FOTO STORY

SR SUNTOUR’s Robin Goomes claims victory again in the second women’s Rampage while veteran teammate Thomas Genon claims second place in the men’s event.

"You got my heart you got my soul You got the silver you got the gold" – the Rolling Stones

There are many mountain biking events that exceed what viewers think is possible on a bike, but there’s only one event that blows peoples minds year after year: the Redbull Rampage. Where else can the athletes climb to the top of a mountain and build their own personal dream track descent? The exposure, the massive scale, the skills required to thrive…it’s on such a completely different level as to beggar the imagination. The format is simple: riders compete in a best of two judged runs format in this raw landscape, scoring for speed, fluidity, tricks, and overall impression.

This was only the second ever women’s Rampage and it was a huge step up from last year’s inaugural event! The women rode lines every bit as technical, as exposed, and as inspiring as the men’s. And when the dust settled, once again SR SUNTOUR’s Robin Goomes was on top, throwing down a fluid, fast run with two big, exposed back flips and a couple suicide no handlers to come out on top by 0.17 poin

"Today is the sickest day of my life," gushed an ecstatic Goomes following her win. "It’s not just my win, but my dig team’s too. I couldn’t have done this without them."

Goomes definitely showed her versatility; a literal ‘night before competition’ line change made for a frantic dig session by headlamp in order to sculpt the new start and seamlessly integrate it with the rest of her run. With minimal practice, the young Kiwi made this new line look easy, flowing down the hill with a combination of riding prowess and trick execution that belied exactly how technical and gnarly her line really was. The combination of RUX fork and TRIAIR2 2CR shock was just the ticket, allowing Goomes the ability to “feel” her line while simultaneously giving her a suspension platform capable of handling the massive forces generated by dropping 6-9 meter cliffs. Job well done, Robin!

SR SUNTOUR had four men secure Rampage slots for the 2025 event: the veteran riders Carson Storch and Tommy Genon, and last year’s rookies, Tom Isted and Luke Whitlock.

Run one for all SR SUNTOUR athletes was simply testing the limits. The wind forecast meant that unlike last year’s weather affected event, a second run would be possible for all competitors. With this in mind, Storch absolutely greased his run, scoring a 85.25, while the remaining riders had an error or two that saw them scoring lower.

Round one done and it was back to the top. First went Whitlock with a respectable run. But nowhere close to a podium. He was followed by Isted, who just managed to squeak by Storch with a 85.33. Storch opted not to do a second round, reasoning that he couldn’t do it better, and if the judges weren’t rewarding his run, why take the risk? This left Genon. Starting from the top with a terrifyingly exposed 360, the Belgian rider put on a clinic of calculated, mind blowing tricks and heavy cliff drops as he charged down his line, scoring a 94.35 and vaulting into second place aboard a RUX/TRIAIR 3CR equipped Canyon Torque—a mere 1.65 points behind the eventual winner. No other rider could surpass Genon, landing the Belgian on the podium for the first time!

Congratulations to all the SR SUNTOUR riders who competed! Special thanks to CJ Selig and Gemma Corbera who were both injured in training and unable to compete in the Women’s event.

Until next year...

Interview with Thomas Genon

Why/how did you choose this line?
This year we came back on a previous site , already used in 2021. I liked my line back than but felt like the middle section needed improvement. We were able to find a better middle section and kept the start and finish similar.

What is your signature feature on your line?
This back to back 270 spin into a flat drop spin in the upper/ middle section.

what does it take to put together a podium run?
It took a good line vision but also try to step out of my comfort zone. It feels so rewarding for me but also for the team to have a trophee to hold at the end of the week!

What do you like about your suspension?
At rampage you need to run your suspension very stiff. But we were able to still keep the start of the suspension travel sensitive while having enough support on the big impacts.

How difficult is it to set up your suspension for Rampage?
You want support on big impacts but also keep your suspension sensitive . These are two things hard to have all at once. It takes some time to make it work. Especially because my bike only has 180mm of travel.

What is your favorite part of Rampage?
The freedom and creativity that we have in a competitive environnement. This is uncommon!