Casey Brown is living her dream of a Red Bull Rampage for women

Whenever Red Bull Rampage was happening, Casey Brown would gather friends in Revelstoke, B.C., to watch it on TV like it was the Super Bowl. In 2008, she traveled to Virgin, Utah and saw it in person for the first time. She has returned many times since then, often to explore the barren terrain in the scorching heat. Now, 16 years after her first pilgrimage and 23 years since Rampage began – long into Brown's celebrated career as a freeride trailblazer – The The premiere event of their sport will finally have a women's edition.

Brown will be one of the first eight women to ever compete in Rampage. She is more than ready for the moment. The 33-year-old always felt like that was what it was all about Whennot IfWomen would be allowed to shine on this stage.

“But we definitely had to pull some teeth,” Brown says.

Brown is often mentioned the “godmother” of sport For good reason. In 2021, She founded Dark Horsean all-female development event aimed at discovering young talent. Dark Horse was designed in Casey's image – casual, fun, supportive – and has identified many riders like her: women who started their careers in racing but didn't feel at home in the sometimes corrosive environment. You want to participate in a sport that promotes creative freedom and camaraderie at its core.

“During a film trip or when I have some money to shoot something, I always try to invite my friends who wouldn't have this opportunity with the support they have,” Brown says. “I just try to spread the love that way. And with Dark Horse and the fact that there are a few girls thinking about freeriding because they might not fit into racing, it’s cool to give the next generation that option.”

Rampage takes creativity and daring to the extreme. Although Brown has long wanted a women's rampage, she says the sport needed to grow first. Through events like Dark Horse, Proving Grounds and Red Bull Formation, the women's freeride field has gotten bigger and better every year. Now Brown looks at the eight names on Thursday's women's roster and thinks of dozens more who would also have been up to the task.

“I think it's important to have a really strong field. If we had started too early, we may not have had the level of skill, talent and depth that we have now,” says Brown. “And I’m sure it will grow even more after this year.”

Rampage is about much more than just a run on the day of the event. Riders spend the week beforehand with a team of excavators who do the arduous work of planning their runs inside the cliff, building them with shovels and picks, then testing and tweaking the line until every inch works just right, as he should. Their goal is to put on a show in a place where just getting to the bottom safely is an impressive feat.

All eight drivers knew what they were getting into. They all took part in the final Red Bull formation of 2022, where they built their own lines in Virgin as part of a unique progression event that paved the way for Thursday. According to Brown, this familiarity with the hard, rocky terrain was crucial, especially when temperatures climbed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit during peak excavation days.

“Some of the men’s participants will be shoveling into this crazy terrain for the first time. “And fortunately for us women, we’ve all had a few years of training to get used to what it’s like out here,” says Brown. “It's a lot less important to figure it out once you've done it once or twice.”

To get through Rampage you need a village. Brown's excavation team consists of three of her best friends from Revelstoke. The established familiarity with each other makes communication easier. Plus, the work itself is much more fun.

“We just listen to good music and joke around a lot. We’re just always laughing and having fun,” Browns said. “We definitely laughed a lot in the last four days (laughs). So it's just a good group of lively personalities.

“It’s nice that we can experience Rampage together because for me, no matter what happens, we create fun memories.”

While the men will compete on the same site used in 2018 and 2019, the women will use a never-before-used zone adjacent to the men's event. This means that the women are carving lines into a blank canvas, with no remnants to guide them. The task is both tempting and daunting. But while the men's riders try to hide their competition plans from each other, the women are happy to work together.

Brown, for example, will share the first part of her line with Cami Nogueira before entering a flowing jump line that is “just for me.” She then enters an intersection that she estimates six of the eight drivers will use. At the bottom she will merge with the same lines as Robin Goomes and Georgia Astle.

“It has to happen because the workload is enormous,” Brown said. “We’re all trying to figure out how to connect the lines without interfering with others, and that’s really sick.”

Brown's goal is to create a line that 1) pushes its limits and 2) is truly fun to ride. When fans watch her run, she wants them to feel like it's hers.

She'd certainly like to win, but Brown's Rampage plans are primarily focused on self-expression. The historical nature of the event was not lost on her. Brown says fans contacted her in advance just to let her know they were excited to watch her compete. She hopes Thursday can have a big impact: a handful of the world's most talented riders inspiring thousands.

“There will be so many little girls watching,” Brown said. “And even people who just ride bikes for fun may have new goals and may want to push them further. Maybe it just inspires people to ride bikes, I don’t know (laughs).”

The first-ever Women's Rampage may be competitive, but Brown is naturally driven to progress. She is not only one of the biggest names in freeride, but also one of the sport's biggest fans. And last week, she had a front row seat as her colleagues, some of the world's best freeride mountain bikers, tamed a mountainside in preparation for the largest women's freeride event ever.

“Hopefully everyone makes it to the bottom and has their dream line, because to see them out here doing exactly what they want and to see how much hard work goes into building a line is phenomenal,” says Brown. “It’s super cool to see all these girls working together and creating such a beautiful place to ride.

“We definitely want to blow some people away.”

Casey Brown and Brandon Semenuk – competing for his 11th time and earning his record-breaking fifth win – will represent Trek at Red Bull Rampage, the biggest event in freeride mountain biking.

The women's edition of Rampage will be simulcast on a delayed basis on ESPN+, Red Bull TV and Red Bull Bike's YouTube channelwhile the men's edition will be broadcast live on ESPN+ in the US and on Red Bull TV in all other countries.

Women's rampage

When: Thursday, October 10, 9:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. local time (delayed broadcast)
Where to see: ESPN+, Red Bull TV and Red Bull Bike's YouTube channel

Men's Rampage

When: Saturday, October 12, 12pm ET/10am local time
Where to see: ESPN+ in the US and Red Bull TV everywhere else

Will there be repeats?

You can bet on it. Two hour-long highlight shows will air back-to-back on ESPN2 on Sunday, October 27, beginning with the women's at 5:00 p.m. ET, followed by the men's at 6:00 p.m. ET.