Warning: The following edit may cause you to pucker — par for the course when watching possibly the world’s best drone shot.
You’ve likely seen many FPV drone edits. But you’ve probably never witnessed any as consequential as this.
The Dutch Drone Gods ventured to Valparaiso, Chile, for the Red Bull Valparaiso Cerro Abajo 2022. Their mission was to capture footage of Tomas Slavik, the world’s best urban downhill rider, navigating the narrow streets through the diabolic urban course.
It’s one thing to fly a drone at a typical MTB race, but an urban downhill event is an entirely different animal.
Dutch drone pilots Ralph “Shaggy” Hogenbirk and brother Thomas de Koster had their work cut out for them while filming Slavik’s harrowing top-to-bottom run.
Concrete buildings with low ceilings, tight corners, steep stairs, and narrow corridors littered the course. And toss in questionable connectivity to ultimately test the skill and patience of the Drone Gods on their quest.
Slavik delivered an insane ride through the course, captured expertly by the quick maneuvering of the drones, with minimal-to-no operator error.
There’s plenty of lead-up to the actual action in this video, with BTS banter and course overview in the first 7 minutes.
If you’re pressed on time, jump to the 8-minute mark — and brace yourself for action.
Runtime: 11 minutes
