Vaea Verbeeck didn’t have to wait for a Red Bull Rampage invite this year. She already knew.
“The deal last year was if you finish in the top 4 you don’t have to apply,” she says. “So I thankfully knew a long time ago, which is nice for planning ahead.”
After placing fourth in last year’s historic women’s debut, the Cowichan Valley-based freerider locked in her spot for 2025. That made the decision not to take a second run in 2024 an easier one.
“If I had been fifth instead of fourth, I probably would have taken the risk, even if it was really windy,” she says. “But I was just very happy, content and hoping I could stick within the top 4—and I did.”
From Formation to the big stage
Rampage wasn’t always part of the plan because, for women, it wasn’t even an option.
“It’s not exactly been a dream that’s been on the map for us for a long time,” Verbeeck says.
That changed in 2019 with the launch of Formation, an all-women freeride progression event in Virgin, Utah.
“There was no platform like Rampage, so we said, OK, let’s go get the experience in a family friendly environment,” she says. “Once we did that, we were locked in. We didn’t want to settle for less.”
Red Bull was initially interested in building something bigger. Then it went quiet.
“It kind of went into a loop for a couple years,” she says. “We thought maybe this isn’t something that’s going to happen for us.”
Then, in the summer of 2024, a call came. Rampage was officially opening its red dirt lines to women for the first time.
“We were in England for another freeride event, all in the car, and we got the call,” she says. “That was it. We had two or three months to prepare.”
Building her future—and others’
Last year, Verbeeck brought three diggers to Rampage including Kirsten Van Horne. This year, Van Horne is riding.
“That was the whole goal,” Verbeeck says. “It’s full circle.”
Two of her 2024 dig crew are now on the 2025 rider list. Aiden Parish will be riding in the men’s event.
“This year we’re down to two diggers, and I’m bringing in my local friends from the Island,” she says. “They’re part of a digging company called Reza. Big crew, good vibes.”
Though she won’t have a female digger this time, the intention is still there.
“Last year, because it was my first Rampage and I thought maybe I wouldn’t get another one, I said the third digger had to be a girl,” she says….
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