Image By Jesper Brouwers
RedBull Rampage. When most people hear the name RedBull they usually think of some “lame” Red Bull event. For most people Rampage is one of the biggest and most well known RedBull events. Thousands of people from all over the world travel all the way to Virginia, Utah. All of the competitors at Rampage are professional mountain bikers everyday. I went around and asked people if they knew what Rampage was. All but a ew people did. I also asked people if they knew any names of people that participate in Rampage. Some people said Brandon Semnuk of Canada but most people said Remy Morton. Remy Morton is an Australian that has competed in many different RedBull events. He does both BMX and mountain biking. Every BMX and mountain biker has suffered a crash whether it be serious or not. It could have been anything from minor cuts on your legs or arms all the way to broken collar done or collapsed lung. All of these crashes are minor compared to what Remy Morton endured. In 2017 Remy attempted the world's largest BMX jump at LoosefestXL. According to Pinkbike.com, Remy hit the ground at 75km/h or 45mp/h. He broke 22 bones including his neck. He was in a coma for nearly a month. According to Couiermail, not only did he break 22 bones, he collapsed both lungs, ruptured a kidney and suffered significant nerve damage in his arm that left it as good as paralyzed. After six months of recovery after the crash he started doing what he loved, biking. Mountain and BMX biking are sports that have a huge risk to them. Any trick or jump on perfectly executed could result in a horrific crash.
Just like LooseFestXL, Ramage is an event that all pro bikers want to get in. However, Rampage is an invite-only event and the top ten riders from last year's events have an immediate invitation. The rules are simple. Get down the mountain in as spectacular a way as possible. Safely. Now the contestants have almost two weeks of preparation before the main event. According to RedBull.com “ When arriving at the Red Bull Rampage site before the event begins, the athletes will scope out the mountain for a route down. Nothing is manicured for them, however, on what's a rugged mountainside with many imperfections.” The competitors are allowed to work together and create routes that they can take and other contestants can as well. Most athletes have a team of diggers to help them set up a course. The dig team is allowed to use shovels and sand bags, no heavy equipment. The Athletes have time to pick a line and section that line for four days before the main event. In the main event, the more tricks that you can perform, the better the score that you earn. This mountain biking event is the biggest in the world. People and contestants come from all over the world. Most of the contestants this year are from the States but some are from Canada, Poland, France, and Belgium. The most important thing in rampage is to not die on the course. No one has yet but people have gotten seriously injured at this event. Most of the obstacles include a 20-65 foot drop and 30-50 foot gaps. In other words, getting into Rampage is easier said than done. The athletes that are in this year's event have been training and preparing their whole lives.
Nate Meeter is a junior at Poudre High school. This is his first year on the Poudre Press. He also runs a blog that you can check out here! https://8581851.wixsite.com/mountain-bikers-of-p