Freeride race: Rampage vs Ride

I guess in the end the real question is…

What defines Freeriding?

For some it means "ride where ever you want to" ie. without bounds. That means riding everywhere. But if that was the case, trail riding is freeriding (lets be honest, nobody (should) ride off trails - it's usually impossible here and it wrecks the lands we love to ride in). Thus you are freeriding when you jump on a XC bike and ride up a mountain. But that didn't cause the "freeride revolution". The freeride revolution happend because of the high degree of trail building done here using structures. Dirt jumping, urban and trials have been done for sometime before "freeriding" was coined (and thus have their own heritage). True, hucking off cliffs came with the trail building as well but wasn't the main thing.

So freeriding seems to be NS stunts (bridges, ladders, skinnies, teetors, with some hucks, ramps, etc. for good measure) built on a variable terrain. Part natural, part made made (but pure fun).

Yes by definition of "freeriding" there can be no races, but then again if you want respect in a field you need competition. And there are already some of "freeride" competitions (Whistler last fall, at the outdoor sports show for 3 years now, etc.) for everyone.

Anyways - yes the Aussies showed us up but we still own the name "North Shore" (for biking) much like we are known for Hockey even if we don't always (usually) take it. We also have awesome well known/respected "freeriders", and build amazing bikes (Norco, Brodie, Rocky Mtn, Kona(even if they moved), Cove, others…) that are world renowned.

i guess some of that is true but if u want to see Tyler Klassen riding skinnies, then watch JIB. He manuals some skinnies that 95% of us couldn't even ride, let alone manual. He is pretty amazing.

i think theres alot more gonig on in competeing in the redbull comps, then anyone of us know of…

sure it looks like its all hucks and balls..
but as with anything the terrain itself offers all kinds of challenges that unless u throw a leg over your bike and hit it up yourself, you'll never know….

i bet its alot harder to ride there then it appears in photos/vids…

the Freezride is a good example… just riding in snow is hard enuf let alone "freeriding" and going huge on it….

its something to think about…:(

Rumors have it that some German riders wanna show up at the Rampage in Utah this year.
Check it out:

www.dirtflames.com

Originally posted by Mic
**Rumors have it that some German riders wanna show up at the Rampage in Utah this year.
Check it out:

www.dirtflames.com **

My German isn't very good… :(

Since they wanna built up an international team with like-mindeed guys, I emailed them requesting an English version.

i think the reason sam hill won the ride was because he might have done it fluently and no stuff ups. i couldnt see each riders full run. but thats the only way i can think of that he won it is coz of that, and he probably didnt stack at all.

To the original poster: don't forget that in last year's RB Ride, Wade rode last third of course with a flat rear tire and he still dropped the biggest drop and came in second. Also, don't forget that this year, Wade wasn't at the Ride, Klassen was fresh off a broken foot recovery, on a bike he wasn't used to and the Aussie's provided thick smoke for all to breathe. Tyler said it definitely affected his breathing.

Next up, we have to ask: "what have the Aussies done to develop a freeride scene". This Red Bull ride is on the hillside of some dam in outback where spectators can't even watch, let alone ride there. I've yet to hear of an Aussie terrain-park like Whistler or much in the way of freeride trails. In fact, I mostly hear from Aussies frustrated by a bike scene dominated by XC. I think it's safe to say that the riding at home isn't what made Waddell and Rennie the racers they are today - it's the overseas riding they do.

Finally some info about the first Redbull ride…Wade came 2nd. So who got first, third, fourth, etc.?

I mentioned that Wade wasn't riding so who knows what he would have accomplished. But Tyler K. rode it, and in rampage he got 1st and in ride he got 10 or 11th (I forget). And many of our other well named riders were there too (many did well in rampage).

I'm not putting down anyone, nor am I saying that rampage even without the giant hucks with nasty landings is easy. It certianly requires huge skills. I am saying that the "ride" is a much closer race to what defines freeriding (at least originally) than the "rampage" does.

That said, something I've found from other sports I play - Canada doesn't support it's athletes well but Austrailia does. No matter what the sport, if the Aussies decide to play it they will get funding, they will have it as part of their curriculum in high schools, etc. It may not apply to mtn biking but they do provide good support for the athletes (often better than the US (unless it's for baseball or football)).

'yaker, think back to the first Kranked movie. Many saw that as the flashpoint for the start of the mtb freeride scene. Most of this footage is cornice drops and big mountain lines in Kamloops. Freeriding is about exploring new new lines and manipulating your terrain. Downhill trials on artificial stunts (ie sled-saw) can be counted as freeriding, but it doesn't define it. The Rampage was as much freeride as the Ride. Dave Watson and Vanderham placed in top 10 of '01 Ride too so don't be so quick to use this event as your yardstick. Robbie Bourden was 3rd in the '00 Ride.

Remember that in freeriding nothing is certain. Super T won the
last rampage but he could have just as easily ate it and the top spot would have gone to someone else. No-one is 100%
consisitent especially on un-familiar terrain and there's lots of room for randomness. To win at redbull you need three things

1. Skill
2. Big huge giant testicles
3. A little bit of luck

No one should take the results of redbull and use it to determine
who is the best freerider.

Man. I hate competitions.

Me too.

All I can say about this topic is that the 'Ride' and 'Rampage' are two totally different events.
The red bull ride is a contest that tests all of the riders skills where as the red bull rampage is basically made up of drops not that this is bad.
In the end neither event can claim that the winner is the best freerider in the world, as I feel that freeriding is basically going out and riding what they feel like whether it be Northshore style stunts, trail riding, drops etc, and in my mind this can not be judged. Sure you can judge on smoothness but what else can you judge on, some might say style, but who is to say what style is right.

And as to the reason the aussies winning I feel that this could be put down to the fact that Australia is a very diverse country and within say 50km you will find a wide range of terrain.