Written by Francisco Vera
On Saturday, September 27, Red Bull brought its world-renowned tandem bike event to the United States for the first time, and Orlando was chosen as the host.
What is usually a straight line course with obstacles was changed for this event. Red Bull described it as “…a thrilling challenge over a water obstacle course inspired by the thrill and energy of Orlando, the rollercoaster capital of the world.”
This event gained tons of traction, as it had over 300 team applications. Red Bull had to narrow it down to 30 teams, of two people each.
The lake at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs was the home for this event, and it had an estimated attendance of over 30,000 people coming from all over the city to witness this one-of-a-kind event.
With everyone watching, one team garnered their support: Sibling Splashdown, made up by Marlena, a UCF grad student, and her brother Diego, a UCF alum.
Everyone loved their UCF-themed bike! Their booth kept getting visits, and people would continuously walk up and take a picture with the Spirit Splash-inspired rubber duck bike.
“Honestly, the competition almost feels second-rate to the community, because there’s, I think, 20,000 people here. We showed up with 500 small plastic ducks, and 1,000 duck stickers, and we’ve given almost all of them to little kids, so […] we’re building a fun community.” Diego Formoso, one half of Sibling Splashdown, said when asked how he was feeling before competing at the event.
As they headed to the course, their emotions shifted, showing they meant business and they were willing to do whatever it took to finish the course without falling in the water.
In the end, they succeeded. They completed the course in 30.51 seconds, with Diego hyping up the crowd as they reached the finish line and rang the bell to finalize the course.
They received the perfect score of 30, given to them by judges based on their Design, pre-race performance, and showmanship. The judges for this event were NBA legend Dwight Howard, professional wakeboarder Meagan Ethell, and content creator Zack Fairhurst.
“I’m kind of shaking, a little bit of adrenaline, and I wasn’t even the one pedaling. But I’m really happy, it went really well, and our duck didn’t make it, but we did, and that’s what mattered.” Marlena Formoso, the other half of Sibling Splashdown, said when asked about their result.
To watch Sibling Splashdown compete at the Tandem Rollercoaster event, as well as to watch the rest of the competitors, check out Red Bull’s event recap.
