Brandon Semenuk distinguished himself among 17 elite freeriders this weekend to lock down his fifth Red Bull Rampage title: a feat unmatched by any other man in the event's history.
Southwest Utah's red rock cliffs were anything but forgiving. Semenuk ate dirt trying a flip whip amidst what could have been a podium-worthy run, then had to face a demoralizing 2.5-hour wind delay alongside the rest of the field. He didn't miss on his second try, however, landing both the flip whip and a technically-sound tail whip for 92.73 points from the judges.
Polish contender Symon Godziek came close to dethroning Semenuk with a front flip, a memorable double backflip and no shortage of technical brilliance. He had to settle for silver in the end (91.66).
That left Tyler McCaul in bronze medal position. The American veteran eschewed the line he'd used in 2018 and 2019 in favour of a new route that included an approximately 22.5-metre canyon gap. He stomped it on his way to hardware of his own (90.66).
“I’m just stoked to build a cool line, hang out with my friends, and get down to the bottom,” Semenuk said in a press release. “It was a really exciting event to watch. Some of the riding is on such a crazy level. I have good people around me and I’m happy to get down the hill."
Upon learning of his victory, the Whistlerite said in a televised interview: "I wasn't expecting that. It's so hard to know. I look at all the other lines. Dudes are riding so good and [their] first runs were insane. Obviously [I had] a great score, but it's so hard to tell. This event's insane and I'm just so happy to watch all my friends kill it today."
All-around progression
One would be amiss to forget about the others who left Utah with some kind of accolade.
Brendan Fairclough was twice recognized with both the People's Choice and Trailblazer Awards. Semenuk's support team of Evan Young and Justin Wyper were granted this year's Digger Award. The competition's GoPro Moment went to Kyle Strait, Bienvenido Aguado Alba claimed the Toughness Award, riders voted for Ethan Nell to get the McGazza Spirit Award, and Tom Van Steenbergen earned Best Trick honours with a high-amplitude front flip.
“It feels pretty damn awesome to win [Best Trick], I’m super stoked on the front flip,” said Van Steenbergen in a release. “[The front flip] was the plan way in advance and it took a lot of work to get it.”
Meanwhile, Fairclough expressed his bittersweet emotions on social media after placing 11th with a score of 76.00.
"Turns out freeride ain't free. Just wanted to let you know we appreciate all of your messages, all of the texts and everything," wrote the British athlete. "We've been working so hard the last couple of weeks and more, to do as best we could, working Deaks and Olly to the bone. We've had such a sick time.
"I did everything I could to get it done, I did what I wanted to do, did what I thought was cool. So yeah I won't be doing a second run, I just missed one little trick at the bottom which was a flip nac. I don't want to risk it all again for two more points. Wishing all the other boys and girls a lucky and safe ride and yeah we are out of here."
In other news, the inaugural women's edition of Red Bull Rampage took place last Thursday with Robin Goomes triumphing over second-place Georgia Astle and Casey Brown in third.
Complete men's results from Rampage are available here.
