Semenuk Wins Rampage and becomes 3 Time Champion
Brandon Semenuk became only the second rider ever to win three Red Bull Rampage events, turning in what USA Today called an “insane ride” at Friday’s event in Virgin, Utah.
According to redbull.com, Semenuk won freeride mountain biking’s premier contest with an opposite 360, a suicide no-hander, a nac nac, a front flip on a double drop, a backflip one-footed can-can, and a 360. He was awarded 92.33 points, a gratifying finish after his bad luck in 2018, when he suffered two crashes. “Obviously, last year didn’t go very well, but this year we had a good line, I didn’t rush and, I got something good down,” he commented to redbull.com. “It was still nerve-racking, but I was feeling it.”
Defending champion Brett Rheeder took second place with a second run which included a front flip off the start drop, a back-flip one-footed can-can, two 360s, and an opposite 360. He finished with 91 points, and his back-flip one-footed can-can earned him the coveted Best Trick, while his build team (Matt MacDuff and Ben Byers) won Best Dig Crew.
Other Maxxis-sponsored riders also did well, with Brendan Fairclough taking fourth place, Tyler McCaul fifth, and Szymon Godziek sixth. Fairclough spent time building up his Canyon Gap to make it one of the most high-consequence features on the mountain, and as always, McCaul had one of the most massive drops on the mesa. Dubbed the “triple dipper” after his favorite Chili’s appetizer, the line crossed over Semenuk’s double drop, rendering the term “triple” fully legitimate.
Maxxis congratulates Brandon Semenuk on his third Red Bull Rampage win and thanks all of its riders for what pinkbike.com called “probably the best Rampage ever.”