2014 Red Bull Rampage – Testing Lines

How long does it take to build a solid Red Bull Rampage line? That is the question. While pre-qualified Rampage riders enjoy the luxury of two extra days of digging before having to compete, the cast of hopefuls who ride in Friday’s qualifying round are feeling the pressure. Most have begun testing their lines, with mixed results…

You visualize something; you have this image of how it’s going to work in your head,” says Mike Hopkins in the video above. “More often than not you’re like, ‘well, that didn’t work.

As riders find out what works and – more importantly – what doesn’t, they build the confidence it takes to attack their line in competition.

“Everything’s working pretty good, but I’m just coming in so fast,” says Brendan Howey, referring to a big double-drop-to-gap he incorporated into his line. “I’m going to have to brake quite a bit into that next jump. It’s not necessarily too difficult; it’s just scary.”

Wil White was one of the first riders to start riding his line, and found out the hard way that one of his drops was larger than expected. “It’s really scary,” he says, “because I don’t get to ride stuff this big unless [I’m at Rampage]. It’s always a wake-up call.”

“It’s pretty exciting to see that it’s going to work,” says Mitch Ropelato about his speed-focused line. “It’s a little rough around the edges… But we got one more day left. Might crack a couple nuts doing it, but you gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette.”

Watch Ropelato and friends crack their eggs during finals on Sunday, September 28, starting at 1pm MT (8pm BST, 9pm CEST) on the official Red Bull Rampage site.

In the meantime stay tuned to Dirt for all the latest 2014 Red Bull Rampage news, and if you’ve missed out on the coverage so far then you can catch up below…

2014 Red Bull Rampage – New course unveiled
2014 Red Bull Rampage – First Impressions
2014 Red Bull Rampage – Line Selection
2014 Red Bull Rampage – Rampage Rookies
2014 Red Bull Rampage – First Tracks
2014 Red Bull Rampage – Makken Haugen drop
2014 Red Bull Rampage – Whip Session
Red Bull Rampage – Vital Slideshow
Red Bull Rampage 2014 – Kelly McGarry’s Crash