Before spotting anything else while rolling up to the Oskar Blues Reeb Ranch, your eyes were immediately drawn to the the massive mounds of red North Carolina dirt. Probably visible from the planes above, the massive jumps were to be the home of the latest edition of the Redbull Dreamline BMX competition.
Set on the grounds of the Reeb Ranch in Hendersonville, NC, the venue would serve as a host to the best BMX dirt jumpers in the world to compete on the perfect line – the Dreamline. At first it appeared the weather would derail the fun, the crowd and riders stuck it out through a two hour rain delay to put on a great show.
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Recently purchased by Oskar Blues, the Reeb Ranch is the latest mountain bike destination just outside of Asheville, North Carolina. Also home to the Bike Farm, the grounds have a pump track, camping facilities, mountain bike trails, plus most of the upper Dreamline course will remain – the massive lower jumps will be reworked into hits that are rideable by mere mortals.
The Bike Farm provides everything you need to have a blast on a bike while staying at the ranch including guided rides, rentals, and shuttle services.
The Dreamline course itself was insane. Some of the biggest dirt jumps on the planet, perfectly sculpted into the hill side. Over 3 football fields long and with riders hitting up to 30 mph, and 40 feet in the air, the Dreamline course was not for the timid. Even after a massive down pour, the course held its shape thanks to tarps over the jumps and rider were able to resume after the rain delay for the finals.
Estimated at 3,500 spectators, the crowd was huge. Even George Hincapie was in attendance – maybe looking for some inspiration for Hotel Domestique?
As expected, the riding was worthy of the atmosphere. The crowd got louder, the tricks got bigger.
The drones were out in force.
In the end it was tricks like this bar spin back flip, and 270 one handed X-up out of the Shark fin that landed dirt jump legend Ryan Nyquist the win. Tricking the upper part of the course proved to be crucial for both Nyquist and Foster while big tricks on the bottom landed Kyle Baldock on the podium as well.
Want to see the action on network TV? Check out the full length broadcast of the RedBull Dreamline on Nov. 8, at 5 pm EST on NBC as part of the RedBull Signature Series.
Finals Results:
- Ryan Nyquist Santa Cruz, CA
- James Foster Redlands, CA
- Kyle Baldock Queensland, AUS
- Pat Casey Yorba Linda, CA
- Chris Doyle Pittsburgh, PA
- Dennis Enarson San Diego, CA
- Paul Langlands Cambridge, NZ
- David Godziek Suscek, POL
- Mike “Hucker” Clark Huntington Beach, CA
- Corey Bohan Corona, CA
- Matt Cordova Longmont, CO12- Jaie Toohey Sydney, AUS
Videos courtesy of Redbull.com