Ride an Abandoned Mine with MTB free rider Thomas Genon. Are you already thinking about the weekend? I am and having ridden through abandoned rail tunnels, a mine sounds good to me.
The story is from Red Bull and about how Genon prepared for the Red Bull Rampage and built a breathtaking line on one of the huge slag heaps near Liège. He and friends then dropped in from the pitch-black top down into the mining tunnels.
After finding the right locations, the crew worked for 10 days straight. The 2012 Red Bull Joyride winner explained: “We wanted to put as many features as possible into that line. We were on a mission!” The mine is where his great-grandfather worked.
See the rest of the photos embedded below.
About the mine, Genon said, “The working conditions then must have been really brutal. When I told my grandparents where and what I was doing, they could hardly believe I was in the same place, but with my bike. Only when we were digging our lines out of the slag heap and quarry from early morning to late at night did I begin to grasp what my great-grandfather must have gone through underground. I was given the chance to do whatever I wanted on a freeride bike, to do something more in line with my vision of riding. Even though I’m still more known for my slopestyle runs, I was stoked to try something new, something exciting. I wanted to try my best in something I’m maybe not known for.”
Credit: Red Bull Bike.
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