The largest urban slopestyle event in the world, the Red Bull District Ride, will finally return to the old city center of Nuremberg, Germany after a five-year break. Once again, it welcomes the best of the best of the international slopestyle scene. Since last weekend it has been clear who are the 15 riders that will be given the opportunity to start in front of a crowd of 80,000 people. Of course, the Swedish triple-crown-winner Emil Johansson, who is currently rushing from victory to victory will be present, trying to win the Red Bull District Ride for the first time, so is defending champion Nicholi Rogatkin (USA), who wrote history in 2017 with the first ever 1440 on a mountain bike. Slopestyle superstar Erik Fedko and wildcard rider Lukas Knopf (both GER) will be both dropping in as local heroes looking for the support of the crowd. Spanish rider Miguel Guerrero just earned himself a FMB wildcard at the Eurobike Skyline Ride in Frankfurt.
Special about this year’s Red Bull District Ride is that there is no qualification. This reform not only gives the riders more time to practice, but also guarantees each of them the opportunity to show their skills in the final runs on the big stage on Saturday – thus promising even more action than at the previous events.
When the Red Bull District Ride calls, the 13 set riders (determined per FMB ranking) don’t think twice – and the two wildcard holders don’t want to miss their chance either. Next to Emil Johansson, Erik Fedko and Nicholi Rogatkin, there are for example Frenchman Tim Bringer, who is currently third in the FMB World Ranking, as well as Polish rider Dawid Godziek who just won the FMB Gold Event Eurobike Skyline Ride. At Crankworx Innsbruck, both riders recently demonstrated once again with third and fourth place that they are always competitors for the podium. The same applies to Dawid’s brother Szymon, who is sending it hard on big bikes and dj bikes alike and has already gained podium experience in Nuremberg: in 2017 he finished third behind Nicholi Rogatkin and Emil Johansson after winning the Best Trick Contest three years earlier at Red Bull District Ride 2014. The second of a total of three French starters, Tomas Lemoine, can certainly be counted as a podium threat as well. The extrovert rider from Marseille has proven with plenty of podium finishes in the past that he feels at home on the big slopestyle stages of the world – so why not on the biggest!
Erik Fedko, whose career more or less began in Nuremberg, has a very special connection to the Red Bull District Ride. In 2017, the German slopestyle superstar kicked-off his career with a wildcard for Red Bull District Ride, finishing fifth in front of a home crowd of 80,000 slopestyle fans. Since then, he rose through the ranks of the very best slopestyle riders in the world. Erik currently is ranked second in the FMB world rankings and is considered the strongest challenger of the leading Emil Johansson. Sportswise, the development of the 24-year-old speaks for itself, as he recently proved with impressive second places at Crankworx Innsbruck 2022 and Crankworx BC 2021. With 80,000 fans having his back, the local hero’s main goal will not only be to put on a good show, but also to finally push his good friend Emil Johansson from the top spot of the podium.
The second local hero is Lukas Knopf, who is looking forward to his third participation at the Red Bull District Ride after 2014 and 2017. For his first final run in Nuremberg in September, the 26-year-old rider from Eastern Germany might as well count on the support of the home crowd.
It has only been known since last weekend which rider will complete the field of riders in Nuremberg: at the FMB Gold Event “Eurobike Skyline Ride” in Frankfurt, Miguel Guerrero achieved the best placement of all riders who were not already set for the Red Bull District Ride and thus earned the wildcard for Nuremberg on September 2nd and 3rd. With 90.33 points and fourth place as well as winning the Best Trick Contest, the Spaniard showed that he can compete with the best of the best. The now complete rider list proves that these best of the best are actually the ones competing in the Red Bull District Ride:
- Emil Johansson (SWE)
- Erik Fedko (GER)
- Timothe Bringer (FRA)
- Nicholi Rogatkin (USA)
- Dawid Godziek (POL)
- Tomas Lemoine (FRA)
- Griffin Paulson (CAN)
- Lucas Huppert (SUI)
- Max Fredriksson (SWE)
- Torquato Testa (ITA)
- Paul Couderc (FRA)
- Szymon Godziek (POL)
- Jakub Vencl (CZE)
- Lukas Knopf (GER) – Wildcard
- Miguel Guerrero (ESP) – FMB Event Wildcard
About Red Bull District Ride
The Red Bull District Ride is the biggest urban Mountain Bike slopestyle event in the world, taking place in the old city center of Nuremberg, Germany on the weekend of 2-3 September with up to 80,000 spectators. Highlights of the Red Bull District Ride are the Best Trick Contest on Friday evening and the Slopestyle Contest on Saturday, where the world’s best 15 MTB slopestyle riders compete.
The Red Bull District Ride follows a course from the Kaiserburg to the Hauptmarkt, where the grand finale takes place with the Big Air Jump in the heart of Nuremberg. The course leads right through the old town and is divided into five different districts, which each requires different skills from the riders. The Red Bull District Ride doesn’t feel like a pure slopestyle or freeride contest as it also includes a few elements of skate park riding, but with big jumps, drops and step-downs. A highlight in every athlete’s calendar, the Red Bull District Ride is always the scene of thrilling action and various tricks that have never been seen before, so-called “world’s firsts” on the mountain bike.
After 2005, 2006, 2011, 2014 and 2017, the Red Bull District Ride is taking place for the sixth time this year. The previous winners are Aaron Chase (USA), Cam McCaul (USA), Sam Pilgrim (GBR), Brandon Semenuk (CAN) and Nicholi Rogatkin (USA). As a Diamond Event, the Red Bull District Ride is part of the Freeride Mountain Bike (FMB) World Tour.