I’m off to Red Bull Rampage, what do you want to know?

(Thanks to Abus for covering my travel costs!) I’m off to report on Red Bull Rampage for the first time! I have a whole world of things that I want to find out and ask about, but what do you lot want to know?

Can I come?

How does a desert habitat recover from all the digging, people and vehicles?

How do i get the boy an entry ?

@weeksy whatever medication you’re on, I need it. I’d be a nervous wreck if my kids were racing DH or flying down cliffs!

whatever medication you’re on, I need it. I’d be a nervous wreck if my kids were racing DH or flying down cliffs

You’d be amazed just how many of the youths would love to try it… At least up until they got there and saw it in reality that is 🙂

I’d like to know if there’s a Bookies there and can i bet on Harry Schofeild to be there in 2030.

What is the last meal food of choice for the competitors…?

How do you choose a route?

How do they cover their medical costs in case of a serious fall?  I don’t think RedBull do it and I can’t imagine that they are able to insure themselves as the premium would be crazy

When they’re waiting at the top and need a wazz, where do they go without being on the telly because of a helicopter?

Who would win, in a fight between a crocodile and a polar bear?

It’s exciting woman are riding for the first time. What’s the parity like in terms of sponsorship, dig teams, prize money etc?

I know it’s equal prize money @ahsat but I don’t know about the rest of it yet. Still trying to see what it’s like in terms of dig teams, support from Red Bull etc. It’s on my list to find out!

What gravel tyres for Redbull Rampage?

What is the organiser / rider view of its staying power? It seemed to have been birthed from a time when “Freeride” looked like a significant part of the sport, but over the years the fashion has swung hard in MTB towards formats that looked like the riding people actually do, with the 10-year heavy influence of enduro and more recently a renaissance in actual challenging courses in XC, and DH arguably having an existential crisis. So why, when almost no-one is seeking to recreate cliff-bombing onto scree slopes in their own riding, is Rampage still attracting interest and holding the status as an event that it does?

Is it just death risk, or is it something more nuanced than that?

Can you make an album cover using the landscape/ stuff there?

I’d like some photos to show the real scale of the drops and jumps – how many Hannahs big are they?

Are any of the sections of trails between the big features rideable by a ‘normal’ person or are they all waaaay beyond anything reasonable?

General behind the scenes stuff about the support structure behind the riders and their dig teams.

Edit: also what level of sustainability are Red Bull operating at? Are there environmental impact statements and how do they approve the areas for digging with the authorities?

I’m very jealous!

Does anyone there actually drink Red Bull?

How many entrants passed their Cycling Proficiency and have the badge to prove it?

-Does ‘winning’ really matter to anyone participating?

-Are the risks riders take reflected by the rewards (from their sponsors/RB)?

-Can you find anyone involved now, who was about for the original Rampage (pre-redbull) 20+ years ago, if so do they still see it as the same event?

Would the riders do it anyway if there was a media (and social media) news blackout. No money, no sponsorship deals – just the shits and giggles…..and risk.

And when you are there….with a better appreciation of the vastness of the landscape, does the environment impact of each edition feel ‘reasonable’ for the commercial benefit of a few firms and some good YouTube material?

@cookeaa I’ll be seeing my friend Krispy there, he’ll be watching and this is his number plate from the first event, where he helped put the rider list together. Plus Todd Barber has organised it since the beginning. I’ll see what I can do re evolution and change since then!

Have they chosen which North American is the winner yet?