“Godziek should’ve taken the win,” says Geoff Gulevich

Every year the judges at Red Bull Rampage have one of the toughest jobs there is. The 2024 event was no different. The line between slopestyle and freeride is definitely blurred. Largely considered a freeride event, the winning run was undeniably a slopestyle run. So did the judges get it wrong?

Tom Van Steenbergen hucked the world’s gnarliest front flip and ended up in fourth place. A result he was publicly not impressed with. Fairclough’s true freeride line, complete with homage to Jordy Lunn, placed him way down in eleventh. And while Brendog’s public response was more diplomatic that TVS, it was obvious when he didn’t take his second run, that he knew the judges wouldn’t sway in his favour. Even the winner Brendan Semenuk, knowing the results would be debatable, said before the results were in, “I don’t really care where I end up to be honest.”

After competing and judging at the event in the past, Vancouver’s Geoff Gulevich stepped away from the judging table, but not the booth itself. During the broadcast he tried desperately to explain the decisions the judges were making. But at times he was as lost as we all were. We chatted with Gully this morning to get his thoughts.

Canadian Cycling Magazine: So, what went wrong with judging this year?
Geoff: Well, the judges made three interesting calls. From my standpoint, as the analyst, I had trouble explaining those results because they didn’t make sense to me.
CCM: What were the three calls you’re talking about?
Geoff: Fairclough, Van Steenbergen and Godziek. I felt Godziek should’ve taken the win based on the criteria we gave. But the judges focused on different factors, which swayed the results.
CCM: There’s always controversy around judging. Was this year particularly bad or just the norm?
Geoff: Honestly, at Rampage, it’s fairly normal. But this year, it seems like there could be a bigger blowback because it’s becoming a trend.
CCM: You mentioned a “loud voice” influencing things in the judge’s booth. Care to elaborate?
Geoff: No comment on that.
CCM: Fair enough. Have you been a judge before?
Geoff: Yeah, I judged Rampage twice and the Crankworx Diamond Series. But it was tough comparing apples to oranges, so I decided to step back from judging and focus on analysis.
CCM: I’m not sure that job is any easier.
Geoff: No, especially when decisions don’t make sense. Last year was straightforward, but…