How Katie Holden’s Dream Brought Women to Red Bull Rampage

As a slight breeze rustled the wind socks on a Thursday autumn morning, Robin Goomes stood on the brink of history—quite literally. She was poised on the wooden Red Bull Rampage starting ramp some 4,300 feet above sea level in the Utah desert. Goomes peered down the near-vertical mountain, the weight of the world on her shoulders. The sun was beating down hard, making her run loose and bone dry, and the wind threatened to derail everything. Dropping in would mean going where no woman had gone before. It would put an end to 23 years of “no’s” and “women can’t” while opening the door to a new chapter for women’s freeriding.

Below, thousands of spectators stood with necks craned, squinting against the relentless sun, holding their breath in the gravity of the moment. Women in mountain biking had waited more than two decades for this day, and Goomes, and the six women that followed, ensured it was unforgettable. She tore through the course with strength, power and precision—nailing two massive backflips and gracefully landing a 41-foot drop. It was a bold, unflinching declaration: Yes, women ride Red Bull Rampage. Watch and revel.

Once Goomes was safe in the corral, veteran freerider Katie Holden burst into tears. “I went full torrential cry. I didn’t think I had that many tears in me— not just tears, but sobs,” Holden said the next day, her eyes still glistening, though now from pride instead of moisture.

It’s largely thanks to Holden that women finally got to ride Rampage this year. A fierce advocate for women in freeriding, she tirelessly campaigned for this moment, refusing to accept the status quo. As a competitor in the aughts and 2010s, Holden had been known for pushing boundaries, tackling big mountain lines and excelling across the downhill, enduro and freeride disciplines. Yet, for all her fearlessness on the bike, nothing compared to the courage it took to step into the rooms with those in power and demand a place for women on freeride’s biggest stage.

“It is the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life,” Holden, 39, said. “It’s really freaking scary. Coming out of this, I feel like I could be brave to do anything or talk to anyone or make anything come true.”

Katie Holden’s Fearless Pursuit of Her Freeride Dreams

Dating back to 2001, Red Bull Rampage is freeriding’s biggest stage and the ultimate test of skill, mental fortitude and sheer guts. Considered one of the most challenging and high-risk sporting events in the world, it takes place on the perilous and largely untouched red rock cliffs of the Utah desert. Treacherous terrain aside, what sets Rampage apart is its unique format: riders, along with a small crew, design their own lines. In the days leading up to the competition, they work under the unforgiving desert sun, visualizing and building their routes down the mountain using only hand tools, water and sandbags. On competition day, each athlete descends their unique line, aiming to impress the judges with death-defying tricks and flips along the way.

In 2010, Holden trekked into the desert as a digger, helping the competitors build their lines and experience the legendary event first-hand. She came away absolutely captivated.

“When I came for the first time, I was so terrified of it. I couldn’t comprehend riding this terrain,” Holden recalled. “I was so scared but I was also so intrigued.”

Holden grew up riding at Whistler Bike Park, the epicenter of freeriding, where she befriended many of the athletes who later competed in Rampage. Watching these riders—people she had seen and ridden with at Whistler—tackle the daunting lines at Rampage made the seemingly impossible feel somehow within reach. Even though she couldn’t fully grasp the scale of what they were doing, seeing them out there gave her a sense that it was attainable.

“If they’re doing it, I can do it,” Holden remembers thinking, “Even though I’m really scared of it.”

And with that, a burning desire was sparked but the answer was always “no”.

“People could not wrap their heads around the fact that a woman could ride this terrain, let alone a group of women,” Holden said.

Holden refused to accept those limitations, understanding that the fight was about more than just getting women into an event it was about rewriting the narrative of what women are capable of.

“There's this sense of people wanting to protect women,” Holden pointed out. “This shows up across sports, it shows up across culture, in business and so forth. I don't think that that is being done with malice, but it’s the thing to get past. When a woman crashes versus a man crashes, it evokes a different emotion for people. People don't like to see women crash.”

Getting past that mentality took a long time, Holden said. Longer than she ever anticipated.

Getting Brave

“Over the years, women had been showing up in high profile spaces with really big jumps and really big features and shown up under pressure and prove that they can ride the biggest stuff in the world just like their [male] peers. They can do it in style, and ride it safely. And when they crash, they know how. Men get hurt, women get hurt. We’re all athletes progressing,” Holden said.

Yet, despite the progress, the door to Rampage remained firmly closed. Facing constant barriers and injuries, Holden’s own window for competing was closing. But the dream didn’t end there. She threw herself fully into ensuring that women would someday line up at the Rampage starting ramp.

“I went to lobby for it, front to back, top to bottom,” Holden said. “And it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It’s really scary when you're sitting in a room, pushing against people that hold power and also have the power to push you out.”

Fortunately, freeriding had taught Holden how to face fear head-on and make bold moves.

“I got past a lot of mental barriers over the course. I learned so much,” Holden reflected. “I got brave. It takes a lot to stand up in moments like that; there’s bravery in speaking to leadership and making bold moves – it feels really scary and it feels like you're going to be kicked out the door and you have to do it with grace but also tactfulness to push things forward.”

Perhaps her boldest move came in October 2019, when she and a group of women trekked into the Utah desert —shovels, mountain bikes and a camera crew in tow — to prove once and for all that women belong in the freeride world. Instead of waiting for a Rampage invite, they built their own stage and invited the world to watch.

“To be frank, people thought Formation was a crazy idea before it happened. But if you give women the opportunity, the tools, and the resources, they will show up in the biggest way and absolutely succeed,” Holden said.

Formation’s success signaled that women were ready for the next level, and it led to subsequent editions, growing recognition within the freeride world, and, ultimately, the long-awaited ticket to ride the 2024 Red Bull Rampage.

Now that we’re here, let’s get to work

For Katie Holden, the fight to get women on Rampage’s starting ramp wasn’t just about showcasing skill—it was about representation. Women deserve a place on any sport's biggest stage, a voice in the biggest conversations and a seat in boardrooms. 

“At the end of the day, Rampage is just an event, but it represents so much. It’s the highest platform in the sport, and with that comes opportunities—media exposure, pay, prize purses. If that opportunity doesn’t exist, all those things tied to it don’t either,” she said. “And it trickles down. If this doesn’t exist, how are the next generations of women supposed to come into the sport and stick with it?”

Taking a step back, Holden recognizes that most women watching Rampage won’t necessarily feel inspired to go huck themselves off a 40-foot cliff on a mountain bike. But Freeride is more than just a sport—it’s a metaphor for tackling life's challenges, facing fear, trying new things, and pushing boundaries. Lessons that apply to all areas of life whether in sport, culture or business. Lessons that Holden takes to heart.

Holden said she has no regrets about not getting to compete at Rampage herself.

“That was a goal of mine for a long time, but I’ve moved through different chapters in life. I went full-on with that ‘I will not stop until women are in Rampage’ train.

“I’m still an athlete, I still ride with the girls, but as a competitor? That ship has long sailed, and I’m happy to wear a different hat. I’m really, genuinely happy in every way. These women are so much better than I ever was. Just watching them do their thing…I'm just bursting with all of the things.”

With women now officially riding Rampage, Holden's work is far from done. The mountain may have been conquered, but the climb continues.

“I feel like that was just the beginning. Everything this far was about getting to this point. Now that it’s on the map, I can close that chapter and get to work,” she said.

For Holden, the next step is building a sustainable future for the next generation of female riders. Her vision? To give young women the tools and resources to succeed in the sport they love, while fostering a healthy, supportive community from top to bottom.

Watch the full replay at Redbull.com.