Is there funky business with Red Bull Rampage judging?
SPOILER ALERT.
This story contains results of Red Bull Rampage 2023. If you do not want to know the final results, stop here and watch the event for yourself. Red Bull made the entire event, which aired on Oct. 13, free to watch on Oct. 22.
Watch it here: https://www.redbull.com/us-en/live/red-bull-rampage-2023
Continue reading at your own risk.
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I watched Red Bull Rampage 2023. Like every year, it was great. These guys take such huge risks. They push the envelope of what the human mind thinks possible on a bicycle. It’s edgy. They get hurt. They do big tricks. They get a lot of air time. They cry tears of joy when they make it down the mountain.
But I gotta say — I was a little surprised with the results this year.
1st. Cam Zink: 95.00
2nd. Tom Van Steenbergen: 89.00
3rd. Carson Storch: 87.00
4th. Brendan Fairclough: 86.66
5th. Talus Turk: 84.00
6th. Kyle Strait: 83.58
7th. Emil Johansson: 82.83
8th. Bienvenido Aguado Alba: 79.44
9th. Thomas Genon: 77.41
10th. Reed Boggs: 76.73
11th. DJ Brandt 73.51
12th. Alex Volokhov: 72.00
13th. Kurt Sorge: 69.66
14th. Jaxson Riddle: 68.00
15th. Adolf Silva: 51.33
I’m not a freeride mountain biker. At all. I’ve also never been out to the Rampage course in Utah. So I’m a bit disqualified from having an opinion, because I’m just a layperson when it comes to this stuff.
But something in me can’t forget Bienvenido Aguado Alba’s front flip over a 73-foot canyon gap. It was unforgettable. An enormous feat. It was, in fact, the biggest front flip in Rampage history. The stakes were high, like deathly high. And his run didn’t even podium.
If judges only had one run to analyze, I’d understand. But each rider had two runs, and the better score ended up being their final tally. Bienvenido’s first run was interesting. He was so excited that he started celebrating two-thirds of the way down the mountain. He nearly got disqualified because of the three-minute time limit.
So I understood when judges gave him a relatively lower score. But then he did the exact line again, front flip and all. Finished it flawlessly. His score only improved by a couple points.
Also, Brendan Fairclough’s line was a true freeride line. Lots of exposure. Huge risk. It was a line that no one had ever attempted at Rampage, and likely no one ever will again. He didn’t podium either.
Cam Zink’s line was very cool, don’t get me wrong. And he overcame a lot getting to that point, yes. But come on …
You just have to wonder if the judges are becoming a good ole boys club. It happens in local government all the time. There’s this air of superiority among the elites, the guys who have “done this for a long time.” They play the game, so to speak. (They probably golf, right?) Here’s Darren Berrecloth justifying their decisions in this video shortly after the event.
Whenever a gatekeeper says “you’re going to have to trust us,” you can fairly assume there’s some funky business happening — whether it’s purposeful or accidental. And it’s OK, we all get caught up in the club mentality from time to time. There’s comfort in camaraderie. It’s fun to be part of a crew of people with elite abilities. I get it.
But come on … a front flip over a 73-foot gap isn’t enough for a top-three finish? A line never ridden before in the history of Rampage — a freeride MTB event — isn’t good enough? It’s just hard to swallow.
Anyway.
If there’s any consolation at all, Bienvenido won the event’s best trick award, the people’s choice award and the Kelly McGarry Spirit Award.
And Red Bull Rampage is still a blast to watch and it’s awesome for the sport. But it might be time to allow for some other judges to get in there and make some common sense judgements.
What do you think?
Choosing to do a foreword flip over an easier and safer backflip is incredible bravery. You get better “loft” and height by performing a backflip off a ramp whereas front flips lose height -- the body follows the head -- so it’s like diving off of a jump. A front flip should have been awarded extra points.