Teamwork makes the dream work at Red Bull Rampage

Ryan Howard and Kyle Jameson work together to test elements of the line they built in Utah.

As an event with serious legacy, Red Bull Rampage truly is the pinnacle of the freeride mountain biking world. All the glitz and glamour, however, is built on a strong foundation of dirt, sweat and teamwork. For the week leading up to the event the mundane tasks of digging, packing and watering lines fills the riders’ days. Some, like Ryan “R-Dogg” Howard and Kyle Jameson, have been working together to create shared lines.

With the grueling demands of digging stacked on top of the mental and physical requirements of the riding itself, it pays to work side by side to cope with the long desert days.

"There are definitely some early mornings out here at Rampage," says Howard in the video above. “You gotta beat the heat. It’s like 5:30 wake up, out here by 6:30. You gotta get what you can done by the time the sun comes up.”

While the heat of the day sends the riders home for siesta naps and poolside lounging, the cooler air of evening pulls them back to the mountain for group riding sessions. That’s when they can start to test sections of their lines.

“We’re going piece by piece,” says Howard. “We’re not trying to send the whole thing top to bottom.”

Credit: Red Bull