Red Bull Rampage 2021 Preview: What To Expect?

Freeride mountain biking's biggest event is upon us. On Friday, October 15th, the biggest names in big-mountain biking will all head to Southern Utah to take place in an epic event that embodies the true spirit of freeride mountain biking.

In 2020, Red Bull canceled the iconic event due to complications with COVID-19. Rampage is back bigger than ever this year celebrating its 20th anniversary with a stacked line-up and announcing a new venue.

The top ten riders from the previous Rampage are automatically pre-qualified to participate in the following event. Sadly, due to pre-existing injury complications, riders Brendan Fairclough and Brett Rheeder both announced that they will be withdrawing from this year's Rampage. While it seemed hopeful that these riders would be able to rehabilitate and nurse their injuries with enough time to head to the desert to compete, that wasn't the case. Nonetheless, we wish a speedy recovery for Brendog and Rheeder, hoping to see them at next year's event!

2021 Red Bull Rampage Riders
Pre-Qualified Riders:

Brendan Fairclough / @brendog1 / GBR (WITHDRAWN) 
Szymon Godziek / @szymongodziek / POL
Tyler McCaul / @tylermccaul / USA
Ethan Nell / @ethan_nell / USA
Brett Rheeder / @brettrheeder / CAN (WITHDRAWN)
Brandon Semenuk / @brandonsemenuk / CAN
Carson Storch / @carsonstorch / USA
Kyle Strait / @kylestrait / USA
Vincent Tupin / @vinny_t_ / FRA
Tom Van Steenbergen / @tvansteenbergen / CAN

Every year, Red Bull hand-selects five riders to ride in Rampage. These invitees are called the "Wildcards". This year we are seeing some familiar faces but two new riders who have never participated in Rampage that stand out.

Wildcard Riders:

Andreu Lacondeguy / @andreulacondeguy / ES-CT
Jaxson Riddle / @jaxsonriddle / USA
Kurt Sorge / @kurtsorge / USA
Brage Vestavik / @bragevestavik / NOR
Cam Zink / @camzink / USA

Jaxson Riddle is a Southern Utah local which gives him a pretty serious leg-up on the competition. Jaxson is only 18 years old but is pushing the discipline of freeride biking forward. Brage Vestavik made serious waves in the mountain biking world with his Xgames Real MTB edit he dropped earlier this year. We expect to see some wild stuff from this Norweigan Viking this year.

Alternate Riders:

Thomas Genon / @thomasgenon / BEL
Emil Johansson / @johanssoemil / SWE
Reed Boggs / @reedboggs / USA
DJ Brandt / @djshreda / USA
Antoine Bizet / @antoinebizet / FRA

Following Brendan Fairclough's and Brett Rheeder's recent announcement that they will both be dropping out of this year's Rampage, we can expect to see Thomas Genon and Emil Johansson possibly join the 15 riders. In years past, it's not uncommon to see a few other riders crash out during practice, so more alternative riders may be joining the starting 15 come Friday. Sadly, we might not see any double backflips from Antoine, our flying Frenchmen.

Riders choose a couple of "diggers" to help athletes chisel a line out of the rugged desert landscape. With this year being a new venue, the athletes and diggers will be put to work choosing their new lines. Before the competition, athletes and their diggers will spend four days creating their lines. Afterwhich, they will have four practice days to dial in the speed and exact line choice. Tickets were available for purchase on August 20th and again in September but sold out in a matter of minutes. If you were able to grab a ticket, consider yourself extremely lucky!

We can't wait to see what takes place in this year's event. Who are most excited to see drop in this year? To watch Red Bull Rampage, tune into Red Bull TV to watch the Livestream and follow @RedBullBike for more updates.

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