CLIFF HANGER

As Brandon Semenuk dropped into his contest-winning run at this past October’s Red Bull Rampage mountain biking event, those unfamiliar with the sport might view it as a reckless, if not suicidal, endeavor. After all, the steep and treacherous mountainside he was about to attack would not look out of place covered in climbers, hooked into safety ropes, trying to ascend the same route he was about to descend.

But for Brandon, and his fellow competitors, Rampage represents the pinnacle of the freeride mountain biking competitive calendar. As Semenuk tore down the rock face, launching backflips off of jumps and 360s over gaps