This year’s Red Bull Rampage was certainly one to write home about, with riders throwing down some massive airs and huge tricks. After weeks of preparation and building, the men’s finals took place on Sunday, October 19th, and it was truly an event worth watching. The entire replay is below:
There were a ton of wild and podium-worthy mountain bike runs, but at the end only three could make it to the top. Rookie Hayden Zablotny crushed it for a first-place finish in his first ever Red Bull Rampage. He represents the first newcomer to win the competition since Brandon Semenuk won in 2008. In second place was 32-year-old Thomas Genon, and in third was freeride mountain bike icon Tom Van Steenbergen. Watch their lines below.
There were several major crashes throughout the competition, but only two wound up with the athletes being airlifted out. 26-year-old Emil Johansson wiped out and nearly fell off a nearby cliff. Fortunately he was able to stop himself before taking what could have been a devastating plunge. He suffered a dislocation of his right hip, which was popped back in at the hospital. He did have surgery to clean the socket up from lose pieces of bone.
28-year-old Adolf Silva‘s crash was easily the scariest of the day, with a double backflip attempt ending with him landing directly on his head after crashing out. He was airlifted out, and after a delay the Red Bull announcers made it clear that he was awake, alert, and talking with family. While the extent of his injury still isn’t clear, he did provide an update on social media thanking his supporters and clarifying that he suffered a lower back injury. Our thoughts go out to both athletes as they work toward recovery.
