This year has marked a historic first for women’s freeriding, and women’s mountain biking in general. It was the first time that women have been invited to compete at the Red Bull Rampage, the Super Bowl of mountain biking. A spectacle watched by millions of riders and non-riders across the world. So it was a huge moment, and it’s down to the incredible talent of the women’s freeride movement and the hard work of Katie Holden making it happen. Anne-Marije Rook was there for us in Utah and you can read about her Rampage experience here.

Robin Goomes hits her drop at Red Bull Rampage in Virgin, Utah October 9th, 2024 // Emily Tidwell / Red Bull Content Pool

To make things even more exciting, the women got to compete at a completely fresh venue in Virgin, Utah, adjacent to the men’s site. This meant there was a totally blank canvas for the riders to make their mark on, and boy did they.

We had the privilege of seeing some impressive riding on some pretty epic features, and it was clear that the event was more than just a token gesture. It was a display of the best women in freeride making their mark on the world stage.

Robin Goomes’ Rampage winning Yeti SB165 Barbie bike @MarthaMagMedia

One of the women who stepped up to send it for the first time at Rampage – and win the thing was Robin Goomes. The 28-year old New Zealander rides for Yeti Cycles and was hucking aboard the Yeti SB165 that we reviewed earlier this summer. Her bike for the event was pretty custom, though, with a Barbie themed livery – which saw her ride to the first women’s Rampage victory with 85 points, ahead of Georgia Astle with 79.

Georgia Astle, Robin Goomes, and Casey Brown on the podium during the women’s final at Red Bull Rampage in St. George, Utah, USA on October 10, 2024. // Christian Pondella / Red Bull Content Pool

Commenting on her win, Goomes said it “hasn’t sunk in yet.”

“It’s been such a process,” she continued. “So I’m trying to take it all in and enjoy it. I’m so stoked for my crew, they’ve gone so hard. If anything, I’ve done it for them, the sport and all the other riders.”

Her route ran down a 41 foot drop and a technical chute, which looked like an homage to old-school Rampage lines. She also won the Best Trick Award, in case there was any doubt she was the star of the show. You can also watch Robin in action in the latest Anthill Films creation, Anytime.

We sat down with her prior to the event, and you can read that conversation below.

Robin Goomes and fellow competitor Casey Brown celebrate their top to bottom runs at Formation, in Utah, USA on May 15 2022 // Robin O’Neill / Red Bull Content Pool

MBR: First question, I read an interview with you from Spoke and I think you described yourself with three words as passionate weird and motivated. Do you stand by those words? Could you give me three more?

RG: Wow, that was like 2021 I think. I’d say those words still go pretty hard. If I were to pick three different words, I think I’m a Barbie bitch! Yeah, that was too many. I don’t know. I think those are good ones.

Style for miles! Robin Goomes in Big Water, Utah during the filming of ‘Anytime!’ by Anthill Films // Sterling Lorence / Red Bull Content Pool

MBR: For people that don’t know you, can you give us a quick run down on how you got into mountain biking, first racing and then freeride?

RG: Yeah. So when I was a kid I used to ride dirt bikes, and then got into some BMX racing when I was at high school. Just because I lived near a track. Then someone told me about mountain biking one day, and it sounded like this cool combination of both BMX and moto. So I went out for a ride with him and just got hooked. So once I was riding mountain bikes, I started racing enduros and downhill, and then I went to Queenstown for a summer. Queenstown was eye-opening for me – it was like there’s not just mountain bike tracks. There’s jumps and freeride and all this other stuff. Seeing all of that for the first time and knowing that was also a sport got me started.

Robin Goomes at Crankworx in Innsbruck, Austria where she competes in numerous events, from slopestyle to the whip-off // Wayne Reiche / Red Bull Content Pool

MBR: And then did you feel like freeride was your thing once you’d found that path?

RG: Yeah. Even just riding downhill tracks and jump tracks and things, I was always more into that style of riding, but I just didn’t really know that it was a proper pathway.

MBR: Women’s freeride is massive today, but it seems like a really recent explosion from an outsider’s perspective. Is this true? Could you have made it to this level ten years ago?

RG: To be honest, I don’t. I have the same perspective as an outsider. I only turned up as it exploded, so I can’t say what the sport was like 10 years ago. I really don’t know, but I think it felt like the time that I entered freeride was when it was blowing up and it was the perfect time, so I got lucky.

Robin Goomes in Big Water, Utah during the filming of ‘Anytime!’ by Anthill Films // Sterling Lorence / Red Bull Content Pool

MBR: What’s changed over the past ten years?

RG: Formation (a women-only event at the Rampage site), the pressure from lots of great riders, wider social or societal change. I guess it’s been four years since I’ve been in the sport, and in that time I’ve been so lucky. I feel like I came in at the perfect time where it went from being a bit of a mystery, not knowing how to make a career out of it, to all of a sudden in this short amount of time, we’ve had formation, we’ve had invites to the (Swatch) Nines. Like the first woman to go to the Nines, events like Darkfest Crankworx Slope Style… The sport’s grown massively in the four years I’ve been doing it.

Robin Goomes poses for a “dig day” portrait at Red Bull Formation in Virgin, Utah, USA on 26 May, 2021.

MBR: What’s it like seeing the hill at Rampage? I know it’s the first time you’ve competed in the event, but have you been here before to ride or spectate?

RG: Yeah I’ve been here for Formation, so I think Formation was a really good insight to what it’s about, what it looks like out here. And then I came out and watched Rampage for the first time last year. Which I think was really beneficial to being here competing this year. I remember watching it actually and being like ‘I don’t know about this’. But we’re here now and you get to create what you want to ride, so it’s perfect.

Robin Goomes in the production of ANYTIME in Big Water, Utah on November 2, 2023. // Sterling Lorence / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202405140190 // Usage for editorial use only //

MBR: Awesome. How does the event area look to you? Lots of potential, how is it compared to the men’s side? What is it like building from a blank canvas?

RG: The blank canvas is really cool to scope things yourself and pick exactly where you want to go. That’s a really special way to start off women in Rampage. If I were to compare, I would say we have a much smaller zone. It’s really tight in there and we’re a lot less riders, so it’s okay, but yeah you’re definitely fitting a lot of lines on top of each other.

MBR: Last question is, can you give us some insight into what you’re working on for Rampage? What are you putting into your run?

RG: I don’t like to really say too much. I’d prefer that people just like tune in, watch the show and find out. Always keeps it more exciting, I reckon!