Monster is usually pretty good at sticking by their athletes and supporting them so my fingers are crossed that they stand by him and the same for all his other sponsors. Man, this is sad but sadly I knew when I saw the crash live that this was going to be a very serious injury.
Wishing Adolf all the best. Absolute beast on a bike and I hope we can see him ride again.
Was a good read. Had to tap out after reading McGazza's quote about how he made sure to have coverage so that his family would not be affected by his medical bills 😔 that stings a bit.
He could make more selling his bikes. Can’t even buy a yeti for that amount. I don’t know how much they should donate, but some kind of health insurance premium coverage feels appropriate.
It's crazy to see the Oakley Icon and McGazza gap features almost looking like average sized hits through the lens of modern Rampage.
I really hope Adolf can regain full sensation and mobility. It's odd to say but I'm relieved that he only has lower extremity paralysis. Seeing him plant his head so heavily TWICE like that really had me worried of a neck injury and quadriplegia. I know a couple people that have had lower back spinal injuries with paralysis and have adapted to an active, relatively healthy "new normal", which gives some hope. There is no doubt he is the man to rise to the massive challenges ahead.
I don't know about the rest of the guys, but, because I was away from the sport for quite a while, I don't know how often these topics are discussed and put in such well written and detailed article. I had never read such a thing and it's been over 10 years.
It's too important of a topic and maybe should be something the media could cover more often: available insurances, different coverages, etc.
Yes, I am very rational about this. But I think that this form of MTB sport is no longer any good. But don't accuse me of one...
Yes, I am very rational about this. But I think that this form of MTB sport is no longer any good.
But don't accuse me of one thing, namely that I don't understand what drives these daredevils. I understand that very well, but I am convinced that it harms the sport and the people involved and that there is nothing to be gained from it. Not even recognition, and money has never been a factor anyway.
Like I mentioned, it is an extreme end of the sport and brings about very different opinions on it. We may not agree on the value...
Like I mentioned, it is an extreme end of the sport and brings about very different opinions on it. We may not agree on the value of it or the values of the riders. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, gives me a different perspective to consider. You point out some rational concepts and consequences.
We all share a passion for these two triangles connecting two circles that we control with a stick. And we all take them very seriously. I do question the long term validity of the event. For the first time, I turned it off mid stream. I used to watch every second of it. So we have some common ground.
All the best
I don’t often comment here but I feel compelled here. Simcik is a former competitor at Rampage and is more qualified to speak to the risks and motivations of an athlete than anyone else in this thread. If anyone else has literally competed at Rampage or any other top level, then speak up now. Otherwise, I’m not sure anyone else can directly comment on what these athletes are motivated by. Red Bull is not responsible for their well being. They are providing a stage but the athletes are responsible for their own insurance: Top level competition: top level risks. Different level but did the NBA ever ask for a donation pool for an injured athlete?
The sad thing is... we all knew "THIS" was eventually going to happen, or even worse, a rider dying. It was just a matter of when, NOT if. Plenty of professional extreme sports athletes have paid the price with injuries and/or death. We all know the consequences of our sport. Some of us may treat those "consequences" as the pink elephant in the room, ignoring them and some of us use it to slow down. We all remember the day we fell in love with this sport. We do it for that "feeling". As for Mr. Silva, let's pray that he gets some normalcy back into his life after recovery / therapy / etc. As spectators, we should demand less extremeness, more artistic lines, and more rider safety... or we should just stop watching.
Donated and you all should too. It’s the least we can do having watched the event free for many years. Regardless how insurance policies and sponsors pay out (they F-ing need to) the costs will be astronomical. For those who haven’t been to the website fundraising goal is 500k. Monster’s 2024 net income was 1.509 billion, a sufficient donation on their side is a rounding error.
Godspeed to Adolf, Emil, Casey, and Aiden. Same as after Paul Bas’ injury, I hope the event will be shut down indefinitely
The sad thing is... we all knew "THIS" was eventually going to happen, or even worse, a rider dying. It was just a matter of when...
The sad thing is... we all knew "THIS" was eventually going to happen, or even worse, a rider dying. It was just a matter of when, NOT if. Plenty of professional extreme sports athletes have paid the price with injuries and/or death. We all know the consequences of our sport. Some of us may treat those "consequences" as the pink elephant in the room, ignoring them and some of us use it to slow down. We all remember the day we fell in love with this sport. We do it for that "feeling". As for Mr. Silva, let's pray that he gets some normalcy back into his life after recovery / therapy / etc. As spectators, we should demand less extremeness, more artistic lines, and more rider safety... or we should just stop watching.
Personally I’d rather see a more creative line then just big features linked together awkwardly
I don’t often comment here but I feel compelled here. Simcik is a former competitor at Rampage and is more qualified to speak to the risks...
I don’t often comment here but I feel compelled here. Simcik is a former competitor at Rampage and is more qualified to speak to the risks and motivations of an athlete than anyone else in this thread. If anyone else has literally competed at Rampage or any other top level, then speak up now. Otherwise, I’m not sure anyone else can directly comment on what these athletes are motivated by. Red Bull is not responsible for their well being. They are providing a stage but the athletes are responsible for their own insurance: Top level competition: top level risks. Different level but did the NBA ever ask for a donation pool for an injured athlete?
They don’t need a donation pool because the players already demanded one be created…
NBA players receive between 49% and 51% of the league's "basketball-related income" (BRI). This percentage is guaranteed by the collective bargaining agreement and covers revenues from sources like TV deals, ticket sales, and merchandise.
They also get comprehensive medical insurance funded by the league and players association for themselves and their families, both while they’re active in the league and after they retire.
None of this was given freely to the athletes. These were demanded and fought for by the athletes through the players association and the collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
As our sport continues to grow and mature, MTB athletes would be wise to study how athletes in other sports ensured they were properly compensated for the value they were delivering to the event owners, broadcasters, etc.
It would be ludicrous to argue that the NBA should provide a “stage” for the players and everything else such as insurance is the players responsibility. The same should be true for Rampage, World Series DH, etc.
I don’t often comment here but I feel compelled here. Simcik is a former competitor at Rampage and is more qualified to speak to the risks...
I don’t often comment here but I feel compelled here. Simcik is a former competitor at Rampage and is more qualified to speak to the risks and motivations of an athlete than anyone else in this thread. If anyone else has literally competed at Rampage or any other top level, then speak up now. Otherwise, I’m not sure anyone else can directly comment on what these athletes are motivated by. Red Bull is not responsible for their well being. They are providing a stage but the athletes are responsible for their own insurance: Top level competition: top level risks. Different level but did the NBA ever ask for a donation pool for an injured athlete?
They don’t need a donation pool because the players already demanded one be created…NBA players receive between 49% and 51% of the league's "basketball-related income" (BRI)...
They don’t need a donation pool because the players already demanded one be created…
NBA players receive between 49% and 51% of the league's "basketball-related income" (BRI). This percentage is guaranteed by the collective bargaining agreement and covers revenues from sources like TV deals, ticket sales, and merchandise.
They also get comprehensive medical insurance funded by the league and players association for themselves and their families, both while they’re active in the league and after they retire.
None of this was given freely to the athletes. These were demanded and fought for by the athletes through the players association and the collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
As our sport continues to grow and mature, MTB athletes would be wise to study how athletes in other sports ensured they were properly compensated for the value they were delivering to the event owners, broadcasters, etc.
It would be ludicrous to argue that the NBA should provide a “stage” for the players and everything else such as insurance is the players responsibility. The same should be true for Rampage, World Series DH, etc.
I think the tone on my comment must have been wrong. I agree with everything you said. This should be set up for riders. I feel it is unreasonable that these riders do not have that level of support given the risks they take. I am not privy to rider contracts but it seems like health insurance should be part of it. What happened to Silva is awful. I was only trying to convey that I wish athletes had a sufficient insurance to cover the inherent risks of the job.
My apologies if my comment sounded negative. Also, Simcik does magic on a bike and is uniquely qualified to comment on this event having taken part in it. Maybe Red Bull does offer some kind of event insurance? I don’t know.
I don’t often comment here but I feel compelled here. Simcik is a former competitor at Rampage and is more qualified to speak to the risks...
I don’t often comment here but I feel compelled here. Simcik is a former competitor at Rampage and is more qualified to speak to the risks and motivations of an athlete than anyone else in this thread. If anyone else has literally competed at Rampage or any other top level, then speak up now. Otherwise, I’m not sure anyone else can directly comment on what these athletes are motivated by. Red Bull is not responsible for their well being. They are providing a stage but the athletes are responsible for their own insurance: Top level competition: top level risks. Different level but did the NBA ever ask for a donation pool for an injured athlete?
They don’t need a donation pool because the players already demanded one be created…NBA players receive between 49% and 51% of the league's "basketball-related income" (BRI)...
They don’t need a donation pool because the players already demanded one be created…
NBA players receive between 49% and 51% of the league's "basketball-related income" (BRI). This percentage is guaranteed by the collective bargaining agreement and covers revenues from sources like TV deals, ticket sales, and merchandise.
They also get comprehensive medical insurance funded by the league and players association for themselves and their families, both while they’re active in the league and after they retire.
None of this was given freely to the athletes. These were demanded and fought for by the athletes through the players association and the collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
As our sport continues to grow and mature, MTB athletes would be wise to study how athletes in other sports ensured they were properly compensated for the value they were delivering to the event owners, broadcasters, etc.
It would be ludicrous to argue that the NBA should provide a “stage” for the players and everything else such as insurance is the players responsibility. The same should be true for Rampage, World Series DH, etc.
Highly paid athletes can also buy insurance against their future earnings. In the event of a career ending injury they can receive a large portion of expected wages if their career had not been cut short. That’s not an insurance product available for low paid athletes. I’m sure the premiums are enormous, but that’s not a huge deal when you make $10m a year.
Donated and you all should too. It’s the least we can do having watched the event free for many years. Regardless how insurance policies and sponsors...
Donated and you all should too. It’s the least we can do having watched the event free for many years. Regardless how insurance policies and sponsors pay out (they F-ing need to) the costs will be astronomical. For those who haven’t been to the website fundraising goal is 500k. Monster’s 2024 net income was 1.509 billion, a sufficient donation on their side is a rounding error.
Godspeed to Adolf, Emil, Casey, and Aiden. Same as after Paul Bas’ injury, I hope the event will be shut down indefinitely
Let's ban MTB as a sport in general, why only go half way? 🙄
Few thoughts, since I keep coming back to this thread, typing something, then deleting it. This is as much self-therapy as anything else.
To start, It goes without saying, but this wasn’t the update I was hoping for. I’m praying for a miracle for Adolf. It’s gut-wrenching reading the update after watching everything unfold live.
We’ll never remove risk from mountain biking, or from cycling in general. People die on two wheels every day, across every discipline. It’s awful. The world can be cruel in that way. What makes this one especially hard is how preventable it feels. It pokes at the idea of “free will”, choosing to take on a risk you could avoid. That’s different from, say, a drunk driver hitting a road rider. But that freedom, paradoxically, is also what makes it all meaningful. The sport only exists within the bounds of physics and human capability. Remove that edge and you strip away its essence.
There is some precedent for what happens next. Most dangerous sports go through a “wild west” period followed by a reckoning on safety. Rally car racing in the 1980s did, it ended the Group B era after several fatal crashes. Formula 1 in the ’50s through ’70s lost a dozen or more drivers per decade, but it’s now orders of magnitude safer.
The difference is, in motorsport you can engineer your way to safety. In mountain biking, short of an autonomously triggered airbag that deploys mid-crash (which actually isn’t completely far-fetched), there’s not much we can do when things go wrong.
So I don’t have great answers. Ideas like a hardtail-only format (lol), banning tricks (double lol), or limiting it to one run to reduce exposure (maybe the best of the bad options) all feel unrealistic.
What I keep thinking about is how distorted risk perception is when you’re young. The checks you write in your risk-taking years are cashed by an older version of yourself. Veterans like Cam seem to take less net risk, not because they’re timid, but because they know exactly where the line is and have a process for approaching it. That wisdom is earned the hard way and crossing that chasm doesn't always go smoothly.
Unfortunately, reflections like this won’t change much. The event will likely go on next year, and a year from now we’ll probably be having some variation of the same conversation...again.
Few thoughts, since I keep coming back to this thread, typing something, then deleting it. This is as much self-therapy as anything else.To start, It goes...
Few thoughts, since I keep coming back to this thread, typing something, then deleting it. This is as much self-therapy as anything else.
To start, It goes without saying, but this wasn’t the update I was hoping for. I’m praying for a miracle for Adolf. It’s gut-wrenching reading the update after watching everything unfold live.
We’ll never remove risk from mountain biking, or from cycling in general. People die on two wheels every day, across every discipline. It’s awful. The world can be cruel in that way. What makes this one especially hard is how preventable it feels. It pokes at the idea of “free will”, choosing to take on a risk you could avoid. That’s different from, say, a drunk driver hitting a road rider. But that freedom, paradoxically, is also what makes it all meaningful. The sport only exists within the bounds of physics and human capability. Remove that edge and you strip away its essence.
There is some precedent for what happens next. Most dangerous sports go through a “wild west” period followed by a reckoning on safety. Rally car racing in the 1980s did, it ended the Group B era after several fatal crashes. Formula 1 in the ’50s through ’70s lost a dozen or more drivers per decade, but it’s now orders of magnitude safer.
The difference is, in motorsport you can engineer your way to safety. In mountain biking, short of an autonomously triggered airbag that deploys mid-crash (which actually isn’t completely far-fetched), there’s not much we can do when things go wrong.
So I don’t have great answers. Ideas like a hardtail-only format (lol), banning tricks (double lol), or limiting it to one run to reduce exposure (maybe the best of the bad options) all feel unrealistic.
What I keep thinking about is how distorted risk perception is when you’re young. The checks you write in your risk-taking years are cashed by an older version of yourself. Veterans like Cam seem to take less net risk, not because they’re timid, but because they know exactly where the line is and have a process for approaching it. That wisdom is earned the hard way and crossing that chasm doesn't always go smoothly.
Unfortunately, reflections like this won’t change much. The event will likely go on next year, and a year from now we’ll probably be having some variation of the same conversation...again.
There are banned moves in Ice skating because they're far too technical to consistently get right safely. Maybe double backflips need to be treated as such at rampage?
Few thoughts, since I keep coming back to this thread, typing something, then deleting it. This is as much self-therapy as anything else.To start, It goes...
Few thoughts, since I keep coming back to this thread, typing something, then deleting it. This is as much self-therapy as anything else.
To start, It goes without saying, but this wasn’t the update I was hoping for. I’m praying for a miracle for Adolf. It’s gut-wrenching reading the update after watching everything unfold live.
We’ll never remove risk from mountain biking, or from cycling in general. People die on two wheels every day, across every discipline. It’s awful. The world can be cruel in that way. What makes this one especially hard is how preventable it feels. It pokes at the idea of “free will”, choosing to take on a risk you could avoid. That’s different from, say, a drunk driver hitting a road rider. But that freedom, paradoxically, is also what makes it all meaningful. The sport only exists within the bounds of physics and human capability. Remove that edge and you strip away its essence.
There is some precedent for what happens next. Most dangerous sports go through a “wild west” period followed by a reckoning on safety. Rally car racing in the 1980s did, it ended the Group B era after several fatal crashes. Formula 1 in the ’50s through ’70s lost a dozen or more drivers per decade, but it’s now orders of magnitude safer.
The difference is, in motorsport you can engineer your way to safety. In mountain biking, short of an autonomously triggered airbag that deploys mid-crash (which actually isn’t completely far-fetched), there’s not much we can do when things go wrong.
So I don’t have great answers. Ideas like a hardtail-only format (lol), banning tricks (double lol), or limiting it to one run to reduce exposure (maybe the best of the bad options) all feel unrealistic.
What I keep thinking about is how distorted risk perception is when you’re young. The checks you write in your risk-taking years are cashed by an older version of yourself. Veterans like Cam seem to take less net risk, not because they’re timid, but because they know exactly where the line is and have a process for approaching it. That wisdom is earned the hard way and crossing that chasm doesn't always go smoothly.
Unfortunately, reflections like this won’t change much. The event will likely go on next year, and a year from now we’ll probably be having some variation of the same conversation...again.
Jeff, I have been doing the same thing. Here is finally what I decided to go with:
The great thing about this forum is great ideas and opinions are abound. It is clear everyone here wants the best for the sport and for the athletes. There is a line that we all fear being crossed and more are seeing it as a real possibility as the event is reaching some scary levels. It has always been a gnarly event but it is starting to hit differently.
We seem to all agree on a few things. Riders enjoy taking risks, every single one of us does it each time we ride a bike. We want athletes to be successful and make money. We are starting to question if Rampage continues to be a positive reflection of the sport. Has it gone too far where the risks being taken are excessive? Can we help protect athletes better so there are less injuries?
The mentioned airbag exists in motorsports and is continuing to gain popularity. There are several out there and I have seen some MX guys run em. Here is an example: Tech-Air® Off-Road System - ADVENTURE Tech-Air Airbags
Rampage stands apart from most other extreme big mountain events. It is a mostly built by the rider event, not necessarily to any specific safety standards. Builds can be rushed to be complete and work. They aren't always able to take into account the ability to look to the left and right and say "if I mess this up, I will go that way and could hit that rock". Exposure for sure is part of it that also exists in big mountain skiing for example. Skiing for sure has rocks but it also has snow. Which while not actually that soft, does have different crashing characteristics than MTB.
Going along with your freewill note, the competition is there, and athletes have a chance to make a career for themselves with a single run. There are not many chances like that in the world that have a single defining moment. For a professional to pursue that and know that they are capable of completing what it takes, who are any of us to take that away?
Your point of the wisdom of experience... Clear, I did not make finals, my line did not work out how I had planned and had to take out my key move from my run. But I got into (as an alternate) and did two runs at Rampage, at 27, kinda old for a 'rookie'. The biggest piece of advice I got before my first run, relax and think. Chris Van Dine (multi-time Rampage veteran and absolute shredder) reminded me that the emotions of that event have you pumped up, but miss a braking point or forget for one second and the consequences can change your life, forever. That stuck with me. Sometimes you get wisdom from a friend, often we get it the hard way
I can't see the event going away anytime soon. It has huge viewership, tons of money being made by TV, Red Bull... Just hoping it continues to improve on rider safety and riders come out of it for the better.
I do need to add, Todd Barber (the man behind Rampage and wrote the above IG post) is a man of high integrity. He truly loves Rampage, but also every single athlete. He cares about them above all. He has spent the last 24 years making the event. He paused it after 2004 when it wasn't clear if the event should continue. He brought it back and the results no one could have predicted. He is not in this for the money, and I genuinely believe has the riders' best interest at heart.
Jeff, I have been doing the same thing. Here is finally what I decided to go with: The great thing about this forum is great ideas and...
Jeff, I have been doing the same thing. Here is finally what I decided to go with:
The great thing about this forum is great ideas and opinions are abound. It is clear everyone here wants the best for the sport and for the athletes. There is a line that we all fear being crossed and more are seeing it as a real possibility as the event is reaching some scary levels. It has always been a gnarly event but it is starting to hit differently.
We seem to all agree on a few things. Riders enjoy taking risks, every single one of us does it each time we ride a bike. We want athletes to be successful and make money. We are starting to question if Rampage continues to be a positive reflection of the sport. Has it gone too far where the risks being taken are excessive? Can we help protect athletes better so there are less injuries?
The mentioned airbag exists in motorsports and is continuing to gain popularity. There are several out there and I have seen some MX guys run em. Here is an example: Tech-Air® Off-Road System - ADVENTURE Tech-Air Airbags
Rampage stands apart from most other extreme big mountain events. It is a mostly built by the rider event, not necessarily to any specific safety standards. Builds can be rushed to be complete and work. They aren't always able to take into account the ability to look to the left and right and say "if I mess this up, I will go that way and could hit that rock". Exposure for sure is part of it that also exists in big mountain skiing for example. Skiing for sure has rocks but it also has snow. Which while not actually that soft, does have different crashing characteristics than MTB.
Going along with your freewill note, the competition is there, and athletes have a chance to make a career for themselves with a single run. There are not many chances like that in the world that have a single defining moment. For a professional to pursue that and know that they are capable of completing what it takes, who are any of us to take that away?
Your point of the wisdom of experience... Clear, I did not make finals, my line did not work out how I had planned and had to take out my key move from my run. But I got into (as an alternate) and did two runs at Rampage, at 27, kinda old for a 'rookie'. The biggest piece of advice I got before my first run, relax and think. Chris Van Dine (multi-time Rampage veteran and absolute shredder) reminded me that the emotions of that event have you pumped up, but miss a braking point or forget for one second and the consequences can change your life, forever. That stuck with me. Sometimes you get wisdom from a friend, often we get it the hard way
I can't see the event going away anytime soon. It has huge viewership, tons of money being made by TV, Red Bull... Just hoping it continues to improve on rider safety and riders come out of it for the better.
I do need to add, Todd Barber (the man behind Rampage and wrote the above IG post) is a man of high integrity. He truly loves Rampage, but also every single athlete. He cares about them above all. He has spent the last 24 years making the event. He paused it after 2004 when it wasn't clear if the event should continue. He brought it back and the results no one could have predicted. He is not in this for the money, and I genuinely believe has the riders' best interest at heart.
I often think about how does Todd manage the emotions that come with this. I don't think many people realize this is his baby and as he said himself "I'm the first one there when someone goes down".
Just listened to the Ride Companion podcast with guest Tom Isted. Was a good round up from the perspective of a 'rookie' in terms of the whole week build up, managing lines etc.
He did mention that he spoke to the judges about how to improve his score for the next time. The answer: bigger drop. Why? Because the consequences are higher. I found this interesting and frustrating at the same time. He talked about how other riders were super impressed about him tricking off a flat drop, instead of 'the big drop'. So despite something being technically more difficult and impressive to his peers, it's not rewarded because the consequences aren't as high as hitting a big drop.
For me that highlights just how far gone the judging criteria (let's be honest it's the collective opinion of the judges, not criteria) has become.
Emil Johansson just shared a heavy update regarding his recovery from his terrifying Rampage crash 4 months ago. A dislocated hip has turned into a far bigger ordeal, as a torn iliopsoas muscle has complicated things significantly. An attempt was made to reattach the torn muscle (which is the primary hip flexor), but it was ultimately unsuccessful. To make matters worse, there is nerve damage which has led to loss of function in the quads. 10 weeks post surgery, Emil says he is now at a point where he can "walk around without crutches on flat ground relatively OK", but that it has "stopped being about trying to repair what's broken...and become about protecting my ability to live and move long term & play the cards I'm dealt."
Another sobering reminder of the risks involved with an event like Rampage. We wish Emil nothing but the best as he continues his recovery. If anybody can bounce back from dire circumstances, it's this resilient Swede, as he has already proven when he came back from a debilitating autoimmune disease in 2018 to go on to rule the slopestyle world and become the winningest rider in the history of that discipline.
Emil Johansson just shared a heavy update regarding his recovery from his terrifying Rampage crash 4 months ago. A dislocated hip has turned into a far...
Emil Johansson just shared a heavy update regarding his recovery from his terrifying Rampage crash 4 months ago. A dislocated hip has turned into a far bigger ordeal, as a torn iliopsoas muscle has complicated things significantly. An attempt was made to reattach the torn muscle (which is the primary hip flexor), but it was ultimately unsuccessful. To make matters worse, there is nerve damage which has led to loss of function in the quads. 10 weeks post surgery, Emil says he is now at a point where he can "walk around without crutches on flat ground relatively OK", but that it has "stopped being about trying to repair what's broken...and become about protecting my ability to live and move long term & play the cards I'm dealt."
Another sobering reminder of the risks involved with an event like Rampage. We wish Emil nothing but the best as he continues his recovery. If anybody can bounce back from dire circumstances, it's this resilient Swede, as he has already proven when he came back from a debilitating autoimmune disease in 2018 to go on to rule the slopestyle world and become the winningest rider in the history of that discipline.
Broke my hip 2nd Nov 2025 - Back on the bike now but definitely not at full tilt. The recovery from a full hip replacement like mine probably quicker, as everything is new. The fine motor skills, balance on uneven surfaces and thiose "oh shit" momeents when you need to drop a foot are my barriers for now. Heal up Emil
Not going to lie, my heart dropped a bit reading that yesterday. Fingers crossed these last steps of reattachment take and he can make as full of a recovery as possible.
It's easy to take for granted that surgeons can magically make things better, until they suddenly can't. It's crazy to think Emil might have gone from the top of the athletic heap to not being able to walk unassisted. Completely sucks. I hope everything in his hip and leg is able to reconnect and heal itself back to a working state. If there's anyone who can put in the time and think about this process systematically, it's Emil the trick machine. Wishing him the best.
It's easy to take for granted that surgeons can magically make things better, until they suddenly can't. It's crazy to think Emil might have gone from...
It's easy to take for granted that surgeons can magically make things better, until they suddenly can't. It's crazy to think Emil might have gone from the top of the athletic heap to not being able to walk unassisted. Completely sucks. I hope everything in his hip and leg is able to reconnect and heal itself back to a working state. If there's anyone who can put in the time and think about this process systematically, it's Emil the trick machine. Wishing him the best.
Even with all these issues he’s blessed to have not rolled 10 feet further.
It’s hard not to like Emil. If he handles this setback with half the class he handled being the top dog he’ll still be an asset to the sport in my eyes. Wish him the best.
Monster is usually pretty good at sticking by their athletes and supporting them so my fingers are crossed that they stand by him and the same for all his other sponsors. Man, this is sad but sadly I knew when I saw the crash live that this was going to be a very serious injury.
Wishing Adolf all the best. Absolute beast on a bike and I hope we can see him ride again.
Was a good read. Had to tap out after reading McGazza's quote about how he made sure to have coverage so that his family would not be affected by his medical bills 😔 that stings a bit.
He could make more selling his bikes. Can’t even buy a yeti for that amount. I don’t know how much they should donate, but some kind of health insurance premium coverage feels appropriate.
It's crazy to see the Oakley Icon and McGazza gap features almost looking like average sized hits through the lens of modern Rampage.
I really hope Adolf can regain full sensation and mobility. It's odd to say but I'm relieved that he only has lower extremity paralysis. Seeing him plant his head so heavily TWICE like that really had me worried of a neck injury and quadriplegia. I know a couple people that have had lower back spinal injuries with paralysis and have adapted to an active, relatively healthy "new normal", which gives some hope. There is no doubt he is the man to rise to the massive challenges ahead.
I don't know about the rest of the guys, but, because I was away from the sport for quite a while, I don't know how often these topics are discussed and put in such well written and detailed article. I had never read such a thing and it's been over 10 years.
It's too important of a topic and maybe should be something the media could cover more often: available insurances, different coverages, etc.
I don’t often comment here but I feel compelled here. Simcik is a former competitor at Rampage and is more qualified to speak to the risks and motivations of an athlete than anyone else in this thread. If anyone else has literally competed at Rampage or any other top level, then speak up now. Otherwise, I’m not sure anyone else can directly comment on what these athletes are motivated by. Red Bull is not responsible for their well being. They are providing a stage but the athletes are responsible for their own insurance: Top level competition: top level risks. Different level but did the NBA ever ask for a donation pool for an injured athlete?
The sad thing is... we all knew "THIS" was eventually going to happen, or even worse, a rider dying. It was just a matter of when, NOT if. Plenty of professional extreme sports athletes have paid the price with injuries and/or death. We all know the consequences of our sport. Some of us may treat those "consequences" as the pink elephant in the room, ignoring them and some of us use it to slow down. We all remember the day we fell in love with this sport. We do it for that "feeling". As for Mr. Silva, let's pray that he gets some normalcy back into his life after recovery / therapy / etc. As spectators, we should demand less extremeness, more artistic lines, and more rider safety... or we should just stop watching.
Donated and you all should too. It’s the least we can do having watched the event free for many years. Regardless how insurance policies and sponsors pay out (they F-ing need to) the costs will be astronomical. For those who haven’t been to the website fundraising goal is 500k. Monster’s 2024 net income was 1.509 billion, a sufficient donation on their side is a rounding error.
Godspeed to Adolf, Emil, Casey, and Aiden. Same as after Paul Bas’ injury, I hope the event will be shut down indefinitely
Personally I’d rather see a more creative line then just big features linked together awkwardly
They don’t need a donation pool because the players already demanded one be created…
NBA players receive between 49% and 51% of the league's "basketball-related income" (BRI). This percentage is guaranteed by the collective bargaining agreement and covers revenues from sources like TV deals, ticket sales, and merchandise.
They also get comprehensive medical insurance funded by the league and players association for themselves and their families, both while they’re active in the league and after they retire.
None of this was given freely to the athletes. These were demanded and fought for by the athletes through the players association and the collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
As our sport continues to grow and mature, MTB athletes would be wise to study how athletes in other sports ensured they were properly compensated for the value they were delivering to the event owners, broadcasters, etc.
It would be ludicrous to argue that the NBA should provide a “stage” for the players and everything else such as insurance is the players responsibility. The same should be true for Rampage, World Series DH, etc.
I think the tone on my comment must have been wrong. I agree with everything you said. This should be set up for riders. I feel it is unreasonable that these riders do not have that level of support given the risks they take. I am not privy to rider contracts but it seems like health insurance should be part of it. What happened to Silva is awful. I was only trying to convey that I wish athletes had a sufficient insurance to cover the inherent risks of the job.
My apologies if my comment sounded negative. Also, Simcik does magic on a bike and is uniquely qualified to comment on this event having taken part in it. Maybe Red Bull does offer some kind of event insurance? I don’t know.
Highly paid athletes can also buy insurance against their future earnings. In the event of a career ending injury they can receive a large portion of expected wages if their career had not been cut short. That’s not an insurance product available for low paid athletes. I’m sure the premiums are enormous, but that’s not a huge deal when you make $10m a year.
Let's ban MTB as a sport in general, why only go half way? 🙄
Few thoughts, since I keep coming back to this thread, typing something, then deleting it. This is as much self-therapy as anything else.
To start, It goes without saying, but this wasn’t the update I was hoping for. I’m praying for a miracle for Adolf. It’s gut-wrenching reading the update after watching everything unfold live.
We’ll never remove risk from mountain biking, or from cycling in general. People die on two wheels every day, across every discipline. It’s awful. The world can be cruel in that way. What makes this one especially hard is how preventable it feels. It pokes at the idea of “free will”, choosing to take on a risk you could avoid. That’s different from, say, a drunk driver hitting a road rider. But that freedom, paradoxically, is also what makes it all meaningful. The sport only exists within the bounds of physics and human capability. Remove that edge and you strip away its essence.
There is some precedent for what happens next. Most dangerous sports go through a “wild west” period followed by a reckoning on safety. Rally car racing in the 1980s did, it ended the Group B era after several fatal crashes. Formula 1 in the ’50s through ’70s lost a dozen or more drivers per decade, but it’s now orders of magnitude safer.
The difference is, in motorsport you can engineer your way to safety. In mountain biking, short of an autonomously triggered airbag that deploys mid-crash (which actually isn’t completely far-fetched), there’s not much we can do when things go wrong.
So I don’t have great answers. Ideas like a hardtail-only format (lol), banning tricks (double lol), or limiting it to one run to reduce exposure (maybe the best of the bad options) all feel unrealistic.
What I keep thinking about is how distorted risk perception is when you’re young. The checks you write in your risk-taking years are cashed by an older version of yourself. Veterans like Cam seem to take less net risk, not because they’re timid, but because they know exactly where the line is and have a process for approaching it. That wisdom is earned the hard way and crossing that chasm doesn't always go smoothly.
Unfortunately, reflections like this won’t change much. The event will likely go on next year, and a year from now we’ll probably be having some variation of the same conversation...again.
Hopefully with safety nets
Ryan Cleek is auction off a 24x36" framed print of Adolf Silva from 2024 Rampage with 100% of the proceeds going to his recovery fund. Super rad! Here is the link to auction, which closes on Nov. 3rd - https://ryancleekproductions.betterworld.org/auctions/adolf-silva-recovery-fund-rampag/items/adolf-silva-framed-print-red-bul
(This auction is open to U.S. residents only. Bidders must provide a valid U.S. shipping address to participate.)
There are banned moves in Ice skating because they're far too technical to consistently get right safely. Maybe double backflips need to be treated as such at rampage?
Jeff, I have been doing the same thing. Here is finally what I decided to go with:
The great thing about this forum is great ideas and opinions are abound. It is clear everyone here wants the best for the sport and for the athletes. There is a line that we all fear being crossed and more are seeing it as a real possibility as the event is reaching some scary levels. It has always been a gnarly event but it is starting to hit differently.
We seem to all agree on a few things. Riders enjoy taking risks, every single one of us does it each time we ride a bike. We want athletes to be successful and make money. We are starting to question if Rampage continues to be a positive reflection of the sport. Has it gone too far where the risks being taken are excessive? Can we help protect athletes better so there are less injuries?
The mentioned airbag exists in motorsports and is continuing to gain popularity. There are several out there and I have seen some MX guys run em. Here is an example: Tech-Air® Off-Road System - ADVENTURE Tech-Air Airbags
Rampage stands apart from most other extreme big mountain events. It is a mostly built by the rider event, not necessarily to any specific safety standards. Builds can be rushed to be complete and work. They aren't always able to take into account the ability to look to the left and right and say "if I mess this up, I will go that way and could hit that rock". Exposure for sure is part of it that also exists in big mountain skiing for example. Skiing for sure has rocks but it also has snow. Which while not actually that soft, does have different crashing characteristics than MTB.
Going along with your freewill note, the competition is there, and athletes have a chance to make a career for themselves with a single run. There are not many chances like that in the world that have a single defining moment. For a professional to pursue that and know that they are capable of completing what it takes, who are any of us to take that away?
Your point of the wisdom of experience... Clear, I did not make finals, my line did not work out how I had planned and had to take out my key move from my run. But I got into (as an alternate) and did two runs at Rampage, at 27, kinda old for a 'rookie'. The biggest piece of advice I got before my first run, relax and think. Chris Van Dine (multi-time Rampage veteran and absolute shredder) reminded me that the emotions of that event have you pumped up, but miss a braking point or forget for one second and the consequences can change your life, forever. That stuck with me. Sometimes you get wisdom from a friend, often we get it the hard way
I can't see the event going away anytime soon. It has huge viewership, tons of money being made by TV, Red Bull... Just hoping it continues to improve on rider safety and riders come out of it for the better.
I do need to add, Todd Barber (the man behind Rampage and wrote the above IG post) is a man of high integrity. He truly loves Rampage, but also every single athlete. He cares about them above all. He has spent the last 24 years making the event. He paused it after 2004 when it wasn't clear if the event should continue. He brought it back and the results no one could have predicted. He is not in this for the money, and I genuinely believe has the riders' best interest at heart.
I often think about how does Todd manage the emotions that come with this. I don't think many people realize this is his baby and as he said himself "I'm the first one there when someone goes down".
Adolf Silva speaks about his injury. We're all wishing him a strong, healthy recovery!
Just listened to the Ride Companion podcast with guest Tom Isted. Was a good round up from the perspective of a 'rookie' in terms of the whole week build up, managing lines etc.
He did mention that he spoke to the judges about how to improve his score for the next time. The answer: bigger drop. Why? Because the consequences are higher. I found this interesting and frustrating at the same time. He talked about how other riders were super impressed about him tricking off a flat drop, instead of 'the big drop'. So despite something being technically more difficult and impressive to his peers, it's not rewarded because the consequences aren't as high as hitting a big drop.
For me that highlights just how far gone the judging criteria (let's be honest it's the collective opinion of the judges, not criteria) has become.
Georgia Astle looking back at this year's Rampage:
Harriet also has a good look back:
is it sheer coincidence they both posted rampage edits at the same time and both have black and white head shot profile pictures? err
Emil Johansson just shared a heavy update regarding his recovery from his terrifying Rampage crash 4 months ago. A dislocated hip has turned into a far bigger ordeal, as a torn iliopsoas muscle has complicated things significantly. An attempt was made to reattach the torn muscle (which is the primary hip flexor), but it was ultimately unsuccessful. To make matters worse, there is nerve damage which has led to loss of function in the quads. 10 weeks post surgery, Emil says he is now at a point where he can "walk around without crutches on flat ground relatively OK", but that it has "stopped being about trying to repair what's broken...and become about protecting my ability to live and move long term & play the cards I'm dealt."
Another sobering reminder of the risks involved with an event like Rampage. We wish Emil nothing but the best as he continues his recovery. If anybody can bounce back from dire circumstances, it's this resilient Swede, as he has already proven when he came back from a debilitating autoimmune disease in 2018 to go on to rule the slopestyle world and become the winningest rider in the history of that discipline.
Broke my hip 2nd Nov 2025 - Back on the bike now but definitely not at full tilt. The recovery from a full hip replacement like mine probably quicker, as everything is new. The fine motor skills, balance on uneven surfaces and thiose "oh shit" momeents when you need to drop a foot are my barriers for now. Heal up Emil
Not going to lie, my heart dropped a bit reading that yesterday. Fingers crossed these last steps of reattachment take and he can make as full of a recovery as possible.
It's easy to take for granted that surgeons can magically make things better, until they suddenly can't. It's crazy to think Emil might have gone from the top of the athletic heap to not being able to walk unassisted. Completely sucks. I hope everything in his hip and leg is able to reconnect and heal itself back to a working state. If there's anyone who can put in the time and think about this process systematically, it's Emil the trick machine. Wishing him the best.
Even with all these issues he’s blessed to have not rolled 10 feet further.
It’s hard not to like Emil. If he handles this setback with half the class he handled being the top dog he’ll still be an asset to the sport in my eyes. Wish him the best.
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