The Red Bull Ride + Style event came to San Francisco this past weekend and Mtbr was there to take photos, talk to some of the racers and enjoy the event.
Located in the popular Justin Herman plaza, there were over 5,000 spectators watching all the action. The weather by the bay was perfect for riders and watchers alike. The Red Bull Ride + Style mixes fixed gear bikes (both track bikes and 26″ freestyle mountain bikes), graffiti art, rockin’ music and a lots of jumps, stunts and spills. The list of athletes features riders from various parts of the world (Thailand, South Korea, China and the US) competing for the prizes and bragging rights.
The Red Bull Ride + Style is highlighted by the fixie time trials and the freestyle event. The time trial pits rider against rider in elimination rounds until a winners emerges. Unfortunately, due to a recent injury Bay Area local favorite Josh Boothby was not able to compete this year. In case you missed it, Josh was in a recent Red Bull promo video that blends 2D video games with 3D trick riding. Addison Zawada (winner of the Ride+Style in 2012) was again victorious beating out second place finisher, Matt Reyes.
Zawada explained his win, “The race was textbook for me, I rode smart and thought through the race. This year I wanted to focus more on the race; it’s what I’m better at since my background is in BMX. It’s always a stacked field at Red Bull Ride + Style, going up against the best of the best. This is the largest fixed gear event in the world, and winning here means a lot to me.”
Once the TT was over, the Freestyle competition began. The Freestyle is purely subjective and mountain bike Pro and DH/Freeride legend Randy Spangler was one of the judges. In an effort to make up for just missing out on the win in the TT, Matt Reyes impressed the judges and came away with the win. Second place went to Johnathan Ball who put in a solid run and Jakob Santos claimed third place.
Reyes had this to say about the event, “This is the second time that I’ve done both events at Ride + Style and I’m stoked to podium in both of them in my own backyard. There’s nothing more exhausting then doing both events. It’s so high octane. The competition increases every year, getting faster, stronger and the tricks get better. I rode the same bike for both the race and freestyle events and when they changed the course, I changed my bike setup to swap pegs out for the right course. It meant I missed warm ups, but I stayed focused and it all worked out.”
Fixed freestyle competition final results:
1. Matt Reyes
2. Johnathan Ball
3. Jakob Santos
4. Elliot Millner
5. Valentin Racho
6. Joe McKeag
7. Dew Sippawit
8. Jimmy Watcha
Besides the thrilling racing, there were a few booths on display in the Expo area including sponsors like Chrome, Oakley, Leader Bikes, Destroy, and of course, Red Bull energy drinks.
Alex from Leader Bikes shows us their flagship frameset – the EQNX which features carbon tubing with alloy lugs creating a “high performance track frame for both racing as well as street riding.”
Panoramic shot of the TT course. Be sure to scroll through the gallery below for plenty more photos of the racing action and high flying stunts!
Red Bull Ride + Style brings racing and stunts to San Francisco Gallery
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Red Bull Ride + Style
Zawada concentrates
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Hernan Montenegro and Addison Zawada
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Reyes and Zawada wall ride
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Zawada at speed
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Zawada-ready
fixie time trial
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Reyes and Zawada
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Reyes starts
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Peanut's ride
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Red Edition
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Pano
Pano view of the TT course
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Hernan Montenegro
Montenegro warming up on the rollers
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Red Bull girl
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Kenny Arimoto, local fan fave
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Steven Jensen
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Nose wheelie
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Randy Spangler was one of the judges for the freestyle event.
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warm up jump
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Jimmy Watcha
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Podium
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Addison Zawada takes it high on the wall ride
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Jimmy Watcha
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Matt Reyes - soars
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Jonathan Ball
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Joe McKeag
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Red Bull Ride+Style course
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Alex from Leader Bikes - EQNX
The EQNX - Leader's flagship frameset: carbon tubing with alloy lugs creating a high performance track frame for both racing as well as street riding. MSRP $1299.
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Leader Bike
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Red Bull artwork
in the Leader Bike booth, Red Bull Ride + Style artwork
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Destroy Bikes - Redwood City, CA
Destroy is an American bicycle company owned and operated by Sean Eagleton and Marcus Martinez. We started in January 2011 with the goal of only producing high quality American made fixed gear frames and components. We dont cut corners on materials or quality. Every frame that leaves our shop in Redwood City California has been machined by Sean and welded by Marcus.
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Destroy Bikes
Fuck Yeah and mustache wax
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Bike Parking
bike parking was provided by the SF Bicycle Coalition
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Red Bull DJ
kept the beats rockin'
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Fan Fixie
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