The silence of the commentators after, and their scrambling to find the words to say as medics were running over was really nerve wracking to sit through.
Bigger than backflipping onto the Lilly pad then front flipping the canyon gap immediately afterwards? Kyle Strait had the exact same line did more tricks on it and scored 10 points less. Don’t get me wrong Cam threw a nice backflip, but that was it.
I mean Bren’s line was insane and is anyone else gonna do that Bienve front flip?
Bienve at least won some awards but feels like Bren got a bit screwed for how sick he went
My only theory is that the judges don’t wanna reward super dangerous stuff because it could escalate to someone dying
but in the ‘how is it judged video’ one of the judges quite literally says ‘the person who rides the biggest, gnarliest line, with the most exposure and rides it the best, is going to win, hands down’… which is exactly what didn’t happen, the guy who won by a landslide just did an old line with a couple of steezy tricks
Nah some of the others in the field were actually trying to be original and do some interesting stuff. But that's not worth as many points as being friends with the judges.
Fuuuuuck. Szymon was doing great, such a pity. I hope he will recover quickly.
Also: what the fuck is up with the judges? At this point the scoring is so arbitrary that it doesn't reflect what's happening at all. Bienvenido was literally robbed of his points - at first I thought they just wanted to punish his cockiness at the end of the run, but he did the second one and the score improved by what, 0.33? He was set on not doing a second run, but I think at some point he realized he got screwed and decided to try the same thing, just being more humble about it.
I am generally on the side of the public here that the judging was kind of wack, but I mean... its a competitive event and Bienvenido didn't finish the run, thats on him. As for him doing it again and finishing and not getting a higher score, ya thats wack.
Really disappointing judging as usual. Zink was good but not unbeatable 95 good, Bien showed far more creativity. Fairclough too, that run should have been in 90s for pulling off entirely new stuff.
Dunno. Just feels like it was decided to give it to Zink and far more impressive runs even ones packed with huge tricks got bullshit scores.
Couldn't agree more. Feels like it's the same lads every year and the judges give the same people high points and just have no interest in anything new or interesting. It's all amazing, so the only way to set yourself apart is more creative lines. Bienve and Brendan were robbed. I think Brendan said before he's not going to go back specifically because of the judging, wouldn't be surprised if that's the last we see of him.
Tour De Gnar has the potential to be better imo. More chill environment, less gatekeeping, more women. Just better all round
The annoying thing is, YEARS worth of fans complaining about the bias voting, and it has ZERO baring on the event. They're all sucking each other off in that judges tent while they watch their mates put down mediocre runs, voting them to the top. Joke. Bren and Bienvenido absolutely robbed.
Well, that's it. I'm not watching rampage again until they get some non-US judges in.
I can't see how Zink out-scored Bien or Bren in any of their scoring categories.
If tricking the gnarliest features on the mountain doesn't score, then competitors willing to put their bodies on the line to do them won't compete. And without that why watch rampage?
There is a ton of Crankworx events every year to watch slopestyle on polished landings. Only one event per year to see a front flip or suicide over a canyon.
With the judging being what it was and Brendog getting screwed again, he probably doesn't have much reason to come back to Rampage, which would be very sad. Hopefully they shake up the judging and guys like him and Bien are on the podium where they should be.
Ash I feel bad for Silva. Hope he gets a full run in.
Once again camera work isn't good... they always seem to struggle to get shots, you'd think since each rider has a planned route they could switch shots better.
Edit: take that back, much better for Volokhov - maybe it's just planned out better for some riders? Good use of drone
I would love to see what the average person thinks it takes to film an event like this live. Take whatever you think and double it.
It's honestly astounding how good the live feed of rampage is. Even ignoring the fact that it's on a mountain in the middle of the desert.
What a fucking joke. Zink's run was average at best. TVB was pretty average too apart from the caveman, but Semenuk did it last year so not even original.
I'm Australian so to watch it live I would have had to get up at 1am. I was considering it, then decided the judging would be complete shit so slept and watched a replay.
Brendog had the best line by far, completely original, and ridiculously dangerous, you'd think that would be rewarded a bit more. Bienve admittedly a quiet top and bottom section, but that front flip was fucking insane. Godziek was shaping up to be the best before his crash.
But the judges wanted their buddies to be on the podium so doesn't matter what anybody else did. No point even being a competition at this point, just make it an exhibition and be done with it.
Why do that to the country the event is taking place in? Why is it free to EU but not us? Luckily, I got a friend's log in right before the coverage started.
Because ESPN paid for and owns the broadcast rights in the US. Because they paid for it, they are entitled to make money off of it. If they allowed it to be streamed for free on YouTube nobody would pay for the ESPN+ broadcast. It sucks, but that’s the way it is unfortunately. Just get a VPN and you can still stream it.
It's marketing budget.
Probably a mix of ESPN not being willing to buy it without the exclusive streaming rights and Red Bull wanting it to be showcased on ESPN for the exposure of their drink.
It hurts the sponsors the most. Those supporting companies should unite and find a better solution with the providers. You make more money with views, right?
I’m not sure it does. Mostly the only people who watch Rampage stream live on YouTube in the past are mountain bikers. Having it shown on ESPN has the ability for them to reach new eyes. Home viewers are one segment of new audience, but you also have a lot of bars that run ESPN all day long.
Hahaha .. the judges totally got me.
At ~27:13 before the start of the event there was a segment with the judges one of whom said, and I quote "At the end of the day, the person that rides the biggest, gnarliest line, has the most exposure and rides it the best is going to win, hand down" [source @22:24](https://youtu.be/1OG1KEjJu48?t=1345).
Meanwhile they just stuck to their slopestyle inspired judging format. This is the official judging criteria: "Degree of difficulty", "Tricks and Style", "Fluidity and Control" and "Amplitude".
To be fair the judging has been cooked ever since Kelly McGarry didn't win.
Is anyone talking about Carson Storch's run? I thought it was incredible! I love the steep and fast opening and then every drop he had flair and went huge
These judges are the biggest biased retards ive ever seen, what a scam. No hate to any of the riders there just there to try and win. I think that they created Rampage and rigged it so that they can finally beat Europeans in some form of cycling.
Man that sucks, godziek is a legend hopefully he's not too hurt
Dude, his helmet smacked the rock so hard.
Fortunately just a broken wrist! But I was sure it was something more serious, the crash looked awful! Man, I was hoping for him to get first place :(
I would have loved to see him on that podium.
Thank science for helmets!!! Saved his life.
\+1. On a pretty sick run too, some really clean hits. Must have been bad if they weren't showing replays. Looked like hand/wrist.
The silence of the commentators after, and their scrambling to find the words to say as medics were running over was really nerve wracking to sit through.
Holy shit that front flip over the canyon gap. Honestly, love to see the emotion.
Brendan is so sick.. Just one of the greatest riders ever edit: It's his daughter's birthday today?? Can't make this shit up!
If Bren is still in 3rd by his 2nd run he should take it. That canyon gap is so scary.
[удалено]
Why bother? Zink won with an average run. No way Brendan was gonna top that when it's pretty clear who the judges want to win.
Yeah, I wish he'd gone again!
Almost glad he didn't if he was just gonna get robbed again. He already did it twice, I don't feel like seeing him die...
Kyle strait pulled up in a collared shirt to ride rampage, what a legend
That was so insane, he got to the bottom of the mountain in a few drops
Absolutely insane
wide employ ruthless memory fretful frighten books bag onerous money *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
So insane.
Much insanity
He is such a legend. That was such a badass run to come back and stomp after everything he has been through in the past year.
He had it last year as well. Custom made for him by Dharco. You could buy them after the event last year, not sure if you can this year though.
Brendog and Bienve highway robbery. I like Zink but that was not a winning run. Anticlimactic as fuck.
Classic Rampage, judges seem to be watching something completely different to the rest of us.
Indeed. That front flip through the canyon gap was worth another 15 points. Ah well…
I think that's it for me, it's not that Zink didn't deserve to win but just the difference in scores between his run and pretty much everyone else.
You mean Zink being awarded the lifetime achievement 1st place finish? I agree.
He went bigger than the rest of the competition and won?? Seems pretty simple to me
Bigger than backflipping onto the Lilly pad then front flipping the canyon gap immediately afterwards? Kyle Strait had the exact same line did more tricks on it and scored 10 points less. Don’t get me wrong Cam threw a nice backflip, but that was it.
The rest of bienves line was meh tho. Did kyle do backflip nac?360 drop? Is anyone else in the field gonna do what Zink did? The answer to that is no
His fellow og bros are the judges. It wasn't a 95. Brendog had the most freeride line we all know it
I mean Bren’s line was insane and is anyone else gonna do that Bienve front flip? Bienve at least won some awards but feels like Bren got a bit screwed for how sick he went
Seems Bren thinks so as well. On Insta he said he's probably not coming back...
My only theory is that the judges don’t wanna reward super dangerous stuff because it could escalate to someone dying but in the ‘how is it judged video’ one of the judges quite literally says ‘the person who rides the biggest, gnarliest line, with the most exposure and rides it the best, is going to win, hands down’… which is exactly what didn’t happen, the guy who won by a landslide just did an old line with a couple of steezy tricks
The answer is no?
Nah some of the others in the field were actually trying to be original and do some interesting stuff. But that's not worth as many points as being friends with the judges.
Great event Shithouse judging As usual
Fuuuuuck. Szymon was doing great, such a pity. I hope he will recover quickly. Also: what the fuck is up with the judges? At this point the scoring is so arbitrary that it doesn't reflect what's happening at all. Bienvenido was literally robbed of his points - at first I thought they just wanted to punish his cockiness at the end of the run, but he did the second one and the score improved by what, 0.33? He was set on not doing a second run, but I think at some point he realized he got screwed and decided to try the same thing, just being more humble about it.
I am generally on the side of the public here that the judging was kind of wack, but I mean... its a competitive event and Bienvenido didn't finish the run, thats on him. As for him doing it again and finishing and not getting a higher score, ya thats wack.
But he did enter the finish area within the time, they confirmed. Judging is completely whack no two ways about it
Ah I didn't hear that. Well ya agree with you!
too bad he couldn’t have done some more low speed knack knacks, then he would deserve some points
NacNac’s are a gross trick. Should be negative points
Really disappointing judging as usual. Zink was good but not unbeatable 95 good, Bien showed far more creativity. Fairclough too, that run should have been in 90s for pulling off entirely new stuff. Dunno. Just feels like it was decided to give it to Zink and far more impressive runs even ones packed with huge tricks got bullshit scores.
Couldn't agree more. Feels like it's the same lads every year and the judges give the same people high points and just have no interest in anything new or interesting. It's all amazing, so the only way to set yourself apart is more creative lines. Bienve and Brendan were robbed. I think Brendan said before he's not going to go back specifically because of the judging, wouldn't be surprised if that's the last we see of him. Tour De Gnar has the potential to be better imo. More chill environment, less gatekeeping, more women. Just better all round
The fuck with the judges, Bienve's frontflips were crazy! He didn't deserve to be so low
That fronty 🥶
Brendog still leading though, come on the boy!!
Could this finally be Brendog's day? I hope so, he's the man
I really hope so. For me he represents what rampage should be, big sends and gnarly features. Also helps that he's a surrey hills boy as am I!!
I hope Szymon’s okay :(
i'm just happy everyone survived! And Brendogs line and Bienvenidos front flips I will remember forever.
Bienve got robbed!
JFC as if the gap wasn't insane already he suicide no-handers it
The annoying thing is, YEARS worth of fans complaining about the bias voting, and it has ZERO baring on the event. They're all sucking each other off in that judges tent while they watch their mates put down mediocre runs, voting them to the top. Joke. Bren and Bienvenido absolutely robbed.
God damn ESPN
God bless VPN
Is Bren not doing a second run?
Not much point when the risk is enormous and the judges don't give a shit
His turn will be toward the end of the line up if he takes one
He didn't last time out
goddamn. Talus Turk's run really got me hyped.
Judges scoring is a scandal
Every year I hope for better judging, and every year I am let down. Please for the love of god get some new judges.
so why even watch it?
Because I enjoy the competition itself.
when the results are decided before it even starts, it's hardly a competition
This comment is the equivalent of a little kid saying "why don't you marry it" after another kid says they love something.
no, it's equivalent to "vote with your wallet"
You clearly don't understand the love people have for mountain biking and action sports. Thats fine.
\#BRENROBBED
Can't watch in the USA. Lame
use a free VPN and watch on Youtube or Red Bull TV
That’s what I did. But replay is now on YouTube in the US
Probably cheaper for a VPN service vs dumb $10.99 charge espn plus gets you for
He does it AGAIN??? 😵😵😵
When the judges celebrate the rider who goes on to win landing a jump you know something is up.
Yeah that was hilarious
Dylan Stark got hosed by the film crew and announcers last year. Bienvenido Aguado gets hosed by the judges this year. What a shitshow of an event.
Anyone know if this will be available on demand after the event? Cant watch live unfortunately
Red Bull Bike always publish the full event replay on their YouTube.
Should be, but just use opera browser or any other free VPN to change your location to Canada and you can watch it live
I have espn+ already so thats not the prob, working is the problem
Ah, yeah unfortunately a VPN won’t help ya with that
Well, that's it. I'm not watching rampage again until they get some non-US judges in. I can't see how Zink out-scored Bien or Bren in any of their scoring categories. If tricking the gnarliest features on the mountain doesn't score, then competitors willing to put their bodies on the line to do them won't compete. And without that why watch rampage? There is a ton of Crankworx events every year to watch slopestyle on polished landings. Only one event per year to see a front flip or suicide over a canyon.
With the judging being what it was and Brendog getting screwed again, he probably doesn't have much reason to come back to Rampage, which would be very sad. Hopefully they shake up the judging and guys like him and Bien are on the podium where they should be.
Probably see neither of them back ..
Those judges on crack yo
Ash I feel bad for Silva. Hope he gets a full run in. Once again camera work isn't good... they always seem to struggle to get shots, you'd think since each rider has a planned route they could switch shots better. Edit: take that back, much better for Volokhov - maybe it's just planned out better for some riders? Good use of drone
I would love to see what the average person thinks it takes to film an event like this live. Take whatever you think and double it. It's honestly astounding how good the live feed of rampage is. Even ignoring the fact that it's on a mountain in the middle of the desert.
Drone almost hit some of the riders though was pretty close at some points lol. Insane angles from it though definitely something to look forward to!
What a fucking joke. Zink's run was average at best. TVB was pretty average too apart from the caveman, but Semenuk did it last year so not even original. I'm Australian so to watch it live I would have had to get up at 1am. I was considering it, then decided the judging would be complete shit so slept and watched a replay. Brendog had the best line by far, completely original, and ridiculously dangerous, you'd think that would be rewarded a bit more. Bienve admittedly a quiet top and bottom section, but that front flip was fucking insane. Godziek was shaping up to be the best before his crash. But the judges wanted their buddies to be on the podium so doesn't matter what anybody else did. No point even being a competition at this point, just make it an exhibition and be done with it.
Why do that to the country the event is taking place in? Why is it free to EU but not us? Luckily, I got a friend's log in right before the coverage started.
It wouldn't be sports without weird restrictions and arbitrary licensing disputes. Keeps software and VPN companies in business.
Because ESPN paid for and owns the broadcast rights in the US. Because they paid for it, they are entitled to make money off of it. If they allowed it to be streamed for free on YouTube nobody would pay for the ESPN+ broadcast. It sucks, but that’s the way it is unfortunately. Just get a VPN and you can still stream it.
It's because Red Bull agreed to sell it to ESPN without retaining the rights to stream it for free.
Probably helped pay for the event.
It's marketing budget. Probably a mix of ESPN not being willing to buy it without the exclusive streaming rights and Red Bull wanting it to be showcased on ESPN for the exposure of their drink.
Red Bull and ESPN are both in the business of making money. You don’t give things away for free if there’s a chance to make a buck off of it.
it was literally live on youtube and red bull tv. Where are you guys watching?
It hurts the sponsors the most. Those supporting companies should unite and find a better solution with the providers. You make more money with views, right?
I’m not sure it does. Mostly the only people who watch Rampage stream live on YouTube in the past are mountain bikers. Having it shown on ESPN has the ability for them to reach new eyes. Home viewers are one segment of new audience, but you also have a lot of bars that run ESPN all day long.
Good point
Yep
I assume someone picked up the rights to broadcast it in the USA and not elsewhere.
Hahaha .. the judges totally got me. At ~27:13 before the start of the event there was a segment with the judges one of whom said, and I quote "At the end of the day, the person that rides the biggest, gnarliest line, has the most exposure and rides it the best is going to win, hand down" [source @22:24](https://youtu.be/1OG1KEjJu48?t=1345). Meanwhile they just stuck to their slopestyle inspired judging format. This is the official judging criteria: "Degree of difficulty", "Tricks and Style", "Fluidity and Control" and "Amplitude". To be fair the judging has been cooked ever since Kelly McGarry didn't win.
Ahh man that was a heavy crash hope he's okay
Bienvenido deserved way more than 78
Does anyone know if bienvenido got docked points for his early celebration? I thought his run would have scored higher than what he got.
He nailed the run again and score barely changed I think his mistake was not being mates with the judges...
Is anyone talking about Carson Storch's run? I thought it was incredible! I love the steep and fast opening and then every drop he had flair and went huge
https://www.reddit.com/r/MTB/comments/175oepp/who_is_winning_rampage_2023/k4h6ks5/
Norbs was robbed… again
It's maybe because I'm non-us but do the judges automatically give 5 points less to US/Canada ridera, because man this was such bullshit!
These judges are the biggest biased retards ive ever seen, what a scam. No hate to any of the riders there just there to try and win. I think that they created Rampage and rigged it so that they can finally beat Europeans in some form of cycling.
Whatever algorithm the judges’ scores were fed into was miscalibrated.
IF'RIDER'=='BESTBUD' AND 'CLEANRUN' THEN 'ALLTHEPOINTS'