Can you tell us more about your line, the new venue, and what was your original plan?

Can you tell us what lead you to make that decision and when did you decide it?

Are you happy with the decision you made?

How have your sponsors, fans, and friends been responding to that?

Do you want to go back to Rampage and what would you do from your point of view as a rider to try to improve it?

Any last word ?

Fabien Cousinié - Polygon UR team owner-rider

Redbull Rampage is probably the mountain bike event that has the biggest media coverage worldwide.Some racers have made or lost so much in just one run. In that context the pressure that is on the shoulders of the riders is huge and the decision for Sam Reynolds not dropping in was probably as high had he dropped in. Especially considering his great result of winning the best trick for his first time out there in 2015.Let’s find out more about his story.The new venue was 'back to the roots' style which meant there were no set wooden features like ramps, gaps or drops like the past few years. Unfortunately for me going fast and hitting big jumps is what I like most so this was a bit of a bummer, but me and the boys managed to make a line that we thought was cool with a few big trickable features on the way down. I rode most of it in practice and it was actually fun!Well, at the top there was this horrible thin bit which I'm not exaggerating when I say was 4ft wide with well over a 100ft cliff off the side. If you slipped a pedal or got blown by the wind it wouldn't be a case of a broken arm or leg, you'd be lucky to survive, really. And for me when it came to the time in practice where I went up there, I decided that the risk just wasn't worth any amount of glory or money. Especially when I asked a few days before if it was possible to organise safety nets and they basically said they didn't have time.I'm totally gutted, to turn down the honour of riding Rampage was the toughest thing to do. I hate feeling like I took the easy way out but at the same time I'm glad it's all over and everyone is safe. I think it's easy at Rampage to get pressured into doing something you would never normally want to with the prize purse and potential stage to prove yourself. I'm just a guy who likes to shred bikes and I decided I wanted to keep it that way! It was a horrible couple of days coming to the decision and looking back I think maybe I should have dropped in but at the time I wasn't feeling right, so I don't regret it.That was my biggest worry at the time and still now but luckily everyone seems really empathetic. Of course I want to say thanks and sorry to everyone who was disappointed to not see me ride, believe me, I'm more disappointed than anyone. I've seen a few comments online calling me out but I'd love to see any of those keyboard bashers walk up the path to the top let alone ride down the lines! I'm lucky enough to have great sponsors too, who thankfully understand and support my decisions no matter what and I really respect them for that. Except the Deakinator who won't stop lobstering on about me not dropping in and no doubt I'll probably never hear the end of it!I would love to go back to Rampage and just put some safety nets or something on the bits that the riders could die on!I can't believe Trump made it this far!You can watch the last few days before Sam Reynolds took off for Redbull Rampage here: