Issue 148 will be posted out around 6th April 2023.
2019 saw the inaugural Red Bull Formation, a freeride progression camp for women attended by a handful of some of the best known names in women’s freeride. After an inevitable year off in 2020, it’s returning, and is all set to take place in Virgin, Utah, from 24th Mary to 1st June.
The previous camp was a small scale affair as a trial to see how it would go, and this year looks to be keeping things fairly exclusive. Eight top athletes will be coming to the camp alongside a selection of industry mentors and peers that will help guide and coach the athletes throughout the week. Together they will work to create top-to-bottom lines that will illustrate their skill, style, and power on the terrain.
Chelsea Kimball, the only woman to take part in the recent Freeride Fiesta in Mexico – and we think the first woman to ride the infamous King Kong trail in Utah – has got an invite. Look out for Chelsea’s story of the Freeride Fiesta in the June issue of our magazine – which will be out just as she’s cleaning the dust off her bike after Formation! Chelsea is probably the most experienced of the riders in the exposed Virgin terrain – she’s regularly out on the trails and features there around the Red Bull Rampage sites – so it will be interesting to see what she can do with the focussed support of the Formation progression camp.
I feel pretty lucky to be invited to Formation. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to ride with some of the best female freeriders from around the world. I look forward to creating a line and working with the awesome Formation media team to share it with the world. Over the past few years I’ve seen more and more women coming out to the desert looking to improve their skills on the unique ridges, drops and jumps in Virgin, Utah. Hopefully this event inspires the attending riders and other women from around the world to take a chance and push themselves and the sport.
Chelsea Kimball
The full list of invited athletes for Red Bull Formation 2021 is:
- Casey Brown (CAN)
- Vaea Verbeeck (CAN)
- Vinny Armstrong (NZ)
- Jess Blewitt (NZ)
- Sam Soriano (USA)
- Chelsea Kimball (USA)
- Hannah Bergemann (USA)
- Vero Sandler (UK)
- 1st Alternate: Camila Nogueira (ARG)
- 2nd Alternate: Alma Wiggberg (SWE)
My broad goals for Formation are to use the event as an opportunity to collaborate with other women to progress the sport, produce more media of women’s freeride mountain biking, and ultimately inspire the next-gen to keep taking it further.
Hannah Bergemann
I’m so excited and honored to be invited to Formation. Being in the desert with some of the raddest women, many of them I have looked up to for years, building and riding our own lines is something that I’ve looked forward to since I switched to freeride. Formation has become the pinnacle of progressing women’s freeride, finally giving the proper attention that women’s freeride has lacked for so many years. I hope that impact that Formation has will continue to inspire other girls who have aspirations in freeride, progressing the sport further and further.
Sam Soriano
Want to read more about what went down at the first Formation? Head here:
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This is good news. I’m glad the last one wasn’t a one-off. It’s a shame Tahnee can’t make it this time, though.
That’s a pretty impressive lineup! Looking forward to seeing how things have progressed since the first event.