BACKFLIPPING THEIR WAY TO EQUALITY

The women were competing, finally, at Red Bull Rampage in Virgin, Utah, considered the biggest and gnarliest mountain bike competition in the world.

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Steep gully that she and others christened the "Chuterus" - official name "Chutes 'R' Us". It was a tight downhill passage leading to a tricky exit and towards even more frightening obstacles. Astle beamed when she reached the bottom of her run, finishing in second place. "We have kicked the door down," she said.

Then she texted her mother to tell her that she was okay.

In the end, all of them were. Still, she smiled and hugged each of her friends as they reached the bottom - which is to say, when women finally got to the top.

In professional mountain biking, Rampage is different. Part of it is the setting, on the eroding slopes near Gooseberry Mesa, a massive butte and mountain biking haven that rises high over the desert floor.