Road to Rampage: Conor Macfarlane

Starting out like most kids, Conor Macfarlane rode to and from school most days, until ten years ago at the age of 14 when he started riding jumps with his friends. Conor is a humble person who says he has always enjoyed riding and has dreamed of riding at Rampage for the last couple of years, and this year his dream came true after making a video with Director/ Editor Tim Pierce. This video was originally designed to be made in to separate videos one released in 2014 and the other released this year, but ended up being released together in a video called “Should Conor get into Rampage.” 

After realising he was to compete in the world’s biggest freeride event, Conor says he just continued to ride like he normally did, and having easy access to Whistler’s awesome trails meant it was simple for Conor to get saddle time in. Admitting he hadn’t constantly gone out looking for the big drops like Rampage, Conor said he felt comfortable with riding the Rampage course.
 

Arriving in Utah after driving from Whistler more than a week out from Rampage with his dig crew, Conor spent a couple days hitting jumps at the old site before the Utah wind picked up to a speed that would have been to dangerous for him to ride in. Conor and his crew built his line for the five days leading up to the event, which led him to sharing a line with a fellow competitor.
Leading up to Qualifying Conor felt confident with his run, which included a couple of drops and the RZR Gap. When Qualifying came around his first run put him into a comfortable 5th place, but by the time of his second run he was sitting in 12th. After having a smooth run down the hill Conor attempted his favourite trick, a Flip Suey over the RZR gap, which he says didn’t feel right so he let go of his bike. Luckily both he and his bike managed to walk away from the crash, but sadly he didn’t manage to qualify.

Obviously Conor was disappointed about not being able to compete in the finals but manages to find solace in knowing he has completed a dream in riding Rampage and hopes to return next year. Conor has plans of making another video to showcase his talent and skill, competing at Crankworx Rotorua, doing a couple of photoshoots in his hometown of Queenstown and competing in some Enduro events.

Conor wants to thank Knolly bikes, Marzocchi, Enve, Chris King, Mons Royale, Gravity, Wide Open Distributors, SDG and POC.