Brandon Semenuk and Casey Brown gave Rampage performances for the ages

Red Bull Rampage is the crowning event in freeride mountain biking. It’s exhausting. It’s dangerous. It has long been the stage for some of the most creative and daring feats ever performed on two wheels. And this year, Brandon Semenuk and Casey Brown gave performances for the ages against the harsh, desolate, glorious backdrop of the Great Basin Desert in Virgin, Utah.

Semenuk cemented his legacy as the greatest ever, winning a record-extending fifth title in his 12th career Rampage appearance. He has now won titles in three different decades of his life — his first in 2008 at just 17 years old, and his latest at 33. This year, he did it against a field that was as deep, diverse, and determined as the sport has ever seen, with nine riders scoring 82.33 or higher. 

“People are stomping runs, one after another,” Sememuk said. “The level is so crazy. And you saw so many different types of riding. It’s hard to even comprehend what happened that day.”

Brown was one of seven women to participate in the first ever women’s edition of Red Bull Rampage. She took third with a creative line that featured a massive rock roll drop called the Laundry Chute. The cherry on the performance? She was also voted the McGazza Spirit Award winner by her fellow riders for the determination and positive vibes she brought to the competition, and for her lifelong contributions towards women’s freeride.

“This means everything,” Brown said after her run. “The trickle down effect of having an event at this level is going to be insane. There’s going to be so many more little girls riding bikes, and so many girls in sports staying in sports, and that’s super important. Having events of this stature is the most important thing for me.”

We may not see a Rampage as jam-packed with incredible riding, nor as historically significant, for a long, long time. And Semenuk and Brown led the way.

Semenuk was the first rider to drop in at Rampage, and appeared to be on a podium-worthy run. But towards the bottom of his line, he attempted an audacious flip whip that went sideways on him. He had to bail off his bike and end his run with a score of 61.33.

No one ever wants to start Rampage with a crash. It’d be understandable for even the most hardened freeride enthusiasts to be rattled in that situation given the physical stakes. But Semenuk said that he was calmer for his second run than the first. He had been in that exact scenario before. When he last won Rampage in 2021, he flubbed his first run when he hit a jump with too much speed, forcing him to bail then, too. Then he went on to become the outright all-time Rampage wins leader.

Just like three years ago, Semenuk’s mistake only made him more determined to stomp his second run. Despite a long wind delay, he pulled off everything he had planned, including the flip whip, to score a 92.73 and pay off all the hard work that he and his team had put in for nearly two weeks digging in the blazing heat.

“The second run is typically easier to drop in and feel a little bit more in a good space,” Semenuk said. “The nerves kind of disappear, and you’re not really thinking about the consequences. You’ve just accepted everything, and you’re ready to go again.”

As soon as Semenuk rode into the finish corral, he began celebrating, throwing his bike to the ground. He was overcome with relief.

“I’m just fired up that I at least succeeded at completing what we had sought out to do,” Semenuk said. “You’ve imagined this thing, and you’ve collaborated with the builders to build it, and then practiced the whole thing, and then you’ve succeeded at doing that.

“After a little bit of hardship in the first round, it’s just a good feeling.”

Saturday was the culmination of a backbreaking effort by Semenuk and his two close friends, Justin Wyper and Evan Young, to craft the perfect line out of the mountainside. For the uninitiated, the competition at Rampage begins long before riders drop in. Ten days before the event, participants scout the site to begin conceptualizing their lines, and then get to work with a maximum of two additional diggers to shape the terrain with picks and shovels. According to Semenuk, he and his team worked 12-hour days to get everything ready.

In the 10 years that Semenuk has been competing at Rampage and winning titles with Wyper and Young, they had never won the Digger Award given every year to the most impressive dig. Semenuk felt that they were worthy in the past, especially in 2022 when Wyper and Young were working with 33 percent less help while Semenuk was polishing off an American rally championship. This year, the duo final got the recognition they deserve.

“I think it’s long overdue for Evan and Justin to win that award,” Semenuk said. “I think we worked really hard this year, but I do think there’s other years that we worked even harder, especially in ’22 when I wasn’t there and they decided they were going to tackle this insane landing at the very top of the hill on a vertical face. That was such an accomplishment as far as a team of builders go. Just two dudes on a hill with hand tools and a little bit of water.”

For Semenuk, the pressure of Rampage didn’t come from a burning desire to add another trophy to his collection, but from wanting to do right by the team that has been at his side for more than a decade. 

“It wasn’t really about the results. I would have dropped in that second run regardless of getting a score,” Semenuk said. “I just wanted to prove to myself that I could get the run done in those two runs that I had, because that’s just a lot of work put in to do it. And the rest is just a bonus, to be honest.”

No matter what, Brown was going to go all out at Rampage. She’s been in love with the event from its inception. She was the first women’s rider to complete a full top-to-bottom run in practice. And when she got to the bottom of what would be her podium run, there was no one happier.

“I’m just so stoked,” Brown said. “Fifteen-year-old Casey, she’s just like, that’s what it’s all about, is dreaming big and then making it happen. Eventually [laughs]. 

“It took a while. It took the scenic route. But we’re here. We’ve got a category. I’m so stoked for all the girls up there. They’re killing it.”

The women were given a fresh, never-before-used site for Rampage. Throughout the days leading up to last Thursday, they collaborated to make the mountain their own, planning their lines with one another to make sure that they all could have their dream runs. Brown wanted hers to be an expression of herself. Her Laundry Chute feature was daring, rowdy, and thrilling to watch — everything that has made her a legend in the sport.

There was no one better to win the McGazza Spirit Award. The fact that the honor was voted on by her fellow riders made it even more special. Brown is widely considered the godmother of freeride. Since 2021, she has been nurturing young riders through Dark Horse, her very own progression event in Revelstoke, B.C. The McGazza Spirit Award is named after Kelly McGarry, a beloved rider from New Zealand who passed away in 2016.

“It’s incredible. It’s been such a long journey to get here and to come through this finish corral and be safe and sound, I’m just over the moon,” Brown said after her run. “It’s unbelievable [winning the McGazza Spirit Award]. Kelly was a dear friend of mine. We did lots of trips together. He was one of my homies in New Zealand. I’m just overwhelmed with that and having everyone vote for me.”

Brown has long been one of the most inspirational riders in freeride. There could be no better tribute to her legacy than being recognized for her efforts at the first ever women’s Rampage.