Brandon's single-crown Session is a tribute to his diggers
Brandon Semenuk is an athlete like no other. This Friday, he will ride for his fifth Red Bull Rampage title, potentially extending a record achievement. There’s little he can’t do. This past weekend, he won the overall ARA national title in rally racing, a sport that, you may note, is very different from freeride mountain biking.
Now Semenuk is in Virgin, Utah, preparing for one of the biggest events in mountain biking. It remains to be seen whether whipping a Subaru around a dirt track is good prep for hucking off a sheer cliff on a Session, but Semenuk is going to do his damndest, and he’s going to look good doing it.
Semenuk brought two Sessions to Utah, one with a single-crown fork and another with a dual-crown. Last year, he rode a single-crown at the infamously gnarly venue, and won his fourth Rampage title in dramatic fashion. We may not know which bike he’s riding until he’s ready to drop in, but we can admire both in the meantime. Take a look at the glorious details in the photos below:
Brandon's single-crown Session highlights the close relationship between riders and diggers.
Brandon's dual-crown Session is just fresh as hell.
Dig Or Die.
Majestic.
You spend 16 hours a day digging, you come up with A LOT of inside jokes.
The coolest man on the mountain.
Will we see another legendary single-crown performance?
Ride Or Die.
Frank Sinatra would be proud.
SRAM rolls with every punch.
The RockShox Zeb fork crushed it for Brandon last year.
Brandon's dual-crown Session can take on anything.
Brandon's single-crown Session is an absolute stunner.
Both bikes are instant classics, though Semenuk’s single-crown rig may have the best backstory. The frame is covered in inside jokes among Semenuk and his diggers from last year’s Rampage. It pays tribute to how pivotal diggers are to success in the sport. Diggers work long, exhausting days creating ramps and features that live up to their riders’ creative visions.
Diggers have to know their riders well, and also act as an emotional support system in the lead-up to an immensely stressful event. Semenuk’s recent documentary “Steps to the Top” relives his 2021 Rampage title, and highlights the hard work that his diggers, Justin Wyper and Evan Young, put in to create a Rampage title-worthy line. Wyper and Young are back at it this year, and they worked overtime before Semenuk’s delayed arrival in Utah while he finished up his ARA racing season.
You can catch Semenuk on whichever bike he rides this Friday on ESPN+ (if you live in the United States) or on Red Bull TV (if you live anywhere else in the world) at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. Win or lose just know one thing: Semenuk always brings something never-before-seen to Rampage. You do not want to miss his latest run at history.
