utah feels natural.
Volokhov is a multi-disciplined athlete, and his passion for snowboarding pushes much of his creative decision-making in biking. Once part of the Burton development team, Volokhov applies that same mentality from the snow to the dirt, and carving turns in the scree feels no different than being on his board. This thirst for adventure and wilder mountains has taken him and his bike to distant landscapes worldwide, ranging from Alaska to Chile to Europe. Competing in Rampage has long captured his imagination, as it’s one of the few freeride competitions where big mountain riding can play a significant role in the scoring. “That’s the coolest part of Rampage; you can build a line for your style and then compete on it — there’s nothing else like that in [freeride competitions].” This blank canvas approach is coupled with what he argues is some of the best terrain in the world for freeride mountain biking. Unlike other riding destinations like his home of Nelson—where you have to navigate trees, stumps, and roots—the terrain in Virgin has the perfect soil, natural landings, and lips that riders can shape into anything imaginable. Whatever you dream of building, you can likely bring it to life at Rampage.
This year marks Volokhov’s ninth Rampage. As the competition approaches, Volokhov is feeling excited. Having one year as a rider under his belt takes some of the pressure off. Arguably, one of the best prerequisites for competing at Rampage is digging. “It’s 50% a digging contest,” he says. Success on finals day stems from time management throughout the week, working with the terrain, and building the right features. “To build a line, test it, and then do the gnarliest run of your life is crazy,” he explains, and succeeding comes down to a variety of factors. Volokhov will return to his line from last year, eager to put down a top-to-bottom run. The line is a blend of the big mountain riding he loves and features like a ridgeline trick jump and 60-foot step down that will wow the audience and judges alike.
