The Russian shredder has posted up the following on his VK Page, liberally translated via Google Translate and brought to our attention by OnlyMTB.com:
“Some news about Rampage and my part in it . My motivation to ride in the last year became less and less, but I thought that in Utah it will all change. However, it has not changed. Yesterday was a day of training, I went to last year’s big drop - it was no more than the ones I jumped on a hardtail in the old days - and I realized that I do not want to force myself to jump. And that meant only one thing: I can no longer ride. If you can not or do not want to force yourself to jump, you are no longer mountain biker. For qualifications I did not go on the bike and do not sit down [well, we told you this was from Google Translate]. During qualifying this drop no one jumped, and in the evening Gulevich tried to jump it, but cased it and fell heavily, so it's not that I’m afraid of nothing. However, the fact does not change. Perhaps all this will upset someone, but believe me - the most upset is me ... Perhaps that’s it.”
Here at Vital, we think Kirill is maybe a bit hard on himself. Rampage is different to anything else, and even the gnarliest lines can't quite prepare you for what awaits in Utah.
Time will heal all scars, and we hope Kirill will be back to delight us with more videos like this one in the future - shred on Kirill!
j-herbs
10/18/2013 3:49 PM
erik saunders
10/15/2013 6:21 PM
whatevs man.. thats life... it was a big ask.. i dont really know what anyone expects sometimes... dont worry i am not dissapointed Kirill... its just bikes and i think all the people who paid all the money understood the risks, or should have.. so i dont feel sorry for them....
DJ Brandt needs more sponsorship, and he is pretty awesome, so maybe next time you guys can throw some help his way if want to reduce your risk a bit... PM me...
kidwoo
10/15/2013 5:40 PM
Iggz
10/15/2013 7:57 PM
nismo325
10/15/2013 4:05 PM
jerryhazard
10/15/2013 3:30 PM
Don't know the guy, or maybe I know him just as well as anybody else here - who doesn't really know him. From what I've seen, he's talented, has guts, passion and was invited to Rampage. I don't think anyone else commenting here was invited?
His resignation is more a reflection on everyone else, rather than him. I think it took more courage to make the wise decision. Yes, too bad he came all that way and backed out. Too bad for who though?
Maybe people just assume how "easy" Rampage and big mountain is. My opinion is that its a HUGE mental game, almost as big or bigger than the physical game, and I think many people take it for granted. Look how many skipped the large portion of the sender, for instance. We're spoon fed video edits of glory and success, but we don't experience the complexity of emotions and decision making that goes on with these riders.
I think the prevalence of Rampage the last couple of years may not be such a good thing.
Scott_Townes
10/15/2013 4:41 PM
Umm... no, we're all quite aware of how gnarly it is and so did Kirill. Anyone with common sense would recognize how gnarly Rampage is. His bravery has nothing to do with it and anyone saying otherwise is wrong. His videos show he's out of his mind.
His issue was that he simply was not motivated to ride his bike at all- something that has been plaguing him all season according to one interview he gave. I'm wondering why he still decided to take the spot and put in all that effort only to not even try a single run in qualifying... maybe on top of lack of motivation, getting banged up on that loop and riding on new terrain/rigs contributed to his decision. That's what the stink is about, not that he made the decision not to ride because if you push yourself in not the right state of mind, you can easily end up in a bad situation. To be honest I'm just disappointed he didn't ride and thanks to david for posting that video. It makes more sense now as to why he bowed out.
Screw it, everyone will forget about this by next year and hopefully he will get his mojo back because his edits are entertaining.
b-kul
10/15/2013 12:54 PM
mhoenisch
10/15/2013 12:38 PM
demorider55
10/15/2013 12:35 PM
Karlkarlton
10/15/2013 12:32 PM
david.thalmann
10/15/2013 11:42 AM
here he explains why he did not want to ride:
http://tv.freeride-magazine.com/frontend_dev.php/video/Benderoni%C2%B4s-Statement%3A-Deshalb-nahm-der-Russe-nicht-bei-der-Rampage-teil/41a35c8a36c6c1fc642593e125735632
SaddleRags
10/15/2013 1:43 PM
Perrizo
10/15/2013 11:10 AM
munichrider
10/15/2013 10:38 AM
Wise decision to pull out, if that episode is over. Even you pissed off some dudes. They'll live on happily. So do you ,not having destroyed you health being cautious. Which some of the guys on the "responsability" side coulnd't care less about as long as they are entertained.
To my experience, if you don't feel it, don't do it. That's when things go wrong.
719mtbblakey
10/15/2013 10:31 AM
Iggz
10/15/2013 10:02 AM
Scott_Townes
10/15/2013 6:49 AM
karoliusz
10/15/2013 6:41 AM
tartallone
10/15/2013 6:33 AM
Aux
10/15/2013 6:29 AM
Timmy0081
10/15/2013 5:43 AM