The Red Bulletin UK 08/20 by Red Bull Media House

UK EDITION AUGUST 2020, £3.50

BEYOND THE ORDINARY

SUBSCRIBE: GETREDBULLETIN.COM

THE BIKE ISSUE

DIY

DAREDEVIL

Digging the dirt on MATT JONES’ backyard bike park

EVIE RICHARDS HOW THE CHAMPION CYCLIST FOUND A NEW WAY TO WIN GET INTO GRAVEL OUR GUIDE TO THE BEST GEAR VIRTUAL VICTORY TRAIN WITH THE PROS AT HOME PLUS MARC MÁRQUEZ ON CONQUERING THE COMPETITION

MANY PATHS. ONE TRAIL.

MQM FLEX 2 MERRELL.COM @MERRELLEU

Editor’s letter

In this month’s issue of The Red Bulletin, we’re going big on bike, featuring some very different stories from the world of two wheels. Our cover star, freestyle MTB maverick Matt Jones (page 30), has converted his garden into a dirt-filled rider’s playground, so we visited to get the lay of the land. Also, we chart the journey of discovery that made cyclo-cross and cross-country bike star Evie Richards (page 38) reassess her thinking on what brings long-term success. Hint: it doesn’t involve going faster. Triathlete Ruth Astle (page 73) details her virtual training programme, in which she competes against the elite in real time. And we tell you everything you need to know about the newest bike discipline, gravel (page 88), which is enticing more people than ever to get into the saddle. Beyond bicycles, we talk tactics with eight-time world champion Marc Márquez (page 56) ahead of the MotoGP season restart; invite you to become a citizen of the metaverse (page 48), and explore the making of Bear Grylls’ latest jungle adventure show (page 62). We hope you enjoy the issue.

EISA BAKOS

London-based photographer Bakos has long been a part of the BMX scene, but he jumped at the chance to shoot MTB star Matt Jones for our cover. “As soon as I arrived at Matt’s home, we found common ground talking about cars and mutual friends,” he says. “His garden was a great location, and his positivity made the day go really smoothly.” Page 30

SHAMIL TANNA

Tanna has photographed many musical and sporting icons, including Lionel Messi, Drake and Rihanna, but shooting cyclo-cross star Evie Richards involved going the extra mile. “The brief was to focus on Evie, not the race,” he says. “I had to plan to get to all the different spots along the course, jumping fences, cutting through crowds and generally running my own race!” Page 38

Heart and soil: MTB rider Matt Jones carves out his bespoke back-garden bike track in Hertfordshire. Page 30 04

THE RED BULLETIN

EISA BAKOS (COVER), JASON COLLEDGE

SHIFTING GEARS

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE

gravel bike made: now we’ve added a Bosch motor for more horsepower. cannondale.com

An e-gravel bike like no other – Topstone Carbon is the most off-road capable and on-road comfortable

FEATURED BIKE: TOPSTONE NEO CARBON

Topstone Neo Carbon More give A lot more go

The hybrid you can feel

Fuel economy figures - Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) for the 2019 CR-V 2.0 i-MMD Hybrid EX AWD eCVT mpg (l/100km): Low 33.6mpg (8.4L/100km), Medium 51.4mpg (5.5L/100km), High 44.8mpg (6.3L/100km), Extra High 31.4mpg (9.0L/100km), Combined 38.2mpg (7.4L/100km). New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) equivalent Combined CO2 emissions: 126g/km. The fuel consumption you achieve under real life driving conditions and CO 2 produced will depend upon a number of factors including the accessories fitted after registration, variations in driving styles, weather conditions and vehicle load. Figures stated are based on a standardised test cycle and may not reflect real world driving, therefore they should be used for comparison purposes only. Customers should only compare vehicles tested to the same technical procedures. Model Shown: CR-V Hybrid 2.0 i-MMD EX AWD eCVT in Platinum White Pearl at ÂŁ39,600 On The Road (OTR).

CONTENTS August 2020

8 Lucky break: serendipitous

surfing in Tasmania

10 Under the bridge: a masterclass

in martial arts ‘tricking’

11 Hole new world: plotting a pitted

path in the South Pacific

12 Let it slide: skate adventures in

a disused Canarian aquapark

14 Agitate, educate, organise: The

1975 frontman Matt Healy shares his pick of music with a message

16 Planet perspective: how artist

Olafur Eliasson is changing the way we view climate change

18 Island hopping: see the Faroes

through the eyes of a local. Best bit is, you’re controlling them 20 Bugged out: a personal protective

suit for the responsible raver

22 Salad spinner: sustainable indoor

farming goes high-tech

24 C ody Cassidy

No question is unanswerable for the American science writer

26 S tefan Hunt

Talking age and empathy with the award-winning filmmaker

2 8 Jessica Nabongo

The pioneering globetrotter advocating diversity in travel and a fresh look at adventure

Ahead of the pack: lockdown has been a game-changer for cyclo-cross and cross-country rider Evie Richards

30 M att Jones

How the MTB freestyler built a rider’s paradise in his garden

38 Evie Richards

The British bike star who slowed down to surge ahead

48 G amelife

Inside the ‘third space’, where gaming and socialising collide

56 M arc Márquez SHAMIL TANNA

Showing respect is the mark of a champion, says the MotoGP ace

6 2 Eco-Challenge

The peaks and pitfalls of devising a reality adventure TV show

THE RED BULLETIN

73 Screen queen: how home training

on virtual cycling platform Zwift has opened up a world of opportunity for triathlete Ruth Astle – and pitted her against the racing elite 77 Splash hit: our pick of this season’s hottest swimming gear 78 Best foot forward: trail shoes that are up to the task 80 Hard pressed: Olympic medalwinning snowboarder Billy Morgan takes the #canchallenge to the next level 81 Rapid recovery: pulse away pain like a professional athlete with the Theragun

82 Game of ’phones: five top

headsets for total immersion 83 Lap star: virtual racing tips from the Esports driver who coaches Formula 1 pros 84 Open season: innovative kit for outdoor socialising, wherever your adventure takes you 86 Essential dates for your calendar 88 True grit: everything you need to know about the cycling phenomenon that is gravel – from what to ride to what to wear 98 Picking up the slack: highline high-jinks in Estonia

SHIPSTERN BLUFF, TASMANIA

Swell of success STU GIBSON/RED BULL ILLUME

Award-winning surf photography isn’t all about preparation and technique – timing is key, too. When Tasmanian-born action photographer Stu Gibson set off for his local big-wave hotspot with surfer friend Mikey Brennan, little did he know a career high was looming. “We were shooting videos with a drone that day,” says Gibson. “It was kind of grey, and all of a sudden the sun came out, so I quickly jumped in the water with my stills camera. About 30 minutes later, it went really cold and ugly again, but I’d got this bomb set of Mikey!” stugibson.net

CERGY, FRANCE

Trick of the light A photographer’s local knowledge can be invaluable – as Theo Burette found when shooting martial arts ‘tricker’ Jonathan Viardot. “We’re both from Cergy, just outside Paris,” he says, “and its amphitheatre was the perfect place for the shoot, because of the principal light source coming from the top of the bridge.” Still largely an underground sport, tricking combines elements of martial arts, gymnastics and breakdancing. Says Burette, “I wanted to translate the beauty of the movements, that moment in the action where time seems to stop.” theoburette.com

MAKATEA, FRENCH POLYNESIA

Mind the gaps

THEO BURETTE/RED BULL ILLUME, JEREMY BERNARD / RED BULL ILLUME

“For 60 years, this island was a phosphate mine,” says action sports photographer Jeremy Bernard of the spectacular coral atoll of Makatea in the South Pacific. “What remains from the phosphate extraction is abandoned buildings, rusted train and rails and holes.” Such a dramatic backdrop proved irresistible to the Frenchman. “Helped by Solenne [Piret, two-time paraclimbing world champion, pictured], we set up the rope on the ground and pretended she was climbing through those holes,” reveals Bernard. “From a drone perspective, it feels like Solenne is climbing one of the most unique and aesthetic routes in the world.” jeremy-bernard.com

GRAN CANARIA, SPAIN

The water may have long since been drained from this disused aquapark in the Canary Islands, but for persistent skaters like Tom Kleinschmidt there’s still fun to be had. “Two weeks earlier, Tom had asked permission to skate here, but the guy watching the place had said no,” explains photographer and fellow German Eric Gross. “The man gave the same answer this time, but as we left he came up and told us to return at 5pm when he was alone. He said he’d changed his mind because we’d been so polite. Then he told us about a famous US skater who’d been a real asshole and had insulted him. So it pays to be nice!” erik-gross.net

ERIK GROSS/RED BULL ILLUME

Flume with a view

â&#x20AC;&#x2030; 13

THE 1975

Getting the message Matty Healy, frontman of one of the UK’s most socially conscious bands, on four songs that get him fired up Why limit yourself to just one musical genre when you can play them all? With each of their three UK number one albums, The 1975 have broadened their sound further, creating a unique blend of R&B, punk, ambient and synth-pop that has won them a diverse fanbase. Alongside the music, the Manchester-based quartet have made headlines with their political activism – advocating sustainable shows, speaking out on LGBTQ+ rights, demanding a 50/50 gender split at festivals; and the opening track on their latest album, Notes On A Conditional Form, features a speech by Greta Thunberg. Here, lead singer Matty Healy shares his playlist of music with something important to say… Notes On A Conditional Form is out now; the1975.com

“I love this track. It’s a manifesto, and the lyrics [in which Jamaican reggae artist Tosh demands justice and equal rights rather than peace] are just so true and so real. The spirit of this literally generates all of our songs, all of the emotional ideas. Everything starts with a song like this.” 14

James Brown

Refused

Radiohead

“This is an amazing song – and it’s a very current subject, obviously. He’s talking about civil rights and misogyny. He sings that the world “wouldn’t be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl” – that is so true. I heard it again the other day and it made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.”

“This [Swedish hardcore] band have had a big influence on us – like on our recent single People – not only with their political activism, but also with their energy and urgency. This song is the most punk-rock thing I’ve ever heard. Honestly, Refused were the last heavy band that I really gave a fuck about.”

“At times, Thom Yorke writes songs that are so odd. This one reminds me of England and the disappointment that fuels our society. We’re so disappointed in ourselves, and we celebrate that so much. We celebrate our dreary shitness right across the board. It feels like a very true English statement.”

It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World (1966)

Rather Be Dead (1996)

The Daily Mail (2011)

THE RED BULLETIN

MARCEL ANDERS

Equal Rights (1977)

BRETT LLOYD

Peter Tosh

FOR us

#explorers

STEREO HYBRID 140

STEREO HYBRID 140 HPC ACTIONTEAM 625 29

STEREO HYBRID 140 HPC TM 625 29

STEREO HYBRID 140 H P C S LT 6 2 5 2 9

120, 140 or 160? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s a full suspension e-bike for everyone in our Stereo range. Each boasts an optimised chassis, geometry and components, so all you have to do is choose the one that matches your preferred type and style of riding! Decisions, decisions...

TO LOCATE YOUR NEAREST CUBE DEALER, PLEASE VISIT: CUBE.EU/DEALER-SEARCH CUBEBIKESUK

CUBEBIKESUK

Art for Earth’s sake To make the world a better place, first you must change your perspective With his latest creation, Olafur Eliasson (pictured left) wants us to be the artist. The world-renowned Danish-Icelandic artist’s work Earth Perspectives comprises nine fluorescent images of our planet; to unlock their meaning, the viewer must take a deeper look. For an example, stare at the dot at the centre of the globe on this page for 10 seconds before shifting your gaze to a neutral surface. The image produced by your eyes is, in effect, your own work of art and a new, unique view of the world. Earth Perspectives may be easy to engage with, but 16

the artist’s meaning is complex. Though best known for his vast and conceptual installations, Eliasson has created this smaller-scale participatory piece to help alter our view of the planet during this time of ecological crisis. By presenting areas under threat from climate change – including the Great Barrier Reef and Greenland’s ice sheet – as well as the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in Ukraine, the images prompt us to recalibrate the way we see our world. “Earth Perspectives envisions the Earth we want to live on together by

THE RED BULLETIN

OLAFUR ELIASSON, GETTY IMAGES

OLAFUR ELIASSON

welcoming multiple perspectives,” Eliasson says. “Not only the perspectives of humans, but also those of plants, animals and nature. A glacier’s perspective deviates from that of a human. The same goes for a river.” Eliasson’s work is part of the Serpentine Galleries’ Back To Earth programme, a multi-year project that will bring together more than 60 artists, poets, architects, filmmakers, scientists, thinkers and designers in a call to action on the climate crisis. Already urgent, this message now seems even more prescient due to the global pandemic. “The current health crisis has brought our societies close to a halt, affecting our economies, our freedoms and even our social ties,” says Eliasson. “We must take the time to empathise with all those struck by the crisis, and to seize this opportunity to imagine together the Earth we want to inhabit in the future, in all its wonders and beauty, in the face of all the challenges ahead of us.” To see Earth Perspectives in its entirety – and pieces by other participants, including Judy Chicago and Jane Fonda – visit the Serpentine Galleries online. serpentinegalleries.org

LOU BOYD

Greenland’s ice sheet (shown in black) melted at record levels in 2019, shedding an estimated 370 billion tonnes

Over the last 50 years, the Air Zermatt rescue team has conducted more than 48,000 rescues on the Matterhorn and surrounding terrain.

Walk like a Faroese: no, not like an Egyptian (that’s a pharaoh)

CONTROL YOUR OWN FAROE ISLANDER

Remote adventures As the world adapted to the restrictions of social distancing, one of its most isolated communities devised an ingenious way to safely welcome visitors

LOU BOYD

Levi Hanssen from the Faroes’ tourism board. “We’ve told our virtual visitors they can control us entirely, but only if they keep us out of harm’s way.” The number of virtual expeditions conducted by foot, horseback and even helicopter is already in double figures. “People have even asked our guides to jump into the ocean, or to chase sheep,” says Hanssen. “Our response has been to laugh, explain why that’s not possible, and offer a different route.” Through this innovative tourism initiative, the islanders are hosting more visitors than before the lockdown. “Our people are shaped by the harsh elements that have surrounded us for generations,” says Hanssen. “We’re a wonderful blend of isolation, robustness, genuineness and warmth.” And when it’s finally safe to travel again, the Faroese hope more people will be inspired to visit their community for real. remote-tourism.com

KIRSTIN VANG/VISIT FAROE ISLANDS

The inhabitants of the Faroe Islands were well prepared for the social-distancing measures of 2020. This self-governing archipelago in the North Atlantic is one of the most remote human civilisations on the planet. But while the populace of around 49,000 may be physically cut off from the rest of the world, they’ve never been ones to socially isolate: the PM publicly lists his phone number, and in 2016 the islands reached out to other countries through Google ‘Sheep View’, with webcams strapped onto local flocks. In April this year, with the world in lockdown, the Faroese reached out again, launching virtual visits to the 18 islands’ amazing landscapes via locals rigged up with a camera and a mic. “The audience chooses commands on a remote controller on the screen of their mobile device, which sends live instructions to an earpiece in the guide’s ear within milliseconds,” explains

THE RED BULLETIN

CYCLING LUXURY NEO ME TALL IC MEE T S ENGINEERED DESIGN

Introducing the Lezyne Neo Metallic range A new, brilliantly enhanced selection of our premium accessories. Lite Drive 1000XL

The distinctive finish adds a touch of customisation to your ride that will dazzle your followers. Engineered Design never looked more bling! CNC Cage £35 | Pocket Drive Pro £45

Classic Drive 700XL

Hecto Drive 500XL £50 | Classic Drive £70 | Lite Drive £80

PROUDLY DISTRIBUTED BY UPGRADE BIKES LTD | UPGRADEBIKES.CO.UK | 01403 711 611 | WWW.LEZYNE.COM

MICRASHELL

Pandemic at the disco As nightclubs and festivals look forward to reopening, this personal protective suit could be the future of rave fashion

satisfy this desire, Risueño’s creative studio, Production Club, has developed a personal protective suit for ravers. The Micrashell may make its wearer look like an extra from The Martian, but there’s some serious technology built in. “We’ve prioritised the safety element, which relies on a filtration system similar to that found in PAPR (powered airprocessing respirator) suits,” says Risueño. “Then we added functional and design features that make the suit compelling.” These include an internal drinks and vape supply, a personal sound system, and the requisite glowing LEDs: “The drinking-canister system is a solution to long waiting lines and eliminates the possibility of getting roofied. The individualised speaker system helps avoid ear fatigue.” The Micrashell is currently in the prototype phase, being tested by Risueño himself. “I’m writing this from the inside of a very loud, very safe and very ugly helmet,” he says. The company has even considered the suit’s possibilities off the dancefloor. “Drinking, going to the restroom and potentially having sex are all things we could not neglect,” he adds. “That’s why the suit only covers your torso upwards.” production.club/micrashell

PRODUCTION CLUB

LOU BOYD

Nights spent dancing in crowded rooms, sharing drinks and throwing arms around other people are all pleasures that are fast becoming distant memories for party lovers. But one collective of club music fans have made it their goal to bring back those moments as soon as possible. “Human-to-human interaction gives you a sense of purpose that cannot be substituted virtually just yet,” says LA-based creative director Miguel Risueño. “It conveys emotions in a more complex and desirable manner.” To THE RED BULLETIN

THE TRACK D OES N’T MAKE ITS ELF FAMOUS .

WHAT AR E YO U BU IL DIN G FO R ?

150 years of engineering progress. Check it out at www.BFGoodrichTires.com/150years .

Circle of life Sustainable high-tech horticulture has been brought down to earth by an Australian inventor A gleaming silver circle housing a colourful abundance of plant life silently rotates on its stand. You could be forgiven for assuming this stylish object belongs in a gallery, but it’s not a piece of art – this is a modern way of growing plants without the need for land, outdoor air, or even sunlight. Created for a world with diminishing outdoor space and an unpredictable climate, the 22

THE RED BULLETIN

LOU BOYD

ROTOFARM

Rotofarm is billed as a “revolution in indoor farming”. The device, which grows leafy greens, herbs, microgreens and more using hydroponics, was given a modern aesthetic by its inventor, Toby Farmer. “It’s a completely new concept for growing plants, so I could go to town on the design with a new level of freedom, bringing magic and art to the product,” says the 23-year-old Australian. Farmer drew inspiration from how astronauts grow plants during space travel. “NASA proved that plants can grow successfully without geotropism, which is where gravity informs them where to place roots and direct leaves,” he explains. “This meant that growing plants in the most space-efficient shape possible – a circle – could be achieved.” The chic sculpture – in which the vegetables rotate 360° every 46 minutes around an LED lamp – produces a crop three times bigger than is possible in the same space outdoors. “And because of the single light source, we can take advantage of light-beam angles, reducing energy consumption,” says Farmer. “Also, wetting and draining the roots as they rotate means they get a continued supply of oxygen, which contributes to plant health.” The Rotofarm isn’t only about style and innovation; Farmer believes it could be the first step to a more environmentally sound way of life. “Huge amounts of land are cleared on an hourly basis to grow organic produce,” he explains. “A lot of us already have enough space in our own living situations to grow what’s needed for us as individuals.” Home farming may have been a hard sell in the past, but if our food can be grown with zero effort, in stylish floating vessels that we can show off to our friends, many more people might soon be foraging for their dinner in their living room bace.co/rotofarm

BACE

Rotofarm: staring at the salad bar has never been so engrossing

WIIINGS FOR YOUR SUMMER. WITH THE TASTE OF WATERMELON.

VITALIZES BODY AND MIND.

Cody Cassidy

Rewriting history Who drank the first beer? Who invented the joke? The US writer took such seemingly unresolvable questions and came back with answers... Words FLORIAN OBKIRCHER Photography WOLFGANG ZAC

There are still some questions even a Google search can’t answer satisfactorily; questions that will pop into your head randomly, like ‘Who drank the first beer?’ and ‘Who invented inventions?’. San Franciscobased science writer Cody Cassidy, 36, spent more than three years scouring libraries, debating with experts and travelling the world on a quest to solve the mysteries behind some of humanity’s most significant innovations. His new book, Who Ate the First Oyster? The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History, unearths the stories of 17 important but little-known pioneers from antiquity – from the person who discovered fire to the teller of the first joke. the red bulletin: What was the idea behind the book? cody cassidy: When we think about ancient history, we don’t often think of individuals. And yet there were singular geniuses who invented and discovered things we still use today. In my book, I talk about these individuals, describing their lives and the circumstances of their firsts. How do you know who these individuals were if they lived in a time before writing? Well, we don’t know who exactly was the first person to fire a bow and arrow. But we can use different techniques from archaeology, anthropology and other sciences to try to pinpoint when and how it occurred. Piecing it all together felt like being a detective.

How did you choose the firsts? I focused on what we know an individual achieved. There are many examples of firsts that probably evolved over time, like the first person who invented religion or spoke a language – there wasn’t an individual who accomplished those. What form did your research take? I travelled to places like Northern Italy to visit the murder scene of Ötzi [the more-than-5,300-year-old ‘iceman’ whose well-preserved mummy was discovered in 1991], and to the Chauvet Cave in France to see the first painted masterpiece. And I read lots of research papers. Those gave me a basic understanding of the subject, but often not as much as I’d needed on a specific individual, so I talked to the authors and pushed them to speculate with me about the motivation to innovate. Some of the tales take unexpected turns, like how the invention of the cartwheel possibly helped the Black Death spread across Europe. Were there many ‘aha!’ moments during your travels? Yes, a lot. For instance, many archaeologists think it was beer [not bread] that sparked farming and subsequently our modern lifestyle. In what way? There’s a mystery as to why huntergatherers sought out wheat and other cereals, because the wild versions of these plants were really difficult to harvest. The first theory was that they were interested in making bread, but now, as more evidence has emerged, we think they used it brew beer instead.

What do all these early innovators have in common? They all had a problem they were trying to solve, starting three million years ago when a young mother had a baby to hold. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to make a simple sling, but, back then, young mothers struggled. The head size of babies was getting bigger, but the mother’s birth canal remained narrow as was necessary for walking upright. This meant babies were born prematurely, which made them easy prey. So one mum came up with a way to hold the baby and still gather food. Thanks to the sling, we could be born early in our development – as we are now – and mothers could carry us for a year or so before we could walk on our own. Are we too dismissive of the genius of prehistoric inventions? Yes. There’s this common mistake that cavemen were morons, illiterate savages. Cartoons and such haven’t helped in that regard. But they were more sophisticated, or at least had more generalised knowledge of their environment than we do now. They needed to know all the different plants and how to prepare and eat them. Look at what’s considered to be art’s first masterpiece [the Panel of Horses in the Chauvet Cave] – that was painted 33,000 years ago in the middle of the Ice Age. You can’t look at it and not see genius. What did you learn from writing this book? Often, we assume that we’re smart and therefore we have tools. But I realised that we invented these tools and therefore we became smart. We think these tools are just small, natural extensions of who we are, but often it’s the reverse. We discovered beer and it instigated the greatest-ever shift in our lifestyle. It isn’t just that these tools and these discoveries make our lives a little bit better and easier; in many cases, they shifted the course of our evolution. Who Ate the First Oyster? The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History is out now, published by Penguin Books

THE RED BULLETIN

”Piecing it all together felt like being a detective” THE RED BULLETIN

Stefan Hunt

Time to shine The Australian director talks about his journey from gap-year surfer to filmmaker – and his mission to make us all more connected Words RUTH MORGAN Photography LITTLE GREEN EYES

At the age of 18, Australian Stefan Hunt set off – in an ice cream van, accompanied by his friend Jonathan Durrant – on a mission to surf in all 50 US states, despite most of them being landlocked. The documentary Hunt made of his adventure, Surfing 50 States, was a hit, and so began an eclectic filmmaking career that has since seen him shoot documentaries, short films, commercials and music videos across six continents. The award-winning director injects every project with the same sense of adventure that got him started in the industry. “Filmmaking is still the byproduct of me trying to jam-pack my life with the things I love,” he says, “whether that’s travel or surf or, more recently, more social-impact issues.” Hunt’s latest short, They Saw The Sun First, shines a light on the older generation in New York City – the place the 32-yearold now calls home. Through an unusual combination of stories and dance, the film is an uplifting reminder to grab life by the horns. the red bulletin: Your entry into the world of film wasn’t all that conventional… stefan hunt: No! I spent my gap year driving an ice cream van around America for seven months, making a surfing documentary. When I was 17 and in my final year of high school, my mate Jonno [Durrant] emailed a group of mates, saying he’d been reading On The Road by Jack Kerouac and wanted to travel all 50 US states. It ended up being just me and him, and, as we both love surfing, we decided it

would be amazing to do that. At first, we thought it wouldn’t be possible – 30-plus states are landlocked. But we decided to get creative. So, how do you surf with no sea? We were dragged behind a tractor on a potato farm in Idaho and pulled by cowboys on horseback in Texas; we surfed on the Great Lakes and [across the set of] a stage play of The Wizard of Oz in Kansas. We definitely stretched the definition of surfing. But it became a travel documentary of this incredible, eye-opening experience about humans and culture and the value of travel. It got a great response: we were invited to film festivals and it played on TV. We had no idea about filmmaking before that. Now I use [the medium] to try to leave a positive message out there in the world. If you hadn’t gone on that trip, what would you be doing now? When I was about eight, my dad asked what I wanted to be. I said a children’s entertainer, because I never liked the idea of becoming an adult. So in another life I would be a professional clown. But I fell into filmmaking, and I had enough naivety – at least at first – to just go for it and not to think about failing. Where did you get the idea for They Saw The Sun First? I haven’t had anyone elderly in my life for many years. I started to realise that all the opinions and advice in my life, from podcasts or films or interviews or whatever, came from younger people. So I became curious to hear what the older generation have to say. I knew there must be value there, but they just don’t have the platform to share it, because they’re not on Instagram

or Facebook. The conversations I got into became these free-flowing talks containing all these gems of wisdom. One friend described the film as a love letter to life. Is ageism something we still need to tackle? Ageism is definitely still a thing. There’s a big disconnect between younger people and the older generation in any era, but today more than ever. When I spoke to these people in their eighties and nineties, you could see their young self as they were talking. It was a reminder that the only differences between us and the older generation are a few more wrinkles and a little less physical ability. There’s so much wisdom in the interviews. They’re words a young audience should listen to time and time again. They are empowering younger people to go for it, to not grow old with regret. You chose a younger dancer to represent each older voice in the film. How did that come about? Listening to their stories was mesmerising, and my wife – who’s a choreographer – and I felt dance fitted that really well. It’s not these big, flashy dance moves; it’s quite minimal and it matches the tone and pace of the voices. The performers chose which older person’s story resonated most for them, then we allowed them to dance or move based on that. There was a lot they could relate to, which comes across in the power of the performances. So, the message is that we all have more in common than we realise? Absolutely. I have a real desire to inspire the audience to be more connected and empathetic. Just because you don’t have older people’s voices in your life on a regular basis doesn’t mean they’re not important or that they don’t deserve the time to be heard. As the African saying goes: “Old people’s speech is not to be dishonoured – after all, they saw the sun first.” That message is more relevant than ever. Watch They Saw The Sun First at redbull.com

THE RED BULLETIN

“A friend described my film as a love letter to life”

THE RED BULLETIN

Jessica Nabongo

Have love, will travel

we set aside class and race, everyone is dealing with the same thing. The actions we take will affect not just our next-door neighbour, but everyone. It’s showing how the entire world is our neighbourhood.

Meet the writer, photographer, influencer and entrepreneur who wants to change the face of the travel industry Words JESSICA HOLLAND Photography ELTON ANDERSON

In October last year, Jessica Nabongo became the first black woman in history to visit every country on the planet. Landing in the Seychelles, the 195th country of her travels, the 36-year-old Ugandan-American completed a two-and-a-half-year expedition that had taken her from cities in Africa to the beaches of Indonesia, from deserts in the Middle East to the countryside of Europe – and she’d documented the entire journey for her 180,000-plus followers online. But Nabongo’s Instagram and website are more than simply a showcase of her travels; her work challenges Western preconceptions about which parts of the world are worth visiting and who should be travelling to them. Through her history-making tour and the travel company she founded – Jet Black – Nabongo has highlighted the need for equal representation in a still overwhelmingly white industry. Five months after she completed her itinerary, freely travelling the world became an impossibility for everyone. But, says Nabongo, by channelling the spirit of adventure and curiosity, strong connections can still be made. the red bulletin: Where did you get the idea to visit every country? jessica nabongo: It was a personal goal from my early twenties. In 2017, I set myself a deadline: I’d been to 60 countries and I decided to visit them all by my 35th. I did it five months after my birthday.

You became the first black woman in history to achieve it – why was this important to you? Black people haven’t always had access to travel in the same way that their white counterparts have, because of the multiple layers of discrimination through colonisation and also domestically in some countries. When I was travelling on both an American and a Ugandan passport, I had issues along the way. It made me realise that it was important to show immigration officers around the world that I was an African passport holder travelling entirely for tourism. What made you launch your own travel company? I founded Jet Black to focus on travel in Africa, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. There are so many places in those regions that are amazing for tourism but don’t get many visitors because people don’t hear about them. Everyone is off to Paris, but what about Dakar, Accra, Lagos? I wanted to change the narrative and boost tourism to those kinds of places. What’s been the most important lesson from your experiences? One thing I asked people in every country was, “What makes you happy?” I always got the same answer: to be with the people they love, to see their children happy. Regardless of race, class, gender, religion, nationality, we’re all just people; there’s very little that separates us. During COVID, we’ve become even more connected. I’ve spoken to people from Europe, Africa, Asia, and it’s crazy that, if

How have you dealt with self-isolation? I love to explore, and I’m missing that, but we’re all dealing with the cards laid out in front of us. I fell into a depression at one point during lockdown. I wasn’t eating, I was just drinking alcohol, losing weight. One day I woke up and was like, “No, I’m not doing this,” and I downloaded [meditation app] Headspace. I’ve wanted to start meditating for years, but it’s hard when I travel and don’t have a routine. Meditation introduced calm and mindfulness into my life; I can now sit and focus instead of my mind being all over the place. How can we stay curious about a world we can’t explore? Now is the chance to explore locally. I know Kenyans who say their passport doesn’t get them anywhere, so I ask them, “Have you been to Lamu? Mombasa? Mount Kenya?” There’s so much to do in your home country. We need the current travel barriers – they’re crucial for the health of people around the world – but there are ways to explore a place you want to visit without actually going. You can watch [videos] and read about it. This is an opportunity to do a deep dive. You’ll be better educated when you finally go. Why is travel so important? It helps us to stop seeing Pakistani, English, French, Senegalese, Ghanaian, and instead recognise the person and see we’re all the same. In the West, we’re afraid of the bogeyman, and often that bogeyman is black or brown. Once people start travelling, they have interactions with others they’ve traditionally been taught to fear. That builds not only tolerance, but love. It increases our humanity. thecatchmeifyoucan.com; Instagram: @thecatchmeifyoucan

THE RED BULLETIN

”Everyone is off to Paris – what about Dakar, Accra, Lagos?” THE RED BULLETIN

THE BIKE ISSUE

Gardening leave

When normal life ground to a halt, freestyle mountain biker MATT JONES changed gear. With a few tools and his bare hands, the 25-year-old transformed his backyard into a personal bike track – and entertained hundreds of thousands online in the process Words RACHAEL SIGEE Photography EISA BAKOS

THE RED BULLETIN

Going hands-free: Jones performs a tuck no-hander on the final right hip jump of the line

Matt Jones

t’s a glorious June morning, and Matt Jones is watering his garden in Hertfordshire. “I love doing this!” he yells, waving the hose around. “Sometimes I come out in the evening, too, even when it doesn’t need it!” But the elite freestyle mountain-bike rider isn’t talking about flower beds. Just past the patio, the garage and the pool – complete with flamingo and pizzaslice inflatables – Jones is standing in the middle of what remains of his lawn, aiming water at a series of mounds of dirt that are taller than he is. They stretch for more than a hundred metres, swerving along a hedge and a track carved deep into the mud. Next to him is a GoPro perched atop of a shovel stuck in the ground, capturing everything. For the past 10 weeks, as half the country was baking banana bread, this has been Jones’ passion project: building a DIY bike track from scratch, in his own backyard. The rider has a seemingly unstoppable work ethic – 40 days of lockdown went by before he had a day off. Even when merely demonstrating his new pickaxe on the latest half-built feature, he trails off, hammering away

silently at the dry ground for several moments before apologising, “Sorry, I get carried away once I start.” The 100 tonnes of topsoil behind him provide visible confirmation of this. Even as a kid riding and learning the ropes at Woburn Bike Park in Buckinghamshire, close to where he grew up, Jones was digging and building sand jumps in the woods to try out new tricks. Now, at 25, he’s one of the world’s most exciting riders, known for his technical ability, fearless approach and imaginative flair. After breaking onto the international scene at just 18, he quickly climbed the ranks with highprofile finishes at international competitions including X Games and Crankworx, before wildcarding his way onto the 2016 FMB Diamond Series World Tour to compete against the best riders on the planet. Jones’ handson approach has meant that, outside of competition, he has been heavily involved in designing and building jumps and trails, including the training compound (or “massive playground”) 20 minutes from his home. Jones had been flexing this creative muscle when lockdown kicked in: he was in the middle of a new project, in partnership with Ford UK, to create a four-part documentary series as something of a follow-up to his 2017 film Frames of Mind, which featured never-before-seen tricks like a backflip superhero into a nohander. He’d already got insights and inspiration from fellow riders Kriss Kyle, Gee Atherton and Kye Forte, and he was gearing up to film the final segment – an epic edit of world-first tricks landed on a custom-built track in Devon. “Kye Forte is a course-builder extraordinaire,” says Jones. “He built the course for Frames of Mind, so we’ve already got a relationship where I explain my vision and he executes it perfectly. Kriss Kyle is a creative genius – the way he rides his BMX is like no one else. I wanted to tap into that and get some guidance on turning an idea into something tangible. And in my eyes [downhill champion] Gee is the most headstrong rider in the world. It was sick to hear his techniques and strategies for being focused when it matters. I was so excited, because the project is almost THE RED BULLETIN

Giant steps: creating the track was a dawn-to-dusk job for Jones and Grist, involving shovelling, moulding and shifting more than 100 tonnes of topsoil

a new attack on the sport of freestyle and what it is to be able to learn your own tricks and do your own thing.” However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Jones’ plans to change. Instead of mourning the delay or slowing his pace, he decided he’d keep doing his own thing in a different way. He had a childhood dream of being able to drop in from his own doorstep; now that he was at home 24/7, it seemed like a good time to make that reality. Just before lockdown, Jones collected 30 tonnes of topsoil from a nearby farm, made a loose agreement with his fiancée Bec Cullum “not to take over the whole garden” and moved his friend and cameraman Ben Grist into his house to document the whole thing. Over the next 10 weeks, Jones and Grist worked tirelessly from dawn until dusk, shovelling and moulding – by wheelbarrow and hand – a bike track that wouldn’t only be functional, but also exciting to ride. Fuelled by the DIY ethic THE RED BULLETIN

that had helped him hone his talents in the woods as a teen, Jones has built a pump track beginning with three speedbuilding rollers, as well as incorporating right and left hip [meaning not straight] jumps, berms [banked turns] that hug the hedgerow, and an open loop-theloop. As he flies down the course on his super-light Marin Alcatraz – it weighs in at a fraction under 10kg – and whoops as he flicks the bike through each jump, it’s clear Jones has built a track that a world-class rider can really revel in. “Riding this is so much fun,” he says. “You start on the same roll-in every time, but I never really know which way I’m gonna go, which is amazing. And not having to pack a bag and load up the car to go riding! The opportunity to just spontaneously have a ride is unreal.” It’s not only the track Jones has been building – he has opened up his lockdown project to a growing community of fans who are following his exploits keenly

“Some people who don’t even own a bike say they sit down with their kids and watch [my videos] – they’re like family viewing” 33

“If I’d got a digger in, I wouldn’t have ended up building the unique stuff”

Matt Jones

High achiever: Jones lays the bike down for a tabletop on the right hip

online. Many of his pre-existing fans were more used to seeing Jones soaring through the air on his bike than working on his hands and knees with a trowel. But time-lapse videos of him and Grist tirelessly digging have become as popular as clips of Jones actually riding, as their mammoth task has captured the imagination of hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide, old and new, who watch his lockdown diaries on YouTube. “Some people who don’t even own a bike say they sit down with their kids and watch them – they’re like family viewing,” Jones laughs. “This has changed things a lot. You’re having to tell a story that isn’t just one video. You’re committing to the fact this project is gonna work, that you’re gonna see it through.” Before this, Jones had already begun to reassess whether competition riding was for him. “I’ve always felt cornered by the style of course in slopestyle,” says Jones. “Everyone rides the same features, and you have to do your best tricks on them – which is the whole point – but I’ve always thought a bit wider than those parameters. I get more of a buzz out of doing something no one has ever done before than beating everyone on the day. I’ve won lots of competitions and been over the moon – but if I come eighth, the emotion isn’t that different. I want to be more creative.”

ith the lockdown diaries, Jones may have found a path to the future in his own backyard. Reinventing his garden has given Jones a broader audience and a remit to do whatever he wants. With updates posted every few days, viewers have followed closely as Jones and Grist – with the assistance of Cullum and the less-helpful input of Moose, the couple’s fan-favourite chocolate labrador – have edged slowly down the garden, testing out each element as they go. Jones has even ridden the track on a mountain bike made for five-year-olds, bought on eBay. “The minibike is just for comedic value,” he laughs. “I’m almost embarrassed of it, but it’s so funny. And actually it’s extremely difficult to ride the thing round. To take a jump you can do on a normal bike with your eyes closed and then do it on a minibike feels like a win.” It’s the mix of this kind of silliness alongside the hours of toiling in the soil and landing demanding tricks that has won Jones firm fans. In another episode, 35

“The opportunity to just spontaneously have a ride without packing a bag and loading up the car is unreal” Over easy: the MTB maverick flips backwards and sideways from the vertical Gnarwall take-off onto the main landing of the line

THE RED BULLETIN

Matt Jones

he created a ‘Lockdown Olympics’ – a kind of mini pentathlon in which he, Grist and Cullum raced against the clock to ride the main track, then do a short circuit on a pit bike, then ride a lawnmower, then the minibike, and finally hit a target of tin cans using a BB gun. This homemade approach, along with Jones’ infectious ambition and creativity, has inspired fans to send in videos of their own backyard builds. “That’s cool, innit?” says Jones. “It’s one thing watching, but another thing replicating. My main advice is to get more dirt than you think. And if you’re gonna try to convince parents, make sure you use the track. When I was younger, I spent about two months building a pump track in the garden, never rode it, then went away on a riding holiday with mates. Dad flattened it.”

uddenly, Jones is speaking to a whole new audience that’s invested in the project, offering suggestions and looking to be entertained while stuck at home. “I’ve felt massive pressure to keep videos coming out, because people were messaging so much. Not negative pressure – I just felt empowered. You suddenly have people from all over the world chipping in, and I couldn’t stop.” As each new feature of the course nears completion, viewers have offered imaginative suggestions for names. “We realised early on that the audience was wider than the core mountain-bike crowd,” says Jones. “Mountain-bike features have weird names like spines, hips and transfers, and I knew that as soon as you start putting those words in sentences, people just get turned off.” Hence, riders of the course must now navigate the Shark Fin, the Tortoise, El Grande and the Gnarwall. “We’ve got this audience of people who want in on the experience, so I’m always asking for their ideas, and I like to honour that. It’s been tailored towards what the audience wants.” And, perhaps even more crucially, viewers have jumped in with advice on the stuff Jones is less familiar with, such as the challenges of working with topsoil rather than sand. “Some comments have been absolutely pivotal,” he says. With wheelbarrow trips numbering into the thousands, and jumps carefully smoothed into shape by hand, it’s even more evident in person how much manual labour, creativity and craftsmanship has gone

THE RED BULLETIN

Spray it again: “Sometimes I come out in the evening, too, even when it doesn’t need [watering]!”

into the track. “I could have got a digger in, but then it would have just been a stock three jumps. It would have ruined the art and creation side. I wouldn’t have ended up building intricate shapes, cool features, unique stuff.” Anyone who has watched previous videos of Jones will notice that this course looks like small fry. The highest jump is around 2m tall, which he describes as “Mickey Mouse in relation to competition stuff”. At his training compound, Jones usually practises on a 3m take-off with a 10m-tall scaffolding structure and a 4m-high airbag landing. His first trips to the compound after the easing of the lockdown provided a sobering reminder of the gulf in scale, as

Ready to go: Jones was in the middle of a documentary project featuring the Ford Ranger Raptor when lockdown kicked in

he found himself nervy at the heights: “It was so weird. I’ve never had that in my life. Riding here [on the backyard track] has kept me active, but it’s so different.” Which is why Jones is itching to get back to riding the big jumps and filming stuff that currently only exists in his head: “I’m buzzing to get this Ford Ranger Raptor project going again, because it could be a chance to put my flag in the ground for the year. I had a bit of momentum going. I was on a roll.” But in switching focus from landing the most complex trick or riding the gnarliest jumps, Jones has been able to have some fun with his backyard build and make the most of the opportunity to return to his roots as a DIY digger. And the process has shone a light on the rider behind the next-level tricks Jones is known for. Now, his new fans will be watching to see what he does next. It seems inevitable that, no matter what other projects come up, the backyard bike trail will continue to grow. “We’re not at the end of the field, so in my eyes it’s not done,” he says as the sun starts to set on another day of digging. “It has to get to the end!” He pauses. “But then it’s flat enough that you could come back again to the start…” he trails off, lost in thought. Once again, Matt Jones is getting carried away. Watch Matt Jones’ latest videos on YouTube; youtube.com 37

THE BIKE ISSUE

Foot off the pedal Pushing limits, facing pain, getting back in the saddle: it all comes naturally to cyclo-cross and cross-country star EVIE RICHARDS. But, to find enduring success, the two-time world champion had to learn how to slow down Words JESSICA HOLLAND Photography SHAMIL TANNA

Dirt demon: after slipping into 15th place in the first lap at Hoogerheide, Richards makes up time on a muddy section of the track â&#x20AC;&#x201C; her speciality

â&#x20AC;&#x2030; 39

Evie Richards

“I skived nearly every sports day when I was at school. I just couldn’t deal with the pressure of losing”

t’s a bright, clear January day in the small Dutch village of Hoogerheide – a time when no one’s yet heard the phrase ‘social distancing’ – and Evie Richards isn’t happy to see the sunshine. The 23-yearold British cyclist is gridded in the third row for the final event of the Cyclo-cross World Cup series, behind 16 other riders who are all tensely waiting for the start light. Thousands of spectators line the barriers that snake around the route, through trees, round sharp bends, down rutted descents and, at one point, up a long, steep flight of stairs. This is where competitors throw their bike over their shoulder and sprint up on foot: the signature image of cyclo-cross, a sport that combines some of the more chaotic elements of mountain biking with stretches of racing on flat concrete. Many of the top competitors in the Elite Women’s category have road-racing backgrounds, giving them an advantage when the terrain is dry and smooth. But Richards’ primary discipline is crosscountry mountain biking, which means she wakes up on race days hoping to hear rain against her window. Bad weather lets her show off her strengths, like sliding around hairpin turns in the mud as she

battles for position with a scrum of other riders. On the day of the Hoogerheide World Cup, the early-morning mist has burnt off by the time riders from around the world are warming up on metal rollers outside their caravans, and the air is crisp. Perfect for the thousands of spectators who have congregated, if not ideal for Richards. Cyclo-cross is still fairly niche in the UK. For Richards, it’s an opportunity to keep training and competing through the winter so she’s on top form for the MTB season in the warmer months. But here, around 5km from the Belgian-Dutch border, we’re in cyclo-cross’ heartland. The wide appeal of the sport is evident as Richards and her competitors find their spots on the start grid; there are kids holding signs and running up to their favourite riders for autographs, older couples wrapped up against the chill, and one gaggle of drunk fans wearing matching rainbow-striped suits. A brass band is performing in fluorescent orange hi-vis jackets (one of the group wears a white top hat decorated with a rainbow flag), the scent of frying onions and bratwurst hangs in the air, and stallholders sell pictures of competitors, as well as scarves bearing their names. THE RED BULLETIN

Evie Richards

A hush drops over all this activity as the 30-second warning is called, and in Richards’ ears the ’80s pop that was blaring from speakers around the course is replaced by the sound of her heartbeat. Richards’ long blonde hair is tied back in a plait beneath her helmet, and – as at every race – she’s glamorously made-up, with nails painted sparkly silver and long, dark mascaraed lashes. She’s usually a blur of smiley, chatty motion, putting everyone around her at ease, but as the riders wait tensely for the start light, her normally expressive face becomes still, her eyes fixed and alert. Beneath her jersey, she wears a necklace given to her by her mother, reminding her to pace herself. It says, ‘Easy, tiger.’ Putting in the effort, wanting it, persevering in the face of exhaustion and pain: these things aren’t in question for Richards, who grew up in the shadow of the Malvern Hills, with a sports fanatic for a dad. Since at least the age of 11 she has been determined to compete in the Olympics, and her family have a ritual of watching them together, in their entirety, every four years. In 2008, she says, “I couldn’t even watch it all, because I so badly wanted to be part of it. I just started every sport possible, in the hope that one of them would take me there.” This single-mindedness had its downsides. At school, Richards was a gifted runner, but “I couldn’t always get myself to the start line, because I was so nervous. I skived nearly every sports day. I just couldn’t deal with the pressure of losing”. In her teens, she switched her focus from running to hockey, ascending quickly to County and then Regional level. But it was when she started cycling to her weekend job to improve her fitness that she found her calling: “I loved the fact that you could just leave your back door and go. I felt so free.” By 16, she was competing in MTB races at weekends and realised this could be her best shot at a Team GB jersey. While Richards had found hockey stick skills tedious, she discovered she had the seemingly limitless ability to keep going in the face of exhaustion and discomfort. 42

“A lot of people love the downhills, but I love riding uphill as fast as I can. That’s always where I’ve got the adrenalin from, just pushing myself to the limit.” At 18, after impressive performances in national races for both mountain bike and ’cross, Richards won an academy spot on the Great Britain Cycling Team, moving to Manchester to focus full-time on developing her athletic career. Just a few months later, she took part in the Cyclocross Under-23 World Championships – and came first. “It was so insane,” she says. “I hadn’t thought about winning a World Championships before, because it was so early in my career. I shock myself a lot, and I probably shocked everyone who was watching that race.”

s a world champion, Richards continued to rack up medals – including gold – at national and international level in cyclocross, and started getting on the podium at World Cup mountain-bike events, too. But it was getting harder to enjoy the successes. Her performance anxiety had returned, worse than ever. She would suffer “horrendous sickness in every mountain-bike race”, sometimes throwing up more than 30 times during an hourlong event. There were events at which she actually passed out because, she says, “I physically had nothing inside me.” Richards dealt with the anxiety by being even tougher on herself: she stuck

Richards wins the first-ever Women’s U23 race at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2016

to a regimented diet, didn’t see friends or take holidays that weren’t opportunities to ride, and trained every day, through every kind of weather, sickness or injury – and the injuries could be gruesome. She breezily mentions fracturing her collarbone as a junior, only to be back training on a stationary bike the next day, wearing a sling. More devastating still was a recurring knee injury that was triggered when she slipped on her bike on a cattle grid in 2017, at the age of 20. Her right leg fell through the bars and was sliced by shards of metal beneath, while her left was still attached to the bike, twisting badly enough to snap the pedal. “I was in so much pain, I cried on the floor for a bit. Then I brushed myself off and rode for another hour or two. Me being me, the next day I was back to normal training. I never thought about having time off.” The injured knee partially dislocated several times after this, and only a few days before a Cyclo-cross World Cup event in Namur, Belgium, in December 2017, just as she was walking out to meet other cyclists for a training ride, it gave way. “I just hit the ground screaming. It was horrendous. I was in so much pain. I remember being in the van crying the whole way back, knowing I wouldn’t be able to race. I was in so much agony.” The next day, she tentatively tried to ride on her stationary bike and managed a two-hour session. The day after that, following a three-hour ride, she began to think she might give it a go and compete in the World Cup race after all. “I went from being in tears and looking at flights home to being like, ‘No, I can do this. It’s not going to stop me.’” Richards had never raced a World Cup in the Elite category before, was gridded “dead last”, and had no idea if her knee would hold up. “There were so many things against me.” But she shocked herself again: she won. It was a dream result, but Richards couldn’t go on indefinitely without learning how to rein in some of her energy. In December 2018, her body forced her to slow down when her knee fully dislocated, and she had surgery THE RED BULLETIN

GETTY IMAGES

“I loved that with cycling you could just leave your back door and go. I felt so free”

Shifting gear: the cycling ace says she’s “in a great place” as she waits for competitive racing to start up again

Leader of the pack: Richards pushes the pace of the race to string out the chasing group of riders

Evie Richards

GETTY IMAGES

“On top of a mountain, looking down, you’re in your own little bubble. It helps put things into perspective” a few weeks later. Having refused to ever take a day off from riding, she was told she couldn’t get on the bike – or run, or do any of the activities she’d structured most of her life around – for five months. With her childhood dream of the Olympics hovering on the horizon, this was a catastrophe for Richards. But resilience is her superpower and she refused to crumble. “I don’t like regretting things,” she says. “I could have just been miserable and hated life, but I tried to view it as a time I could see my friends from home, or get really into swimming.” She now sees it “as a really valuable time. I really embraced the challenge, and I learnt so much from it. It’s probably the best thing that ever happened to me”. True to form, Richards was back racing a month earlier than predicted, and 2019 was one of her best seasons yet on the mountain bike. She finished third overall in the U23 World Cup series, and at the last event of the season she won gold. Now, she says she’s had “the best winter I’ve ever had from a training point of view”, and her knee, while not quite back to normal, is the best it has been since the initial injury. Richards was also getting stronger mentally. She had been working with a sports psychologist for the previous 18 months and hadn’t been sick on race day since. She’d learnt to talk through her fears before major competitions, and to avoid her tendency to eliminate any pleasure or comfort that isn’t beneficial to her athletic performance. Her strategy as she went into that race in the Netherlands, she says, was “training hard, but not missing out on life”. All the same, the atmosphere was tense in Hoogerheide as the start light flashed and spectators drummed eagerly on the barriers lining the route. During the first lap, Richards overtook almost a dozen riders on a steep descent, carving out a different line from the rest, and was soon in the tight group of five leading the pack. She pushed out ahead for almost one whole exhilarating lap, but couldn’t keep the momentum going. In the end – and with the extra drama of the rider in THE RED BULLETIN

Richards celebrates taking silver in the Nerang MTB Trials at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

first crashing to the ground just moments from the finish – Richards came in fifth. Richards may not have made it to the podium, but she was happy with how it went on that January day. She knew other riders had been organising their schedules around these events, tapering off their training to be fresh for race day and doing ’cross-specific training. Her primary focus back then was the upcoming mountain-bike season and specifically the single Team GB spot reserved for a woman rider at the 2020 Games, which was due to be announced in May. Annie Last, who represented Britain at London 2012, was the most likely candidate for this spot, with Richards close behind. Once the Cyclo-cross World Championships were wrapped up the following week in Switzerland, it was time for Richards to get back on the mountain bike for what was poised to be the toughest test of her nerve under pressure thus far. The mountain-bike season began in late February with the Super Cup Massi in Banyoles, Spain, which was stacked with the world’s best riders looking to rack up points for the Olympics. Included in this line-up was Last, winner of the previous year’s event. Richards was gridded in the third row, again, for this race. She’d been close to tears the previous day as her anxiety threatened to return, and hearing about her competitors’ winter schedules had made her doubt her decision to keep

training at home rather than jetting off to some world-renowned spot. But as soon as the race started, Richards says, “I was calm and confident and strong. It was the first time I felt like that, ever.” She ended up crossing the finish line safely in first place, offering the first real proof that her new outlook on racing has made her a stronger competitor. It was a perfect start to the season. But then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the cancellation of event after event, and it was announced that the Olympics would be pushed back to 2021. At an earlier stage in her development, this yanking away of an opportunity that Richards has been planning for more than half of her life would have been hard to bear. But she’s learnt a lot in the last few years about patience and taking the long view. Now, she says, “I don’t feel like I’ve wasted a year. I’ve enjoyed so much of it.” Since the UK went into lockdown, Richards has converted her garage into a home gym, with equipment provided by Red Bull. And she has still been able to go on the same local training rides – alone and with her dad – that she has always relished. “I love being on a mountain, looking down,” she says. “You’re at the top of the world, in your own little bubble. That time in the quiet helps put things into perspective. It brings me so much joy.” The challenge this year, as always, will be pacing herself – the message behind the “Easy, tiger” necklace she wore in Hoogerheide. “I don’t think races will start again until September, and if you go full gas for four months, you’re going to dip. I’ve had to not be as frantic.” Richards says that the extra time she now has before the Olympic selection decision is made “can only benefit me”. While in previous years she has always had an extra battle to contend with – school, rehabbing her knee, performance anxiety – she can now achieve her full potential unfettered. And she’s still only 23. “I’m in a great place,” Richards says. “And I feel like I’m only getting better.” Twitter: @eviee_alicee 45

1 YEAR

getredbulletin.com

Â£20

BEYOND THE ORDINARY The next issue is out on Tuesday 11 August with London Evening Standard. Also available across the UK at airports, universities, and selected supermarkets and retail stores. Read more at theredbulletin.com LORENZ HOLDER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

EPIC GAMES

Travis Scott towers over Fortniteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Battle Royale Island at his Astronomical event in April. Almost 28 million players witnessed it

TOGETHER IN

ELECTRIC DREAMS

What do Travis Scott, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pussy Riot and Sting have in common? They’ve entered the metaverse – a layer of society inside online video games. Meet the pioneers building a digital alternative to our analogue lives Words TOM GUISE

Gamelife

ravis Scott is big. He’s one of the hottest rappers on the planet right now. Since his debut mixtape in 2013, the now 28-yearold Texan’s career has skyrocketed, to the point where he’s now challenging the likes of Drake, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar as top dog. But he’s also literally big – 100m tall, stepping over buildings as he spits out the lyrics to his hit song Sicko Mode. The crowd is flying. Again, literally – they’re spinning around him in zero-g. It’s April 23, 2020, and this is Travis Scott’s Astronomical – a virtual concert inside the online video game Fortnite. Scott’s real-world live shows are famously wild. His physical performances whip his audience into a frenzy. He’s been known to fly over them on a giant animatronic eagle. His 2018-19 Astroworld: Wish You Were Here tour featured a rollercoaster that he rode above the throbbing mosh pit. But this is next-level shit. As Fortnite players dash excitedly around an island usually reserved for player-vs-player battles, the towering rap titan – who crash-landed from a pulsating party planet in the sky – starts teleporting across the landscape, transforming into a translucent being with a psychedelic nervous system. “OMG, he’s grabbing the stars, bro,” yells Fortnite player-superstar Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins to his audience on live-streaming service Mixer as his own, regular-sized, in-game likeness stops waving a flaming mic stand. Scott plucks two celestial bodies 50

from the sky and claps them together in a blinding flash, before the world reforms underwater; the gargantuan musician is now suspended in the darkness, wearing an astronaut suit. Ten minutes later, the odyssey ends in outer space with the debut of his new track, The Scotts – a collab with fellow rapper Kid Cudi – as everyone is dragged through a stargate, emerging back in regular Fortnite. Travis has left the planet, and disorientated players reflexively revert to gaming mode, attacking each other with pickaxes and guns. “Is that it?” exclaims Ninja. He’s the game’s most famous celebrity. Correction: was. Upwards of 12.3 million Fortnite players simultaneously logged on for Astronomical – that’s more than the populations of New York City and Los Angeles combined. Over the next few days, four more performances will bring that total to 27.7 million. It’s the most talked-about cultural event of 2020 so far, and it took place inside a game. This isn’t the first time Fortnite has rocked the real world. In January 2019, DJ Marshmello drew more than 10 million players to his virtual concert, and 11 months later Hollywood director JJ Abrams flew in on the Millennium Falcon with footage from the latest Star Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker. A few days after Astronomical, Fortnite launches a combat-free party zone with live DJ sets from Steve Aoki and deadmau5. “Fortnite is the Super Bowl of online events right now,” says Gary Whitta, a San Francisco-based screenwriter and games podcaster. “It’s a way to reach an audience of millions.”

KARA CHUNG, ONDŘEJ VACHEK, MALTEEZ/BXBW

Marc Goehring (left) and Kara Chung host their catwalk show inside Animal Crossing

THE RED BULLETIN

US rock band Against The Current perform on the main stage at Block by Blockwest

“THERE’S A CONVERSATION GOING ON ABOUT THE METAVERSE – ARE WE MIGRATING INTO IT?”

One of Ondrej Vachek’s ‘street photographs’, shot by his character inside Red Dead Online

THE RED BULLETIN

n 1989. American urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined a term for our social spaces: ‘the third place’. Sitting alongside the home (the first place) and work (the second place), this is a communal hangout – a role traditionally served by the likes of pubs, coffee shops and cinemas. But, as the young generation turn to their screens for social engagement, the popularity of these spaces has waned. Then a global pandemic struck and they ceased to exist altogether. When a skyscraper-sized Travis Scott made planet-fall inside Fortnite, it wasn’t just the biggest concert happening in the world, it was the only concert. “There’s a conversation going on about the ‘metaverse’ and whether we’re increasingly going to be migrating into these online spaces,” says Whitta, 47. “That process has been accelerated by the pandemic.” As the writer of dystopian sciencefiction movies The Book of Eli and After Earth, as well as the 2016 Star Wars film Rogue One, Whitta’s futurist credentials are solid. But, more crucially, he’s the host of a smash-hit late-night talk show. You know the format: opening monologue, music and comedy segments, celebrities on the couch. Recent guests include actors Elijah Wood and Danny Trejo, and rapper T-Pain. The difference is, it’s all broadcast from inside a Nintendo video game. In Animal Crossing, you create a character starting a new life on an idyllic island. During your travels, you’ll find items that can be traded with the local shopkeeper – a Hawaiian-shirted raccoon – in exchange for currency to buy a house and snazzy 51

Travis Scott debuts his track The Scotts during Astronomical. Streaming of his music jumped 138 per cent in the immediate aftermath

items to furnish it. With its cute graphics, the game delivers an upbeat simulation of work, economics, building a home – and taking care when shaking a tree for apples, for fear of disturbing a wasp’s nest. Its Japanese creator, Katsuya Eguchi, made the first version in 2001 after working far from his family and friends. “To talk and play with them was such an important thing,” Eguchi later said. “I wondered if there was a way to recreate that feeling.” The latest version, Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo’s Switch console, allows players to not only share their island with others on the same device, but to fly (via an airport run by a dodo) to other players’ Switches anywhere in the world. 52

Released on March 20 – the same day the UK, New York and California ordered blanket closure of nonessential public places – it became the fastest-selling Switch game of all time. Within 10 days, Nintendo’s console was sold out worldwide. While some people connected through video-chat apps like Zoom, others were hanging out via their Nintendo Switch, catching butterflies together and trading turnips. Soon, Animal Crossing developed a real-world economy: homeware company Olivia’s offers in-game interior-design consultations, while WeedCo sends uniformed characters to tend your garden. Fashion designers Marc Jacobs and Valentino reacted to the lack of real-world alternatives by showcasing their latest looks in the game. The Instagram account THE RED BULLETIN

EPIC GAMES, GARY WHITTA

“FALLON IS STUCK IN HIS BASEMENT. I LIVE IN A VIRTUAL WORLD”

Gamelife

Actor Elijah Wood (second from left) as he appeared on Gary Whitta’s Animal Talking show

@animalcrossingfashionarchive began documenting the in-game fashion trends. This led to its creator, photographer Kara Chung, directing her own catwalk show (with stylist Marc Goehring) inside Animal Crossing for Berlin’s Reference Festival. Whitta started his own experiment: “I was just seeing if I could make my Animal Crossing basement look like a talk-show set. Then people on [livestreaming service] Twitch began saying, ‘You should actually do it.’ It started as just me and my friends. But, because I work in show business, some of them are well-known.” These have included actress Felicia Day, Justine Ezarik (aka YouTube megastar iJustine), and Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow. Within four episodes, Twitch had put the show, Animal Talking, on its front page, drawing 15,000 viewers. By episode 10, it had a viewership of almost 340,000. “Now, any time a celebrity shows up on Twitter playing Animal Crossing, I get tagged. That’s how the AOC thing happened.” Yes, that AOC – US politician Alexandria OcasioCortez, who avidly tweets about social reform and Animal Crossing, and who’s lined up to appear on the show. “I’d like to visit random people’s islands… Can I do that?” the NYC congresswoman tweeted on May 7. “Should I open my DMs for the first time since the Zuckerberg hearing to receive Dodo codes?” Whitta’s preference is for guests to be genuine Animal Crossing players who can bring their own characters onto the show. “But, for the super-famous, we can create one. When Sting came on, we asked him, ‘What do you want to wear?’, then we tried to find something in the wardrobe department. We’re currently creating an avatar for [musician] Shaggy.” THE RED BULLETIN

Animal Talking has garnered rave reviews, with tech news website The Verge proclaiming it “2020’s hottest talk show”. Times are tougher for Whitta’s TV counterparts: “Colbert, Conan, Fallon, all those guys are great, and I admire them for continuing to entertain when we desperately need it, but they’re stuck in their basements in the real world. I live in a virtual world: I’m sitting behind my desk, my friend Adam is on the drums. On the couch are [author] Hugh Howey and [video games designer] Jordan Mechner. But in the real world I’m in San Francisco, Adam’s in Canada, Hugh is in New York, and Jordan is in Montpellier, France. We’re every bit as valid as The Tonight Show. The metaverse is bringing people together in a way that television just can’t.”

s metaverses go, Red Dead Online comes fullyfurnished. The online multiplayer Wild West game takes place in a vast, open-world simulation of the American frontier. There are outlaw missions and bounties to be claimed, but exploring this living world is enough of an objective. Forums are filled with accounts of random bear attacks and wolves becoming sick from drinking downstream from mining facilities; storm chasers have mapped the weather patterns; the horses’ testicles even shrink in the cold. “The world is so lived in,” says Ondrej Vachek. The street photographer’s proving ground is London, but when the city went into lockdown he and fellow lensman Sean Tucker turned to RDO. “We’d roam on our horses, or fish by the lake, talking photography. Then we said, ‘Let’s do something with the cameras.’” Every player’s avatar is equipped with a box camera. 53

“In real life, you could wait a whole day for 10 minutes of good light,” says Tucker. “Here, it changes every 20 minutes and always looks good. We started directing each other, then rode to Saint Denis to do some street photography.” In the game’s bustling facsimile of 18th-century New Orleans, they snapped non-player characters (NPCs) going through their simulated lives. “When you take the camera out, the world keeps moving; you still have to get that moment,” says Vachek, 28. “It’s pretty much what my normal photography looks like.” They started a Twitch community, The Red Dead Poets Society, inviting others on virtual street-photography tours. “We thought it would be a great way to teach people,” says Tucker, 41. “In real life, some people don’t like their photo being taken. In Saint Denis, no one has a problem, because they’re not real.” That is, until a real person does turn up. “You’re taking a picture of a guy playing a trumpet in the town square when some arsehole runs in and starts shooting everyone,” laughs Vachek. “It breaks into mayhem and we start shooting each other as well.” Helen Fanthorpe is the senior editor of The Rough Guide to Xbox, the first travel book for destinations inside video games. Featuring tips on sightseeing, accommodation and even shopping in games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Forza Horizon 4, the book describes a new type of traveller: “the gaming tourist”. “Travelling is about the excitement of discovering new places,” says Fanthorpe. “It’s the same with these games – the aim is exploring.” Originally released in November, the ebook was recently made free: “There was increased interest in virtual travel [after lockdown]. We wanted to help people escape from the living room.” For Vachek, that is what gaming currently offers him, perhaps more so than photography. “I like to wild camp, take my bivvy and tarp and go into the woods, but last month I was stuck at home,” he says. “So I put on Red Dead, went to Tall Trees, built a camp and relaxed by the fire. It was the next best thing.”

Burnout 3: Takedown, which featured popular bands on the soundtracks. “I’d go into the music settings and loop the song I liked,” says Silverglade, who also cites the nifty slap-bass in 2003 Nintendo GameCube title Kirby’s Air Ride. And then there’s Minecraft. Launched in 2009, Minecraft’s blocky retro graphics (hence the festival name, a play on the Austin festival South by Southwest and similarly abbreviated to BXBW) belie a limitlessly versatile game. Players roam a randomly generated 3D landscape, extracting raw materials to fashion tools and build structures. While it has transitioned to almost every gaming platform and become the bestselling video game of all time, the original opensource version has been modded by online communities to create countless customisations. Its underlying mechanics have been applied to molecular modelling, mining Bitcoin, even simulating quantum computers. “We grew up with Minecraft,” says Waldron. “But we chose it because it’s the only game you can build worlds off.” Their plan? A real music festival, seven hours long, with close to 40 acts on three stages. All built from digital blocks. “It started as ‘Let’s throw a show for our fans’, but every day it scaled up exponentially,” says Waldron. The band enlisted the help of Minecraft community members. “All in different time zones. No one knew each other, but piece by piece we’d build the entire world together. I was like, ‘Damn, if we could do this in real life, we’d get thousands of things done.’” Their manager, DJ Sutera, approached acts. “Some jumped on right away – Cowgirl Clue [Texan dancepop musician Ashley Calhoun] was the first,” he says. “Others needed convincing of its legitimacy.” “I’m not a gamer, but I love the aesthetic,” says Nadya Tolokonnikova, co-founder of Russian feminist punk-protest group Pussy Riot. In March,

“PIECE BY PIECE, WE BUILT A WORLD TOGETHER”

A 54

KEVIN CONDON

s Travis Scott was stomping across Fortnite on April 25, another metaversal music event was running through its final soundchecks. Block by Blockwest – a festival inside the game Minecraft – was the brainchild of Courier Club, a fledgling Philadelphia dance-punk band. Singer-guitarist Timothy Waldron, guitarist Ryan Conway, bassist Michael Silverglade and drummer Jack Kessler formed the band in 2018. “I found a smashed-up CD of StarCraft [a late-’90s strategy game] stuck to Ryan’s guitar and we bonded,” says Waldron. “We didn’t grow up in the city; we weren’t at the epicentre of culture. Video games are where we got our information.” In particular, the Tony Hawk’s skateboard series and arcade-style racer THE RED BULLETIN

Gamelife

“WHAT PEOPLE NEED IS A SENSE OF COMMUNITY” the band were set to go on tour when the pandemic hit. For the 30-year-old, who was incarcerated for almost two years for performing an anti-Putin song in a Moscow cathedral in 2012, the lockdown has proven particularly tough. “I feel devastated. I believe in the performance theory of identity – if I’m not doing things that form me, I’m losing myself.” BXBW gave her that chance. “If there’s an opportunity to connect with people, you don’t have to ask twice – it’s always important to promote my political agenda.” Artists were asked to provide a pre-recorded set and, if they weren’t Minecrafters, guidance on how they wanted their avatar to look. “We also asked that they be on [chat app] Discord to interact on the night,” say Sutera. Then, with one day to go, an additional act was announced: Massive Attack. “The press blew up around it,” says Conway. On the night, tens of thousands of players tried to log on within the first hour. “It moved faster than our ability to obtain the amount of servers needed,” says Steve Silverglade, the 18-year-old brother of bassist Michael, and their resident Minecraft expert. With the festival about to crash, they pulled the plug. “We realised we needed a level of intellectual capital we didn’t have,” says Conway, ruefully. But, in that moment of despair, the Minecraft community came to the rescue, says Waldron: “This guy sent Steve a message: ‘I saw you guys on the news. I work in tech – I can help.’” The company, DigitalOcean, offered the festival its entire data centre. “Suddenly we could scale to whatever we needed – if 100,000 people joined, we could accommodate that.” The festival was rescheduled for May 16, but Massive Attack were out. “They didn’t want to be part of it again,” says Conway. “I don’t think they had a good understanding of what the event was supposed to be,” says Steve. “Whatever. Boomer shit,” adds Waldron.

I “For us, it isn’t just creating music, it’s creating worlds.” Block by Blockwest organisers Courier Club (from left): Waldron, (Michael) Silverglade, Conway and Kessler THE RED BULLETIN

t’s 7:40pm EST on May 16. Players are rushing to BXBW’s second stage, situated in a ski lodge at the top of a giant mountain. There’s a cable car, but most are whacking their keyboard’s space-bar to jump the blocky steps to the summit. Inside, Pussy Riot are playing their song Macho. Bouncing centre-stage is Tolokonnikova’s avatar – a pixelated rendition of the green-balaclava-wearing image made famous during the group’s 2012 Red Square protest. She types slogans such as “Fuck capitalism”, which scroll up the screen. “I felt agitated, like at a rally,” she says later. “It’s just a festival in a game, but if it gives [that] sense to the people, that’s good.” The main stage is underground, entered by dropping through a kaleidoscopic chute. Here,

Californian post-hardcore band Movements are performing. “Everybody, space-bar!” shouts singer Patrick Miranda, and the crowd starts jumping in unison; among them is a guy with a Rubik’s Cube for a head, Deadpool, a bipedal pig, and Joe Mulherin, aka US rapper Nothing,Nowhere. His avatar looks like the grim reaper – it’s his own logo. “Someone on Discord handed it out,” he says. “I don’t wanna say Nothing,Nowhere fans spend a lot of time on the computer, but they kinda do. I do, too.” As he runs around in front of the stage, Mulherin is joined by identically skinned avatars – his fans, who he’s communicating with via the chat in his Twitch feed. “Reaper cult – circle pit!” he types, and they all charge around in a synchronised loop. The 28-year-old from Massachusetts is open about his battle with anxiety: “When I started out, I distanced myself from my fans because I was nervous about being in the spotlight. But since streaming on Twitch, delving into Discord, the whole gamer universe, you connect with kids who just want friends. A lot struggle with the same things I do.” When he was approached to play BXBW, it was “a no-brainer. If there is an opportunity to connect with my fans during this time, I’m gonna take it. That it’s in Minecraft is even better”. Mulherin takes his entourage on a tour. They storm up a staircase inside a giant tree and check out the ‘merch store’ showcasing digital depictions of T-shirts and art that players can purchase in-game and have shipped in real life. Then they all leap from the top of the tree together, Mulherin laughing and responding to their comments on his feed. “I went to Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert with [Fall Out Boy bassist] Pete Wentz,” says Mulherin. “It was awesome, but like watching a firework show. Here, there’s interaction, chats, mini-games. People need a sense of community right now, and you get that.” “This was just a test run for what we want to create – a world that always exists, where you can hang out even between concerts,” says Waldron. “We have a pre-fest server where the community built two massive cities. It has a working economy, mini-games… it’s beautiful. If you can’t sell out a show in your hometown because the niche isn’t big enough, sell it to a global audience at an online club. It’s something that’ll have value beyond lockdown. We love being a band, but it isn’t just creating music that fills the void for us – it’s creating worlds.” Mulherin’s avatar is pacing the green room. “Virtual anxiety, it feels so real,” he says. Through his in-game view, his Twitch followers can see the crowd – including themselves in their reaper skins – in front of the stage. Nothing,Nowhere runs on. “Minecraft, make some noise!” His call is greeted by a stream of hearts and pyrotechnics. A few players levitate, running through the air. Mulherin’s blocky form leaps around the stage before diving into the crowd and starting a circle pit. Suddenly he vanishes. “Lmao, I got kicked from the server,” the rapper types on-screen as he runs back onstage. 55

Top Marc: Mรกrquez enjoyed a record-breaking season in MotoGP last year, with an incredible 12 wins and six second-place finishes in 19 races

BERGER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

“I’m not here by chance” With eight world titles, MARC MÁRQUEZ is one of the most successful-ever motorbike racers. How has he risen to the top of the MotoGP pack and stayed there? The Spaniard says it’s all about respect Words WERNER JESSNER

Marc Márquez

t 27, Spaniard Marc Márquez is one of the most renowned motorbike racers in the history of the sport. He already has eight Grand Prix world championship titles and has clocked up 56 victories since stepping up to MotoGP in 2013. This year, younger brother Álex – himself a Moto2 world champion – joined him on the factory Honda team. As the MotoGP season revs up for a restart on Márquez’s home tarmac this month, the champion talks tactics, teams and taking charge.

the red bulletin: Your brother Alex is now a rookie in the elite class of the sport. How did you garner respect when starting out? marc márquez: It was a shock the first time I went into the pits as a MotoGP factory rider. The Repsol team had already been so successful, and Honda is the world’s largest and most successful manufacturer – and suddenly I was a part of it all. I had huge respect for what was to come. I was the first-ever rookie to be allowed into a factory team without having to do an apprenticeship with satellite teams first. The pressure was on, then… It really was, which is why I was suitably cautious in my approach. Nobody can join a company as a new boy and think they can play the boss. That’s not how things work anywhere. So, what was your approach? You don’t do yourself down either. The bosses obviously had faith in you, otherwise they would have gone for somebody else. So you have to find the balance between the modesty of the newcomer and the positive attitude of someone who’s been chosen to do a job. 58

And then you have to gradually earn the respect of the people you deal with on a daily basis. Only then can you begin to take care of what’s going on in the outside world. How do you go about earning the respect of your colleagues? By taking them seriously and treating them all equally, from the most junior mechanic upwards. If you don’t show them respect, they’ll just think of the work they do as a job and nothing more. If you want to be good, you can’t have people in the team who are just doing a job. It’s a personal thing, but I see my race as a team event. We have dinner together every race weekend. That’s all of us, the whole group, from Thursday to Saturday. And every time we win, there’s a group photo in the pits on the Sunday – again, with everyone. That’s what makes the relationship we have different, and what gives us strength. Everyone appreciates the work others do. With that attitude, wouldn’t you have been better off in a team sport? My chief mechanic, Santi Hernández, and I think in a very similar way, and, time and again, one of us will say exactly that. And the answer is always, “And you should be captain.” Both of us are good at evening out social hierarchies. How did he first earn your respect? When we were trying to set up the perfect Moto2 team, we had got down to the final three candidates for the job as my chief mechanic. One of them didn’t say a word about money at the interview – all he cared about was the job at hand. He wanted to work with me. He didn’t much care about all the rest. He laid the groundwork for an air of trust that holds good to this day.

Thai high: the Spaniard celebrates winning the 2019 MotoGP title at the Thai Grand Prix THE RED BULLETIN

GOLD & GOOSE PHOTOGRAPHY, PICTUREDESK.COM

Raring to go: Márquez takes a corner during the pre-season MotoGP winter test at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit in February this year

“Whenever I crash, I always go straight back out onto the track, even if I’m in pain”

THE RED BULLETIN

Can you create short cuts for your brother, Alex, or does he need to go through each stage of the process by himself? I can tell him how I did things. He has a very similar personality to me, and he’s already garnered international respect by winning the Moto2 world championship. But he has to find his own Santi. When is the right time to take on the biggest names in the sport? You can never know ahead of time when it’s time for your first battle with the establishment. So you should be prepared – mentally, emotionally and, in our case, also physically. But when the time comes, there’s one thing you

can say to yourself: I’m not here by chance, I’m here because I’ve earned my spot here. That applies in sport, but of course it applies in any other job, too. Being one of the top riders yourself now, how do you suss out the rookies? You have to take a good look at each and every one of them, even if you won the world championship last year. On any given bend on any given day, someone will be able to do something that no one else can. And you might very quickly need to call forth what you know about them. I had to take [French MotoGP rider] Fabio Quartararo seriously right from the off. He showed right from the outset that he was in it to win it. 59

“When you’re on the track, you show respect to everyone”

Home advantage: the 2020 MotoGP season begins on native tarmac for Márquez, at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto in southern Spain

Marc Márquez

MARKUS BERGER/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, REPSOL HONDA TEAM – MOTOGP/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Family business: this season, Álex Márquez (right) joins his older brother in the MotoGP world championship, stepping up from the Moto2 class, which he won for the first time last year

Does intimidation work at your level? Sometimes in training I try to do a real belter of a lap to make sure everyone else doesn’t sleep too easily. I want them to be concerned about me. And sometimes you have to play things up a bit at press conferences. You can’t show any nerves. You can’t let anyone else see your hand. But, in the main, I go by what [veteran Australian 500cc world champion] Mick Doohan said in 2014: beat them on the track, not with talk. Which sports stars do you respect from beyond the world of bike racing? Those who take great risks, often without getting justly rewarded for it. Cyclists, for the sheer amount of time and pain they have to invest. Olympic athletes who train for four years for that one moment. And I’d be interested to know how a world-class team functions from within; how stars work together to make a greater whole. I’m thinking of Barcelona [football club], of course. Do you think your opponents are particularly motivated when they’re up against you? Definitely. I’m the current title holder. Everyone is happy to beat me. I see that at races I don’t win. That’s always when other riders celebrate the most. And that, in turn, really motivates me, too. That must be the ultimate proof of respect: for those riders, a victory THE RED BULLETIN

over Marc Márquez is the greatest victory of all… Respect goes both ways. I know what someone’s had to do to beat me, because I know how hard I’ve worked myself. Why would somebody go down in your estimation? When you’re on the track, you show respect to everyone. It wouldn’t be OK if somebody deliberately tried to take me down on the track. But if that was the case, I’d have to gradually re-establish my respect for someone I was going wheel-to-wheel with at 300kph while braking as we’re coming into a bend. Is it possible to win back respect? I’m not one to bear a grudge. But I’d still expect an apology and an explanation for what happened. And some time. And what about in everyday life? Lies are a good way to destroy a relationship. Anything back-handed. By contrast, you create a circle of people around you who you trust 100 per cent.

“You can’t show nerves. You can’t let anyone else see your hand”

A 250cc bike is hugely powerful. Even with years of experience, does it still scare you? Yeah, you’re scared shitless on the first few laps. [Laughs.] But you’ve got to break that habit pretty fast. You can’t have any respect for the tools of the trade. You have to master them. My bike has to do what I want it do and nothing else. From the outside, it seems that crashes don’t often affect you deeply. Is that fair to say? Whenever I crash, I always go straight back out onto the track, even if only for a single lap. It doesn’t matter if I’m in pain. It’s always got to be clear out there that I’m in charge. It would be totally inappropriate to be in awe of quick turns and tricky areas. You can never let it come to that. If you do, you might as well give up right away, because you’re going to be a second slower than you used to be. Is being booed by your opponents’ fans a sign of appreciation? Nobody boos the guy down in 20th place… I don’t hold with the adage that the more enemies one has, the more honour one is due. Anyone can express their opinion, whether in the stands or on social media. Anyone who likes other riders better is perfectly entitled to do so. I don’t want to sound whiny, but putting others down shows a lack of respect. 61

COREY RICH/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Mountain jewel: Bear Grylls surveys the beautiful but hazardous terrain of Fiji from the top of Vuwa Falls

62 â&#x20AC;&#x2030;

PUTTING ON A SHOW

BEAR GRYLLS’ ambitious new reality survival series, Eco-Challenge, is seriously tough – and that’s before the contestants even get to the start line. This is the story of the crazy adventure behind the crazy adventure race Words DAVID HOWARD

All up in your Grylls: adventure legend (and first-time host of Eco-Challenge) Bear Grylls strikes a pose the day before competition begins

t was at the top of a day-long climb up a massive waterfall in Fiji that Kevin Hodder felt the first twinges of doubt about what they were getting themselves into. It was March 2019, and Hodder was already more than a month into a backcountry scouting expedition, trying to piece together a plan for Eco-Challenge, the freshly rebooted reality TV show centred

64 â&#x20AC;&#x2030;

around a supersized adventure race. That afternoon, Hodder, course designer/technical advisor Scott Flavelle and two others had fixed ropes and climbed 200m up the side of Vuwa Falls in searing tropical sunshine. Here was precisely the kind of audacious-looking, stupidly scenic moment that makes for obsessivecompulsive streaming habits back home. Or, at least, it should have. Somewhere near the top, they had literally climbed inside a cloud, all mist and wind and slashing rain. This is typical in Fiji, THE RED BULLETIN

Eco-Challenge

“THERE WAS A RISK THAT IT COULD JUST BE A COMPLETE FLOP ON DAY TWO”

COREY RICH/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, KRYSTLE WRIGHT/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Scott Flavelle

where warm tropical air collides with the mountains, but it set off an odd chain of events: one team member, lead race coordinator Ryan Vrooman, succumbed to heat exhaustion just as Hodder, who feels the cold keenly, started shivering in the early stages of hypothermia. It was a dilemma. “It’s hard for me to warm up unless I get moving,” Hodder says, “and it was obvious that Ryan wouldn’t be.” The depleted team strung up a tarp for the night, and Hodder recovered in a sleeping bag. The group woke the next morning, their THE RED BULLETIN

fourth day in the bush, to more rain. They pulled on clothes still drenched from the falls and pushed forward. For the next proposed section, Hodder and Flavelle, who had designed many adventure races together, had selected a 10km-long river canyon. From maps and Google Earth, they could see that the current pooled in places along the route, like pearls on a necklace. But the traverse didn’t look egregiously hard. They were reminded that day of an old truism about creating adventure races: don’t believe what you see on a map.

The pools were actually ponds of what Hodder, 51, characterises as “really, really cold” water, deep enough to require stretches of swimming. The shallower sections served up jumbles of slick, algae-coated rocks hidden just below the surface of the dark water, making every footfall a gamble. “It was a matter of finding a speed where you’re not bashing your shins or falling off rocks,” says Flavelle, 61. There was no getting around the water, either: the jungle along the banks was dense. In the end, it took nine hours to stumble, slip, curse and churn their way through it – and all four are strong athletes from the mountains of British Columbia. At the end, they looked at each other in the dimming light, aware that they faced a reckoning. If they eliminated that leg from the race, they’d have just beaten themselves up for nothing – and they would still have to identify and execute a Plan B the next day, to connect the east and west sides of the island. “We would be cutting out the heart of the course,” Hodder says. But, if they kept it, they would need warming tents to treat hypothermic racers. With 66 teams of four participants each navigating that terrain, the potential for unscripted carnage – broken ankles, dislocated shoulders – would be significant. And with the low cloud cover, flying in a rescue chopper would be dicey. 65

Eco-Challenge

Even if there were no injuries, that 10km would likely destroy any number of teams that had already been racing almost around the clock for a week or more by this point. It would be great TV. But there’s a line, and they were right on it. As Hodder puts it, “The question in our minds was, ‘Is it too much?’”

esigning a televised adventure race is like writing an epic story. To create a great one, you need crucibles of indecision and danger (or at least the appearance of it); moments of rollicking fun, but also of meditation; and challenges that deliver racers to both Herculean mountain-top triumphs and moralekilling slogs. To pull off such a race, someone has to assemble all of those narrative parts. Which is why, when producers Mark Burnett and Lisa Hennessy decided in the summer of 2018 to revive US reality show Eco-Challenge after a 16-year hiatus, they called Hodder and Flavelle. British-born Burnett, who famously created The Apprentice, is also the godhead who essentially invented outdoors-based reality TV with Survivor and Eco-Challenge, which ran in the US from 1995 to 2002 and is largely responsible for the global adventure-race craze that endures today. Burnett had selected British Columbia for the show’s second season, which aired in 1996, and he chose Flavelle to help design the course. Though he was only 38 then, Flavelle had a vast CV of

“THE QUESTION IN OUR MINDS WAS, ‘IS IT TOO MUCH?’” Kevin Hodder

mountain expertise; his work in expedition film documentaries had taken him all over the world. He, in turn, hired Hodder, and the two have since built a cottage industry around staging immense outdoor experiences. Hodder was the venue operations manager at Whistler Olympic Park during the 2010 Winter Games, and he has produced challenges and competitions for many reality shows, including Survivor, Big Brother and Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls. For the reboot, the pair quickly settled on Fiji, an aspirational, scenic destination loaded with knee-buckling,

Going deep: they say you should never ask anyone to do what you wouldn’t do yourself – Bear Grylls obviously agrees Challenging schedule: Grylls and the production team hike between shooting locations

THE RED BULLETIN

ANDY MANN/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, POBY/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, WYNN RUJI/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

“THIS IS NOW OFFICIALLY THE TOUGHEST AND MOST EXTREME ADVENTURE RACE IN HUMAN HISTORY”

THE RED BULLETIN

Bear witness: the competitors anxiously pay attention as Grylls provides a preview of the course and the challenges they’ll face

THERE’S A REAL CROSSSECTION OF HUMANITY: MILITARY VETS, TEENS, TWIN SISTERS FROM INDIA

hall-of-fame terrain, including mountains, jungles, white-water rivers and even its own inland sea. But that didn’t mean it would be easy. This installation of the show needed to be next-level great. For the new series, Burnett had partnered with Amazon Prime, which meant greater resources and loftier expectations than the Discovery Channel had brought. Burnett wanted the toughest edition ever of the world’s toughest race, with Bear Grylls signed on as the host. But the risk must be balanced, Flavelle says. “To put yourself in stupid danger is definitely not part of the criteria.” The harder miles needed to be interspersed with easier ones, to give teams a chance to recover after they

suffered. The rules specify that if one team member drops out, the rest of their group are disqualified. Then there are the idiosyncrasies of the Eco-Challenge franchise. The race draws some of the world’s top athletes – beasts with massive engines, who can endure days of hardship and suffering – so the course must contain seriously stiff challenges. But because it’s a reality TV show, the race can’t be so hard that it quickly spits out the ‘lifestyle’ teams: the ones with made-for-television stories about overcoming personal hardships. “We’ve got the LeBron James of the sport competing against highschool players, on the same course,” Hodder says. “The NBA doesn’t have that challenge.” THE RED BULLETIN

Eco-Challenge

Don’t tip: Canada’s Team Peak Pursuit float downstream on a raft on the fourth day

COREY RICH/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, ANDY MANN/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

And, of course, it all had to look really, really good: camera technology had made a quantum leap since 2002, so the course would be presented in far greater detail than in any previous instalments. Ultimately, there would be 200 cameras filming the action, including 23 VariCams and a small army of GoPros and drones. Hodder and Flavelle spent a few weeks doing advance scouting from home. Then the real work began: they would spend the entire months of February and March 2019 on the ground in Fiji, and at the end of that time they needed to have a course ready to present to Burnett. Their task would become the adventure behind the adventure race. THE RED BULLETIN

n theory, the mission is utterly straightforward. “Once you know the 10 places you want to include,” Hodder says, “you try to piece it together like a puzzle.” But, just like with a puzzle, there will be trial and error. Early on, Hodder and Flavelle tested a route-finding challenge. It would be interesting, they thought, to offer teams the chance to cut out a hike around a huge oxbow in a river. Instead, contestants could try their luck with a short cut through the bush. “It happens every time,” Hodder says. “You look at a section on the map, then you look at it on Google Earth, and it’s like, ‘How hard can it be?’” In this case, they almost immediately ran into a mass of vines and thorns at waist level, so they were either constantly crawling under the bush or hacking away at it with cane knives and machetes. And although the landscape looked flat on the map, it was actually an endless series of slippery, mud-covered ravines. “Whenever there was a section of jungle we assumed we could get through easily, it turned out we couldn’t,” Flavelle says. They realised that because it was so close to the start of the race, most teams, still operating at full strength, would likely take the short cut. But in addition to the harsh terrain, navigating with a map and compass at night would be impossible. (Teams aren’t allowed to use GPS.) They imagined a mass of racers bunched up, thrashing around the jungle, lost. “There was a risk that it could just be a complete flop on day two,” Flavelle says. So they scrapped the short cut.

Another time, they considered linking two sections with a hike across a tall-grass pasture that had looked promising on Google Earth, and even a pass in the helicopter. “Then you get there,” Hodder says, “and underneath is this matrix of heavy vines that give you a bruise on your shins every step of the way.” They were reminded repeatedly that in Fiji the waterways are the real trails. And such lessons came at a cost. In many cases, they knew early on that a section was unusable, but they were already committed to exploring it – their ride was waiting at the other end, and there was often no phone signal. “You know you’re never going to use this piece of terrain, but you’ve got four more hours of this to do,” Hodder says. “It’s so frustrating and demoralising. And the next day you’re going to back to Point A and have to figure out another route to Point B.” Like the teams who would come later, they were racing the clock: Hodder was expected to present the course to Burnett in early April. And, on their scouting mission, the team could move only in daylight to assess hazards and note where ropes would have to be rigged and how many bolts would be needed, among many other considerations. They might pedal a mountain-biking section several times to pin down the best possible route, or to find a way to avoid private land. Sometimes they slept in the bush, other times in villages. Complicating things further, they couldn’t rush through Fijian villages without stopping for introductions and a conversation about their plans. “You have to stop and have kava [a ceremonial drink with a sedative effect] and ask for permission to pass through,” Flavelle says. They had their triumphant moments. The day after the debacle in the tallgrass pasture, they located a beautiful grassy ridge leading to a village that’s inaccessible by road and sees few foreigners. What they sought above all else was variety, Hodder says. EcoChallenge teams will hike and climb, of course, but they must also manoeuvre pack rafts, stand-up paddleboards, mountain bikes, and a camakau – a type of Fijian outrigger canoe that can be sailed or paddled, but is perilously prone to tipping in both cases. Hodder ultimately did every inch of the race course using the same mode of transport the racers would use, carrying the same gear. Usually, Flavelle came 69

THE HARDER MILES HAD TO BE INTERSPERSED WITH EASIER ONES, TO ALLOW RECOVERY TIME

he mood at the Pullman Nadi Bay Resort and Spa is twitchy and tense in the days leading up to the start. Eco-Challenge teams are required to report in a few days in advance, to attend orientation sessions on the outrigger canoes and ropes sections, and to pose for the cameras. Those who travelled from the other side of the world must acclimatise to the time change. But the sense of anticipation, and the mostly idle days, clearly chafes. The teams of elite racers from countries such as New Zealand, Brazil 70

Sent round the bend: Team Costa Rica navigate a tropical river on the sixth day of Eco-Challenge

and Switzerland normally don’t do much sitting around. Then there are teams that don’t necessarily contain worldclass athletes, but have stories. Team Unbroken comprises three US military veterans working their way through combat trauma – including Gretchen Evans, who is deaf – plus a physician, none of whom have ever competed in an adventure race before. There’s a team of video-game makers, and a father who had raced in the previous Eco-Challenge in Fiji and is now back to compete with two daughters. One team features 23-yearold twin sisters from India who have summited Everest. Another has two teenagers. And yet another is made up of contestants with an average age of 66.

There are CrossFit geeks, and a circus acrobat and beach volleyball player. It’s an impressive cross-section of humanity. How it will fare against the assembled challenges is anyone’s guess. Milling around among the racers are Burnett and Grylls. Both men seem eager to ratchet up the adrenalised scene with the kind of hyperbolic soundbites that television people specialise in. Burnett calls the race “an expedition with a stopwatch”. Grylls recounts how, over the past 15 years, Burnett would occasionally tell him about his plans to bring EcoChallenge back: “He’d say, ‘I’m going to give it to you to make it your own, and you’re going to make it bigger and badder and tougher than ever.’” THE RED BULLETIN

COREY RICH/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, ANDY MANN/AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

along, but sometimes Hodder travelled with experts hired for individual disciplines. They capsized the outrigger canoes, sometimes on purpose, to see how hard it was to right the boats, and to guess at the potential number of openwater rescues. Then, finally, after eight weeks, the course came together. Many so-called survival-based reality TV shows exist in the space where raw athleticism meets made-for-television stunts and campy suffering meets true grit. Sometimes it can be hard to tease apart the difference. But Hodder and Flavelle’s course proposed to leave no doubt about the onscreen hardships. The course spanned 672km, which the racers had to cover in no more than 11-and-a half-days, hitting cut-off times along the way. The total elevation gain was 29,730ft (9,062m), or about 214m higher than the distance from sea level to the top of Mount Everest. Four climbing sections would require more than 9,100m of fixed rope. These sections would include more than 600m of cliffs, waterfalls and overhanging rappels. At the end of March, Hodder flew to California to show Burnett the proposed course. Eight weeks on the ground and they’d barely finished in time. “I needed every hour in Fiji,” he says. “We just got it done, went to the airport for the flight, then drove straight to the office in Santa Monica.” Five months later, teams would arrive in Fiji to start racing.

Eco-Challenge

Oar zone: Team Swedeforce tackle the sailing section that, due to a lack of wind, became a paddle THE RED BULLETIN

With the course, Grylls says, they’ve succeeded. “This is now officially the toughest, most extreme adventure race in human history,” he says. He adds that although he believes the teams are qualified, “I do believe there is the potential that no one will finish this course. We really have set it that high.” Somewhere inside the hive of humanity, Hodder paces and talks into his radio, ticking through countless final tasks. Square-jawed and preternaturally calm, he admits to feeling roiled up for days beforehand. What began with him and Flavelle in a US coffee shop has mushroomed into a production that has cost tens of millions of dollars. “We want a significant number of teams to finish,” Flavelle says. “And we’re a bit paranoid that nobody will finish. Imagine on day one: ‘Oh no, I think we made the course too hard.’” At the start, 66 teams load into outrigger boats on a 3m-high riverbank. They’ll paddle several kilometres towards Fiji’s inland sea, where they’ll raise their sails. When the order to start finally goes out, months of preparation and workouts, nerves and barely harnessed energy, boil over in a crush of boats heading together towards a bottleneck in the river. Half a dozen canoes flip in the frenzy. Inevitably, there are a few mishaps on the first day. One team collides with part of a bridge structure, damaging their boat and prompting Hodder’s helicopter to land nearby so he can troubleshoot. Fiji’s omnipresent winds are a no-show, making the contestants paddle what is meant to be a sailing section. A member of the first team to finish the sea crossing passes out in the heat on a jungle hike. Then the gusts appear, and the last teams to recross the water have to be bailed out when they capsize and come up against squalls and a brick wall of a headwind. But, on that afternoon of the second day, as teams roll into a checkpoint on the island of Leleuvia, Hodder feels a wave of relief. “Proof of concept,” he says, grinning. Within the first couple of days, a few teams, unsurprisingly, have dropped out or been eliminated. Others will soon reach the cold-water canyon, where they will “push themselves to the absolute brink”, Hodder says. Will they or won’t they? What happens next? These are the questions Burnett and Amazon hope you’ll ask yourself when the show airs on Amazon Prime later this summer. 71

SENSE RIDE 3 EVERY DAY. EVERY TRAIL.

Salomon has partnered with Red Bull’s mission to ‘Race The Moon’. Every mile counts, so get involved for the chance to be rewarded with a pair of Salomon Sense Ride 3 trail shoes. Head to redbull.co.uk/racethemoon for more info and to join the challenge. Terms & Conditions apply.

VENTURE Enhance, equip, and experience your best life

RIDING OUT THE STORM

TWO26 PHOTOGRAPHY

How cycle pros are staying competition-fit indoors

THE RED BULLETIN

â&#x20AC;&#x2030; 73

VENTURE Fitness

“I’ve sat on start lines with Olympians, Ironman athletes and short-course superstars – people I’d never get the opportunity to race in real life” Triathlete Ruth Astle on Zwift

t’s dawn and I’m sat on my bike, heart thumping in nervous anticipation as riders from across the world line up beside me in the starting pen. This is my first-ever crit [short for criterium] race: a street circuit of 14 intense 1.9km laps. All eyes are fixed on the huge countdown clock that hangs above the start line. In a few moments, it will be full gas from the gun – lungs and legs burning as I work at maximum threshold to weave the tight turns and stay on the wheel of the lead group. After 38 minutes of all-out effort and a mistimed sprint, I roll – depleted and sweaty – across the line in fifth position behind elite triathletes Lucy Charles-Barclay and Sophie Coldwell. Not your usual crit candidates, but this isn’t your standard race. For a start, I’m an Ironman athlete more accustomed to racing 180km bike distances after a 3.9km swim. I’m also in my shed on a turbo trainer, and we’re all racing inside Zwift, a virtual cycling platform that lets you to compete in real-time races against other cyclists around the world. Rewind four years and I first used Zwift for 4.30am training sessions before work. Since then, the cycling platform has exploded in popularity and become an integral part of my Ironman training – particularly after I broke my collarbone 12 weeks before the World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, last year. Zwift caters to riders of all abilities. All you need is a bike, a turbo trainer to mount it on (I use a Wahoo KICKR) and a Mac or PC, tablet, smartphone or Apple TV. The platform reads your power output on the trainer and converts it into your onscreen avatar’s 74

speed – imagine a racing video game, but with your own muscles powering the vehicle. There are even PowerUps to boost drafting behind other riders, enhance your aerodynamics and turn you invisible for 10 seconds. Use these tactically while keeping an eye on breakaway moves. If you drop from the front pack, it’s hard to catch up. I might be alone in my shed, but in the virtual world there are riders from across the planet, so there’s always someone to race or train with. There used to be a couple of hundred people in my sessions; now there are around 10,000. You can give fellow ‘Zwifters’ a thumbs-up and message them, enter races, join a social ride (which keeps everyone together regardless of their power output), create your own session, or choose from a range of workouts such as improving your functional threshold power (a watts-

JEFF THOREN

“I

Astle uses the same bike for real-life racing and Zwift. Right: inside the Crit City Course THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE Fitness

The emerging pro Ruth Astle is a 31-yearold British Ironman triathlete who won a place on the Zwift Tri Academy in 2019. At the Ironman World Championship in Kona last year, she clocked the fastest amateur time to win her overall age-group category. This is her first year as a pro athlete.

Instagram: @rastle50

Zwift athlete house, Kona, Hawaii, October 2019. Astle trains on Zwift ahead of last year’s Ironman World Championship

per-kg metric of your performance). It’s a great way to get some structure if you don’t have a coach. I like to ride a mix of different ‘worlds’, some built to replicate cities such as London or UCI road courses like Innsbruck. Zwift’s own virtual island, Watopia, is my favourite, because it has a bit of everything: flat, hills, KOM (King of the Mountain) and a volcano. I do my shorter interval sessions on Zwift because I don’t have to worry about cars or traffic lights – I can just put my head down and get the work done. But I’ve also done long rides of four or five hours. This was the case last year when, following my collarbone surgery, I was fortunate THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE Fitness

Keeping it real Essential kit for your virtual and real-world training sessions

Suunto 5 sports watch Heart-rate and stress indicators gauge personal performance and, with Zwift, can link to your Strava

Cycling in the Ironman World Championship takes place on a highway, so Astle prepared for it by familiarising herself on similar terrain inside Zwift. It helped her transition to pro status this year

Urbanista London headphones Wireless earbuds with active noisecancelling, voice and touch controls, and four hours of playtime

Wahoo KICKR smart turbo trainer Connects to Zwift via Bluetooth or ANT+, delivering realistic inertia and resistance to your bike

Circuit draining Crit City’s Bell Lap course Distance: 1.9km Elevation: 8m Lead-in: 0.1km “This is a fast-and-hard 27km, 14-lap crit race,” says Astle. “It’s flat, other than a couple of short, seven-to-ten-per-cent gradient ramps that take it out of your legs, before it flattens off and you can recover by drafting [riding in the slipstream of] the group. It’s a short, hard effort, so hang on to the lead group and try to cover any moves from other racers. Riders get a PowerUp – a gamified boost – on each lap, so work out the best moment to use it. For a sprint, a Draft Boost increases drafting behind riders by 50 per cent for 30 seconds.”

MSI Optix MPG341CQR monitor This 86cm pro-gaming screen is perfect for Zwift rides with its optimal 1800R curved display THE RED BULLETIN

JEFF THOREN

enough to earn a place on the Zwift Tri Academy team. Having flown to the Ironman World Championship in Kona, we stayed in a Zwift house with screens and turbos. My mentors were Ironman legends Tim Don and Sarah True. I think we had better support than 95 per cent of the pros. As the Ironman course is on a highway, we did several Zwift sessions in order to train safely. The experience put me in a much better position to move from amateur to pro earlier this year. With this year’s World Championship postponed until February 2021, my main goal – to race in Kona for the first time as a pro – has, frustratingly, been pushed back. But I’ll use this year to keep building, get stronger and work on my weaknesses. And Zwift will continue to play a role in that. I’ve sat on Zwift race start lines with Olympians, Ironman athletes and short-course superstars – people I would never normally get the opportunity to race in real life. I don’t equate facing these athletes on Zwift to real-world racing, but being able to push hard on a bike when Lucy Charles-Barclay is pushing harder is motivating. It makes me hungry to race, show up and work really hard.” zwift.com

VENTURE Equipment

TIM KENT

SWIM

Master strokes Finally dip into summer with this fresh swimming gear THE RED BULLETIN

Bathing beauties (from top, left to right): SLOWTIDE Santiago towel, slowtide.co.uk; DC Report board shorts, dcshoes-uk.co.uk; BOARDIES Purfect Paradise one-piece swimsuit, boardiesapparel.com; FINISTERRE Zenith bikini top and bottoms (sold separately), finisterre.com; PROTEST Souflee Short swim shorts, protest.eu; VOLCOM Tie Dye For one-piece swimsuit, volcom.co.uk; RVCA Eastern Trunk 18in board shorts, rvca.co.uk; TEVA Hurricane XLT2 sandals, urbanoutfitters.com

â&#x20AC;&#x2030; 77

VENTURE Equipment

TRAIN

Get a grip The outdoor world is ready and waiting. Take your daily run out of your neighbourhood, off the beaten track and beyond, with the latest performance trail-running shoes

The Torrent 2 from HOKA ONE ONE features multidirectional lugs on the rubber soles, making them grippier and stickier

Women’s trail shoes (from top): SALOMON Sense Ride 3, salomon.com; NEW BALANCE Fresh Foam Hierro v5, new balance.co.uk; UNDER ARMOUR UA HOVR Summit PRDS Camo, underarmour.co.uk; HOKA ONE ONE Torrent 2, hokaoneone.eu; ADIDAS Terrex Two Ultra Parley, adidas.co.uk THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE Equipment Men’s trail shoes (from top): ADIDAS Terrex Two Ultra Parley, adidas.co.uk; MERRELL MTL Long Sky, merrell.com; SALOMON Speedcross 5, salomon.com; COLUMBIA Trans Alps FKT III, columbiasportswear. co.uk; HOKA ONE ONE Torrent 2, hokaoneone.eu

TIM KENT

The Speedcross 5 from SALOMON seals the foot in a tight, comfortable mesh to prevent debris from getting inside

THE RED BULLETIN

Been honing your home gym routine? This Olympic snowboarding medalwinner has a new challenge for you…

Billy Morgan has a tendency to take things a bit far. At PyeongChang 2018, he celebrated becoming the first British man to win an Olympic medal on snow by riding a shopping trolley through the Olympic Village, and balancing the flag on his chin at the closing ceremony. But it was the same spirit that, in 2011, pushed him to achieve the world’s first triple backside rodeo (three backflips and a 180 rotation) and, in 2015, a world-first quad cork (four off-axis flips with five full rotations). So, when Morgan came across the online #canchallenge – press-ups

Yes you can Stacking up Morgan’s three-can technique Getting onto the cans is half the challenge – they’re easily knocked over. Get into press-up position to work out optimum placement of the cans. Set your upper body first, then look back underneath to get your first foot on. Slowly apply weight – the more weight, the more stable the cans – before carefully lifting your other foot off the ground. Distribute your weight evenly. Something I learnt in rehab is lifting off an arm and a leg. It’s great for your core strength. Lastly, don’t breathe. If the cans wobble, you’ll compensate elsewhere and it’ll end up going pear-shaped.

“I saw others using one can, and I thought, ‘How I can make it tougher?’”

Instagram: @billy_morgman THE RED BULLETIN

TOM GUISE

The ultimate press-up

balanced on cans – naturally he had to dial it up. “I saw others doing it with one can, and I thought, ‘How I can make it more difficult?’” says the 31-year-old. Within 45 minutes, he’d achieved a three-can press-up. “It’s like learning a snowboard trick on a rail – you decide how to do it, then you practice.” It all might seem like a lark, but Morgan – a former acrobatic gymnast – says the press-up is the foundation of any bodyweight exercise. “To do a handstand, you start with a press-up – you have to take your weight through your shoulders and arms,” he says. “It’s where I learnt everything I took into snowboarding; not just the flips, but the mindset of how to do things physically. “There are wide-arm ones, hands close together, diamonds, but I do the classic ‘marine press-up’ – elbows by your sides. Hold yourself in a plank and do 20 smoothly, nice and slow with no shaking, especially when on something unstable.” But being strong at press-ups isn’t everything. “A lot of gym-goers neglect proprioceptive training [to develop sensory awareness of self-movement and body position], such as [working on] the little stabilising muscles in a locked arm. That’s why I like acrobatics – I still spend a lot of time in an upside-down press-up, balancing someone in my hands. The more you can stabilise, the less you’ll bend yourself out of shape. It’s good for injury prevention.” When it comes to playing safe, however, Morgan is perhaps not the best person to ask. “Was I worried about hurting myself? In comparison with the other things I do, worst case was a sprained wrist. I can swallow that, no problem.”

GREG COLEMAN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

MASTER

CHRISTINA LOCK

VENTURE Fitness

VENTURE Equipment

Delivering 16mmdeep pulses, the Pro connects to an app that tailors your needs to routines designed by Wersland himself

The Mini provides 12mmdeep pulses and, according to Wersland, “can be used on the Tube, and even at your desk”

RECOVER

Deep impact

TIM KENT

Theragun Pro and Theragun Mini Percussive therapy – rapid muscle tissue recovery via high-frequency pounding – is all the rage in sports science, but it started with a different kind of impact. In 2007, Dr Jason Wersland was hit by a car while riding his motorbike in LA. Frustrated by his slow recovery – “As a chiropractor, I knew what was wrong, but I couldn’t treat myself” – he built the prototype of what became the Theragun. By relieving pain and tension while also increasing blood flow, Wersland’s invention restored him to fitness within six months. Today, it’s an essential physio tool for Premier League clubs, the NFL, NBA and more. The top-spec Pro and compact Mini edition both use the same interchangeable heads to deliver up to 2,400 pulses per minute, and fans range from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kim Kardashian to Wersland’s mum. “She’s 79. It’s for everyone,” he says. theragun.com THE RED BULLETIN

VENTURE Equipment

PLAY

Sonic boom

Bass commanders (from top, left to right): THE HAYMAKER HM100 wired and wireless noise-cancelling headset with customisable LED, the-haymaker.com; RAZER Nari Ultimate for Xbox One turns audio into physical feedback, razer.com; SENNHEISER GSP 670 with broadcastquality mic, eposaudio. com; EKSA E900 with detachable noisecancelling mic, eksa.net; MSI Immerse GH50 with vibration, customisable lights and 7.1 surround sound compatibility, msi.com

THE RED BULLETIN

TIM KENT

Gaming headphones have to deliver more than in-game sound – they must immerse you in it, bringing spacial awareness to a battle royale, with a crystal-clear mic for tactical chatter. And they need to prevent both worlds – real and virtual – from disturbing each other with unwanted noise.

VENTURE Gaming

DRIVE

Winning formula

ALEX ALBON, BRYN LENNON/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Formula 1’s Virtual GPs have created a new breed of driver. Here’s how you can become one, too The 2020 Formula 1 season finally scorched off the starting grid this month. But during the four-month hiatus that delayed its start, fans were treated to live-streamed sim races with F1 drivers such as Red Bull Racing’s Alex Albon and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pitted against unlikely foes including England cricketer Ben Stokes, British Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and Manchester City footballer Sergio Agüero. Prepping this unique roster of amateurs required intense coaching on a sim rig and the race software, Codemasters’ F1 2019 video game. Enter gaming pros such as Marcel Kiefer, who joined the Red Bull Racing Esports team this year and earned himself a nickname while coaching Albon: “[Alex] called me ‘The Technician’ after I set up his Twitch stream and taught him a few basics,” Kiefer says. Now, with the latest version of the game, F1 2020, released this month, we can all flex our Virtual GP skills as Kiefer shares the tips he gave his high-profile students…

Go for pole

Your starting position is crucial. “Get as far up the grid to avoid dirty air,” says Kiefer of the drag-inducing turbulence that cars leave in their wake. To do this, smash those qualifying times. “Watch quicker drivers doing single laps, and find the ideal racing line and braking points by practising low-fuel runs.” THE RED BULLETIN

Home lap: Red Bull Racing driver Alex Albon in his personal sim rig

Start smoothly

Resist the urge to pump the accelerator when the light goes green, says Kiefer. “Don’t be jumpy on the throttle – wheel spins break traction. Aim for between 10,700-12,200rpm.”

“Agüero soon learnt you don’t drive an F1 car like a truck”

Learn turns

Most people oversteer, says Kiefer, citing Agüero as a culprit. “But he soon learnt you don’t drive an F1 car like a truck. Too much steering lock causes understeer, higher tyre temps, and slows you down.”

Leap ahead

Overtaking is where races are won. In F1, this means utilising DRS – the rear-wing dragreduction system triggered when within a second of a car ahead. “On Baku’s [2.22km] straight, you can pass, build a gap and break the [other car’s] DRS,” says Kiefer.

Keep it simple

Stay sharp

A perfect lap requires skill, but repeating it calls for adrenalin: “It focuses drivers like Alex [Albon] over a full race, leaving them exhausted.” The sports stars could also tap into this. Those less able should develop a routine, says Kiefer. “Learn

fixed braking points, turn-ins and acceleration markers.”

Marcel Kiefer, 21 The German Esports driver, who took first place in the British GP in last year’s F1 Esports Pro Series, has been sim racing since 2017.

For your home sim rig, Kiefer advises you focus on a base with force feedback and good brake pedals, rather than on the wheel. “And you don’t need a seat. I started on a normal chair, fixing my wheel to a desk. Just have fun.”

F1 2020 by Codemasters is out now on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia; codemasters.com 83

VENTURE Equipment

ROAM

Parklife Whether camping in the wilderness, cooking up in your backyard, or chilling somewhere in between, here’s all the kit you need Great outdoors (from top, left to right): the SNOW PEAK Bamboo My Table (snowpeak.co.uk) is made from aluminium and bamboo, and folds down to fit into a tote bag. YETI’s Roadie 24 Hard Cooler (yeti.com) is tough, light, and tall enough to store an upright bottle of wine. The BIOLITE FirePit (bioliteenergy. com) burns wood and charcoal

with less smoke, thanks to a battery-powered airflow system that can be controlled via a Bluetooth app. It can also charge your phone. The S’WELL Eats 2-in-1 nesting bowl (swell.com) stores a removable dish inside a triple-layered, vacuum-insulated stainless-steel flask that keeps food hot – or ice cold – for hours. POW AUDIO’s Una Bluetooth speaker (powaudio.com) floats on water, has an IP66 splashproof rating, and folds flat for storage. Also from SNOW PEAK, the Pack & Carry Fireplace Kit is a portable firepit that doubles as a grill. Attach the Jikaro Firering Table to its rim and you can dine straight from the fire.

THE RED BULLETIN

• SERIES 1 DOUBLE BUTTED CRMO FRAME • 650B+ x 47MM WTB HORIZON TIRES • BEYOND ROAD GEOMETRY • WIDE RANGE 1X9 DRIVETRAIN

CALENDAR July/August

25 to 26 July TOMORROWLAND AROUND THE WORLD Every summer, the aptly named Belgian town of Boom hosts EDM mega-festival Tomorrowland. But, this year, social distancing has put paid to that, so the event has gone beyond tomorrow. For 2020, we will experience a 3D virtual version of the festival, accessible from any computer or smart device, with eight stages including a digital replica of this year’s flamboyant main arena. Regular big-hitters such as Steve Aoki, Armin van Buuren and David Guetta will be there, along with luminaries from other dance genres. The recommendation is to glam up and project it as large as possible with your home crew. tomorrowland.com

July onwards NORTH OF NIGHTFALL Many exploits come to mind when talking about the Arctic Circle – mountain biking isn’t one of them. But when four freeride MTB-ers headed to the uninhabited Axel Heiberg Island in the Arctic Ocean, they were intent on riding the ultimate rampage line in a hostile landscape of volcanic cliffs, glacial plateaus and endless daylight. The risks were high: there’s only one month when temperatures sit above zero, and the nearest hospital is a 12-hour plane ride away. A thrilling, spectacular doc. redbull.com 86

In 2018, Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel embarked on a feat never before achieved: to scale K2, the world’s second highest peak, then ski back down. It’s an epic tale, documented here with the highest drone footage ever filmed. redbull.com

July onwards WILD SWIMMING During WWII, Fritton Lake in Norfolk was a testing facility for amphibious tanks; today, it delivers another vital service – the chance to wild swim while observing social distancing. Other watersports include canoeing, paddleboarding and water-skiing. This rewilded nature retreat offers woodland cabins for staycations, too. frittonlake.co.uk THE RED BULLETIN

TOMORROWLAND, BLAKE JORGENSON/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, KIN MARCIN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC

July K2: THE IMPOSSIBLE DESCENT

CALENDAR July/August

July onwards SECRET CINEMA: THE DRIVE-IN

It’s been a tough summer for movie- goers, with blockbusters such as Daniel Craig’s final Bond outing and Top Gun: Maverick delayed until later this year and beyond. But DC’s superheroes are coming to the rescue. This 24-hour virtual experience will feature new footage and live panels with the cast and creators of films including Wonder Woman 1984 (now out on October 2); The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson; and the much-anticipated ‘Zack Snyder cut’ of Justice League, which studio Warner Bros announced after fans voiced their dismay at the original version delivered by Avengers director Joss Whedon. Think of it as a virtual Comic-Con. dccomics.com/dcfandome

Secret Cinema has kept the immersive experience alive over the past few months with its Secret Sofa sessions (shared movie experiences at home, with a dress code, online actors and Zoom-connected afterparties). Now, it’s taking it a step further with a full-blown Secret Cinema event that keeps you socially distanced in your car. As the name suggests, this is an SC spin on the classic drive-in movie, with a roster of new films including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Knives Out, alongside classics such as Dirty Dancing and Moana. Bluetooth speakers placed inside your vehicle allow you to safely experience the pre-screen theatrics, and there will be opportunities to not only dress up but give your car a makeover, too. And, in true drive-in style, American dinerthemed food will be delivered to your window. Goodwood, West Sussex; secretcinema.org THE RED BULLETIN

August DC FANDOME

July onwards THE HISTORY OF THE PIT STOP

With Formula 1 back in action, we once again get to marvel at that greatest of engineering art-forms: the live, split-second pit stop. As a perfect side order, this film follows the mavericks who took what was once a painfully slow pause during a race and transformed it into a choreographed exercise in precision that, last year, saw the Red Bull Racing pit maestros service Max Verstappen’s F1 car in a world-record 1.82 seconds at the Brazilian GP. He won it, naturally. redbull.com 87

THE BIKE ISSUE

Get ready to

Gravel

Faster than MTB, gnarlier than road-biking: saddle up for a new adventure Words CHARLIE ALLENBY

Free spirit: hitting the trail on the Cannondale Topstone Carbon Lefty3

â&#x20AC;&#x2030; 89

Gravel

The nitty gritty of gravel riding There are rarely seismic shifts in cycling. The birth of mountain biking in the 1970s was arguably the last atom-splitting moment, and there have been two ever-shifting parallel dimensions of riding culture since. Stereotypically, one camp is filled with Lycra-loving, Strava-segment-chasing road cyclists, while the other is populated by unruly mountain bikers looking to push themselves and their bikes to the limit on the gnarliest trails around. That is, until now. Born on the sunbaked stretches of fire roads, trails and dirt paths of America in the mid-2000s, gravel riding signalled the merging of these two universes. Just over a decade later, it has become the byword for a cool, youthful movement that is sweeping through the stale world of cycling clubs dominated by MAMILs (middle-aged men in Lycra). The mainstream cycling world is now taking note, and the results are exciting. In essence, gravel is about being able to ride anywhere on a bike with drop handlebars, regardless of terrain – hence why some models are touted as ‘all-road’ or ‘adventure’ bikes. Instead of sticking rigidly to the asphalt, riders actively look to seek out the paths less travelled, piecing together routes that mix roads with traffic-free bridleways, canal paths and singletrack to create an experience that’s big on adventure and type 1 fun. In its early days, riders would have to get creative with what was at hand, playing Dr Frankenstein and borrowing technological advancements from mountain biking (disc brakes, tubeless tyres, 1x gearing) to transform a road or cyclo-cross bike into something that could tackle the rough stuff. Now, brands have cottoned onto the trend and you can’t move for gravel-specific paraphernalia. But for cycling’s ‘next big thing’ it runs deeper than mere marketing spiel.

Trunk call: toughing it out on the Rondo Ruut ST1

In its relatively short history, the new kid on the block has created its own subculture that has stripped riding back to its roots. Gravel centres on exploring new destinations and enjoying the journey there, rather than time spent on the bike being about perspiration, power zones and entering the pain cave. This relaxed approach to riding has an added benefit in that there’s no snobbery in the gravel community about what you are (or are not) riding, what you’re wearing, or how fast you can get from A to B. Riders are more likely to be carrying a midride beer in their bottle cage, or sport a bar bag jammed with equipment to make a trailside coffee, than have their pockets stuffed with energy gels and sweaty flapjacks. Throw in the fact that most rides minimise time spent sharing roads with cars, vans and lorries, and it’s easy to see why gravel has become so popular – not only with road and mountain bikers looking for something new to try, but also among those for whom cycling has always seemed a dangerous hobby undertaken by a collective of unapproachable cliques. And that’s easily one of gravel riding’s most attractive assets: if you can ride a bike and you have an eye for an adventure, you’re ready to get started. But before you head out into the wild, you’re going to need some wheels... THE RED BULLETIN

Aim high: exploring Snowdonia National Park on the Marin Nicassio+ and Gestalt X11

THE RED BULLETIN

â&#x20AC;&#x2030; 91

Gravel

Chunkier than those on a road bike, gravel bike tyres are built for tough terrain

A gravel bike has drop handlebars like its road equivalent, not straight like an mountain bike

The gearing is pitched at tackling inclines rather than racing on asphalt

What is a gravel bike? To the untrained eye, a gravel bike doesn’t look that different from a road bike: the frame is made of two triangles, it has dropped handlebars, and, unlike on a mountain bike, there’s no suspension. Look a bit closer, though, and you’ll notice marked differences. First up: tyres. The skinny slicks are out, and in their place are wide-profile beasts that will help you tackle everything from loose gravel to boggy woodland. But it’s not just a case of slapping some gravel tyres on your road bike. The whole geometry of a gravel bike is designed to be compatible with wider tyres, and most road bikes’ clearance (the space between the tyres and the frame) is simply not big enough. An adventure bike’s shape also takes into consideration the terrain it will be ridden on – wheelbases are longer to maximise control on technical terrain, and headtube angles are less aggressive to improve stability and comfort over longer rides. One final biggie to be aware of is the gearing. With off-road riding comes steeper inclines, and a gravel bike’s drivetrain reflects this. Because of this difference, a gravel bike is generally not as fast as its thoroughbred drop-handlebar racing cousin on the asphalt, but it will outpace any mountain bike on all but the most testing trails. 92

THE RED BULLETIN

Opposite page, from top: CANNONDALE Topstone Carbon Lefty 3 bike, cannondale.com; CANYON Grail CF SL 8.0 bike, canyon.com; RONDO Ruut CFO bike, rondo.cc

THE RED BULLETIN

This page, clockwise from left: CUBE Nuroad WS bike, cube.eu; PIVOT Vault bike, store.pivotcycles. com; MARIN Headlands bike, marinbikes.com; SPECIALIZED Diverge Expert Carbon bike, specialized.com

â&#x20AC;&#x2030; 93

Gravel

What to wear Bike sorted, it’s time to talk about kit. There are no set rules for what you should and shouldn’t wear, and you won’t

look out of place whatever you ride in – be it skin-tight Lycra, a casual combo of T-shirt and shorts, or even mountain-biking gear (although maybe leave the full-face helmet at home). The only advice would be to grab yourself some bib shorts – which can be worn

under more casual shorts – as the padded chamois will help keep things comfortable downstairs. Also, clip-in gravel shoes make pedalling more efficient, and can also be walked in (unlike roadbike cleats) when off the bike – handy when there’s an unplanned stream to cross...

JOE MCGORTY

Left (from top, l-r): OAKLEY Split Time sunglasses, oakley. com; MET Allroad helmet, met-helmets. com; CHROME Merino Cobra Hoodie 2.0, chromeindustries. com; LEZYNE Micro Floor Drive Digital HVG pump, ride. lezyne.com; GIRO New Road shortsleeve jersey, giro. co.uk; HOWIES Classic Merino base layer, howies.co.uk; CHROME Anza shorts, chromeindustries. com; GIRO D’Wool gloves, giro.co.uk; LEZYNE Classic Brass bell, ride.lezyne.com; FINISTERRE Cirrus insulated jacket, finisterre.com; FI’ZI:K Terra X5 Volume Control shoes, fizik.com; STANCE Belfort Feel360 socks, stance.eu.com; TOPEAK Frontloader handlebar bag, topeak.com Right (from top, l-r): KASK Mojito X Peak helmet, kask.com; OAKLEY Sutro sunglasses, oakley. com; CHAPEAU! Lightweight cap, chapeau.cc; GIRO New Road shortsleeve jersey, giro. co.uk; CHAPEAU! Mens Club Windstopper jacket, chapeau.cc; GIRO Privateer Lace shoes, giro.co.uk; CHAPEAU! Club Gilet Roundel, chapeau.cc THE RED BULLETIN

Imprint

GLOBAL TEAM

THE RED BULLETIN WORLDWIDE

The Red Bulletin is published in six countries. This is the cover of the US issue for August, featuring champion cyclists Kate Courtney and Chloé Digert… For more stories beyond the ordinary, go to: redbulletin.com

The Red Bulletin UK. ABC certified distribution 153,505 (Jan-Dec 2019)

Editor-in-Chief Alexander Macheck Deputy Editor-in-Chief Andreas Rottenschlager Creative Director Erik Turek Art Directors Kasimir Reimann (deputy CD), Miles English, Tara Thompson Head of Photo Eva Kerschbaum Deputy Head of Photo Marion Batty Photo Director Rudi Übelhör Production Editor Marion Lukas-Wildmann Managing Editor Ulrich Corazza Copy Chief Andreas Wollinger Design Marion Bernert-Thomann, Martina de CarvalhoHutter, Kevin Goll, Carita Najewitz Photo Editors Susie Forman, Ellen Haas, Tahira Mirza General Manager & Publisher Andreas Kornhofer Managing Director Stefan Ebner Head of Media Sales & Partnerships Lukas Scharmbacher Publishing Management Sara Varming (manager), Ivona Glibusic, Bernhard Schmied, Melissa Stutz B2B Marketing & Communication Katrin Sigl (manager), Alexandra Ita, Teresa Kronreif, Stefan Portenkirchner Head of Creative Markus Kietreiber Co-Publishing Susanne Degn-Pfleger & Elisabeth Staber (manager), Mathias Blaha, Raffael Fritz, Thomas Hammerschmied, Marlene H interleitner, Valentina Pierer, Mariella Reithoffer, Verena Schörkhuber, Sara Wonka, Julia Bianca Zmek, Edith Zöchling-Marchart Commercial Design Peter Knehtl (manager), Sasha Bunch, Simone Fischer, Martina Maier, Julia Schinzel, Florian Solly Advertising Placement Manuela Brandstätter, Monika Spitaler Head of Production Veronika Felder Production Friedrich Indich, Walter O. Sádaba, Sabine Wessig Repro Clemens Ragotzky (manager), Claudia Heis, Nenad Isailovi c,̀ Sandra Maiko Krutz, Josef Mühlbacher MIT Michael Thaler, Christoph Kocsisek Operations Melanie Grasserbauer, Alexander Peham, Yvonne Tremmel Assistant to General Management Patricia Höreth Subscriptions and Distribution Peter Schiffer (manager), Nicole Glaser (distribution), Yoldaş Yarar (subscriptions) Global Editorial Office Heinrich-Collin-Straße 1, A-1140 Vienna Tel: +43 1 90221 28800, Fax: +43 1 90221 28809 redbulletin.com Red Bull Media House GmbH Oberst-Lepperdinger-Straße 11-15, A-5071 Wals bei Salzburg, FN 297115i, Landesgericht Salzburg, ATU63611700 Directors Dietrich Mateschitz, Dietmar Otti, Christopher Reindl, Marcus Weber

THE RED BULLETIN United Kingdom, ISSN 2308-5894 Editor Ruth McLeod Associate Editor Tom Guise Culture Editor Florian Obkircher Chief Sub-Editor Davydd Chong Publishing Manager Ollie Stretton Advertising Sales Mark Bishop, mark.bishop@redbull.com Fabienne Peters, fabienne.peters@redbull.com Printed by Quad/Graphics Europe Sp. z o.o., Pułtuska 120, 07-200 Wyszków, Poland UK Office Seven Dials Warehouse, 42-56 Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LA Tel: +44 (0) 20 3117 2000 Subscribe getredbulletin.com Enquiries or orders to: subs@uk. redbulletin.com. Back issues available to purchase at: getredbulletin.com. Basic subscription rate is £20.00 per year. International rates are available. The Red Bulletin is published 10 times a year. Please allow a maximum of four weeks for delivery of the first issue Customer Service +44 (0)1227 277248, subs@uk.redbulletin.com

THE RED BULLETIN Austria, ISSN 1995-8838 Editor Christian Eberle-Abasolo Proofreaders Hans Fleißner (manager), Petra Hannert, Monika Hasleder, Billy Kirnbauer-Walek Publishing Management Bernhard Schmied Sales Management Alfred Vrej Minassian (manager), Thomas Hutterer, Stefanie Krallinger anzeigen@at.redbulletin.com

THE RED BULLETIN France, ISSN 2225-4722 Editor Pierre-Henri Camy Country Coordinator Christine Vitel Country Project M anagement Alessandra Ballabeni Contributors, Translators and Proofreaders Étienne Bonamy, Frédéric & Susanne Fortas, Suzanne Kříženecký, Claire Schieffer, Jean-Pascal Vachon, Gwendolyn de Vries

THE RED BULLETIN Germany, ISSN 2079-4258 Editor David Mayer Proofreaders Hans Fleißner (manager), Petra Hannert, Monika Hasleder, Billy Kirnbauer-Walek Country Project Management Natascha Djodat Advertising Sales Matej Anusic, matej.anusic@redbull.com Thomas Keihl, thomas.keihl@redbull.com Martin Riedel, martin.riedel@redbull.com

THE RED BULLETIN Switzerland, ISSN 2308-5886 Editor Wolfgang Wieser Proofreaders Hans Fleißner (manager), Petra Hannert, Monika Hasleder, Billy Kirnbauer-Walek Country Project Management Meike Koch Advertising Sales Marcel Bannwart (D-CH), marcel.bannwart@redbull.com Christian Bürgi (W-CH), christian.buergi@redbull.com Goldbach Publishing Marco Nicoli, marco.nicoli@goldbach.com

THE RED BULLETIN USA, ISSN 2308-586X Editor-in-Chief Peter Flax Deputy Editor Nora O’Donnell Copy Chief David Caplan Director of Publishing Cheryl Angelheart Country Project Management Laureen O’Brien Advertising Sales Todd Peters, todd.peters@redbull.com Dave Szych, dave.szych@redbull.com Tanya Foster, tanya.foster@redbull.com

THE RED BULLETIN

MORE WIIINGS WITHOUT SUGAR.

Action highlight

The next issue of THE RED BULLETIN is out on August 11

THE RED BULLETIN

JAANUS REE/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Floating point For this dramatic stunt, Estonian slackliner Jaan Roose chose an atmospheric setting – Seli Raba (or the rather less attractive Seli Bog when translated into English) in the north of his country. Needless to say, the three-time world champion and sometime Hollywood stuntman landed the trick perfectly.

ALPHATAURI.COM

MARC MÁRQUEZ. TISSOT T-RACE MARC MÁRQUEZ LIMITED EDITION 2020. MARC MÁRQUEZ SILK-PRINTED LOGO ON THE GLASS CASEBACK .

#ThisIsYourTime TI S S OT WATC H E S .CO M TISSOT, INNOVATORS BY TRADITION