Utah Hosts The World's Toughest Mountain Bike Competition

Few mountain bike events can rival Red Bull Rampage for fear or excitement, as the very best riders in the world face almost vertical drops down Utah’s sandstone. Getting from top to bottom as fast as possible, and with as much style and flair as you go, is a task only for the very best in the game.

This is the ultimate MTB event, asking riders to tackle terrifying heights on unstable terrain. Whether a freerider or a slopestyler, this is one of the toughest tests of skill and balance than a rider can face.

Red Bull Rampage is a freeride mountain bike competition held near Zion National Park in Utah. Riders must be invited to race, with the winner taking home $100,000.

At the 2017 event, Canadian Kurt Sorge took home his third Rampage title, having already been victorious in 2012 and 2015. Sorge said: ‘I am speechless. I can’t believe it. It was a lot of work out here for a couple of weeks, and to make my diggers, everyone back home and the fans proud, is out of this world. All riders were going huge and doing technical tricks off all of the big features – putting together really technical flowy lines.’

The competition was made up of 18 riders, who were allowed to create their own manmade lines down the route, using power tools to do so. The consequence of this, of course, is that no two riders have the same path, with each taking on the near vertical challenge in their own personal way.

Andreu Lacondeguy competes at Red Bull Rampage in Virgin, Utah, USA on 27 October, 2017

RED BULL RAMPAGE 2017, TOP FIVE:
1. Kurt Sorge (CAN) – 92.66
2. Cameron Zink (USA) – 90.33
3. Ethan Nell (USA) – 90.00
4. Brandon Semenuk (CAN) – 89.66
5. Brett Rheeder (CAN) – 89.33

About the author

Luke Bradshaw

Sports Editor

Luke was born and raised in various parts of south London, before studying Politics and Social Psychology at Loughborough University. His time in the midlands was limited to his study and upon his return to the capital (via the obligatory travelling in between), wrote for a number of different local and national publications, before moving into the editorial side of things. Aside from the obvious interest in sport, he loves food, travel, reading and film, but if any can somehow incorporate sport in the process, then all the better.