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Get the lowdown on Red Bull Hardline as it expands to two races in 2024
The gnarliest downhill race alive is bigger than ever before and is going global for 2024. Find out about a brand new race in Australia, who to look out for there, and how to watch live coverage.
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The brutal part-downhill, part-freeride track race that has thrilled downhill fans since 2013 is bigger and better for 2024 with a second event in Australia added alongside the original race in Wales.
Red Bull Hardline Australia will take place on February 23–24, heading to Maydena Bike Park in Tasmania, Australia, before the race returns to Red Bull Hardline’s home in Wales’s Dyfi Valley on June 1–2 for the second event.
You can be guaranteed that Red Bull Hardline Australia will be very bit as big, gnarly and downright demanding as the original event and will continue the Red Bull Hardline legacy of progressing downhill mountain bike racing to new heights and producing a downhill race like no other.
14 min
Everything you need to know
Watch event veterans and newcomers get to grips with the new and improved Red Bull Hardline course.
More on Red Bull Hardline
01
How can I watch?
Both Red Bull Hardline Australia and Red Bull Hardline Wales will be shown live on Red Bull TV when they take place. Watch Red Bull Hardline Australia finals on Red Bull TV on February 23-24.
02
Where exactly are the Red Bull Hardline races taking place?
The Australian edition takes place Maydena Bike Park in Tasmania, Australia. It is located in the Derwent Valley region, which is west of Tasmania's state capital Hobart. The park opened in early 2018 having been in development for a number of years. Designed and built by Australian trail builders, Dirt Art, the park has over 100km of mountain bike trails, including super techie fast-paced jump and freeride lines that make it very suitable to host a Red Bull Hardline event. Watch Harriet Burbidge-Smith tackle one such trail in this MTB Raw edit from 2022.
Harriet Burbidge-Smith riding at Maydena Bike Park
© Andy Green/Red Bull Content Pool
As ever the course for the original Welsh race is located in the Dyfi Valley in Snowdonia, north Wales. This area is very popular with mountain bikers, as it's only a few miles north of Machynlleth and close to Dolgellau, two villages with access to all types of MTB trails and bike parks.
03
What are the Hardline course like?
Red Bull Hardline Australia
Maydena’s mountainside will be turned into a course true to the Hardline ethos by none other than Red Bull Hardline founder and course builder, Dan Atherton.
Atherton has been the brains behind the design and updates to the Red Bull Hardline course in Dyfi that’s pushed the sport’s boundaries each year. He's already been hard at work planning the new Red Bull Hardline Australia track at Maydena to ensure a trademark long course, with the huge jumps that challenge riders both physically and mentally as well as highly technical linking sections that will demand pinpoint accuracy delivered at speed.
Course creator, and Hardline tormentor-in-chief, Dan Atherton
© Dan Griffiths
Red Bull Hardline Wales
The Dyfi Hardline track – designed and built by Atherton and Ollie Davey – as we know from the past nine editions of the race is a beast. Snaking its way down the mountain in the heart of the Dyfi forest, the track combines huge freestyle jumps with extremely technical downhill features. This means that you need to nail the formula of this course in order to make it down in one piece, never mind in a winning time. To do that, riders need to have the skills to handle big jumps and navigate their way through difficult and (usually) damp forest sections.
With gigantic step-ups, gaps and speeds of up to 65kph, it's fair to say that the Hardline course is the gnarliest downhill track in the UK – if not the world!
Take a look at the current Red Bull Hardline Wales course with Ronan Dunne:
3 min
Course preview
Irish mountain bike rider Ronan Dunne drops in on the 2023 Red Bull Hardline course.
04
Two races but there will be no overall title awarded
Despite the addition of a second race to the Welsh original, the two races in Australia and Wales will not see an overall title be awarded for athletes who take part in both races. The races will run as standalone events.
05
More women will be taking part than ever before
Another significant development for Red Bull Hardline in 2024 is the increased participation of women in the races. New Zealander Jess Blewitt had the opportunity to ride the course in Wales in 2022, but unfortunately, she did not compete in the race. She was also scheduled to race there in 2023, but she sustained an injury. Blewitt was also involved in a women's progression camp, which included downhill riders Tahnée Seagrave and Louise Ferguson, as well as freeriders Cami Nogueira, Vinny Armstrong, and Hannah Bergemann that got to session the Welsh course in 2023.
06
So who's taking part in Red Bull Hardline Australia and Wales?
Red Bull Hardline continues to be an invite-only event. Twenty-six athletes will compete at both the Australian and Welsh races, while an additional 12 wildcard athletes will just be at the Australian race in Tasmania.
Previous winners Bernard Kerr (a three time winner), Gee Atherton, Jackson Goldstone and Craig Evans are slated to be at both races. All will be eager to add the Red Bull Hardline Australia crown to the Welsh trophies they hold, and so be seen as Red Bull Hardline legends on two continents.
Bernard Kerr and Red Bull Hardline is an evolving love story
© Dan Griffiths/Red Bull Content Pool
Jackson Goldstone will be hoping for more Hardline winning moments
© Dan Griffiths/Red Bull Content Pool
A slew of other Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill racers will also be starting both events, including Laurie Greenland, Charlie Hatton, Brook Macdonald, Tahnée Seagrave, Mark Wallace, Kade Edwards and Ronan Dunne.
Athletes more known for their freeride skills in Johny Salido, Reed Boggs, Hannah Bergemann, Cami Nogueira and Casey Brown are interesting additions to the rider list. All in all, this is a strong Hardline athlete list. The full list of the 26 athletes taking part in Australia and Wales is immediately below:
- Gee Atherton (🇬🇧)
- Hannah Bergemann (🇺🇸)
- Reed Boggs (🇺🇸)
- Adam Brayton (🇬🇧)
- Casey Brown (🇨🇦)
- Ronan Dunne (🇮🇪)
- Kade Edwards (🇬🇧)
- Theo Erlangsen (🇿🇦)
- Craig Evans (🇬🇧)
- Louise-Anna Ferguson (🇬🇧)
- Thomas Genon (🇧🇪)
- Jackson Goldstone (🇨🇦)
- Laurie Greenland (🇬🇧)
- Charlie Hatton (🇬🇧)
- Matteo Iniguez (🇫🇷)
- Bernard Kerr (🇬🇧)
- Tomas Lemoine (🇫🇷)
- Brook Macdonald (🇳🇿)
- David McMillan (🇦🇺)
- Cami Nogueira (🇦🇷)
- Camilo Sanchez (🇨🇴)
- Kaos Seagrave (🇬🇧)
- Tahnée Seagrave (🇬🇧)
- Gaetan Vige (🇫🇷)
- Mark Wallace (🇨🇦)
The following list are the 12 wild card athletes who are down to take part in the Australian edition in Tasmania. Australian and New Zealand riders make up many of the wild cards picks with the likes of Tassie local Dan Booker, Harriet Burbidge-Smith and Remy Morton on the list. Five-time downhill World Champion Loïc Bruni is also a stand out name here and it will be Bruni's first ever appearance at a Hardline race.
- Sam Blenkinsop (🇳🇿)
- Dan Booker (🇦🇺)
- George Brannigan (🇳🇿)
- Loïc Bruni (🇫🇷)
- Darcy Coutts (🇦🇺)
- Connor Fearon (🇦🇺)
- Sam Gale (🇳🇿)
- Gracey Hemstreet (🇨🇦)
- Baxter Maiwald (🇦🇺)
- Ed Masters (🇳🇿)
- Remy Morton (🇦🇺)
07
What happened last time out at Red Bull Hardline in Wales?
The 2023 race in Dyfi unfortunately had to be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. In 2022, 20 of the best riders from across Britain and around the world lined up to take on Dan Atherton's creation.
The assumption pre-race was that it was Bernard Kerr's to lose – the three-time winner dominant throughout practice and qualifying. But come race day, a costly mistake from Kerr meant it would be someone else stood at the top of the Hardline podium.
4 min
Jackson Goldstone's winning run
Jackson Goldstone conquers the toughest course in downhill mountain biking to take the win at Red Bull Hardline 2022.
Debutant 18-year-old Jackson Goldstone stepped up to fill the void. The then Junior World Cup overall champion showed no fear throughout the weekend in Wales, riding the course like he had been coming to Hardline for years and putting in a time that was in the green from top to bottom.
Joe Smith and Taylor Vernon made up the two other podium spots.
9 min
Top 3 runs
Enjoy the Top 3 runs from the world's hardest mountain bike race.
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