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Red Bull’s newest mountain bike event is called Sky Gate, whereas I simply call it sketchy. The course flows rapidly down a 50° pitched flight of 999 stairs that leads up to the world renowned Big Gate at Tianmen Mountain National Park – Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China.
It’s very likely that the riders invited had no idea what the course would look like, let alone ride like. An intense straight drop-in to 500 stairs, onto sections of flats, little gaps to stairset landings, to rickety berm/wallrides, a blind closeout-ish gap to short stop finish line like this is not for the faint-hearted. To stand behind the start gate’s wand is one thing, but if you actually want to drop you’ll need watermelon sized balls.
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In the highlights reel above you’ll see all the action, including Kelly McGarry’s brutal slam at the 1:47 mark. I’m not sure if the 360p quality video is what makes the course look damp, but it’s easy to see there isn’t any room for error. Event coordinators need to ensure that riders can ride to their best ability while creating a course that is fast and technical; it’s a tough job, but someone needs to do it.
If you’re thinking about doing something crazy like this, make sure to wear a helmet. Check out all of our helmets HERE.
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In the highlights reel above you’ll see all the action, including Kelly McGarry’s brutal slam at the 1:47 mark. I’m not sure if the 360p quality video is what makes the course look damp, but it’s easy to see there isn’t any room for error. Event coordinators need to ensure that riders can ride to their best ability while creating a course that is fast and technical; it’s a tough job, but someone needs to do it.
If you’re thinking about doing something crazy like this, make sure to wear a helmet. Check out all of our helmets HERE.
Knarls….