Bike
MTB
Just how big is the Red Bull Hardline course?
GMBN presenter Blake Samson takes his speed gun and tape measure to find out if the Red Bull Hardline course is really as big as it looks.
Red Bull Hardline isn't named that for any old reason – it truly is one of the hardest downhill courses in the world. Built by Dan Atherton, the gnarly track combines the best of downhill with freeride features that challenge even the top mountain bikers.
Riders have to battle through 2.7km of boggy woods sections and make their way down steep, wet rocks on a narrow, tree stump-surrounded track – and they have to do it fast. And if that isn't difficult enough, Dan Atherton has added some massive features to the course, including rock drops, a huge step-up and step-down and high-speed road gap. If you want to know just how massive these jumps are then this one is for you...
The Cannon
Dan Atherton shooting off the cannon
© Boris Beyer
The cannon is one of the biggest and fastest jumps on the course and this year a landing pad has been added, so the last thing a rider wants is to do on this one is come up short. They have to travel pretty far to clear it – 57ft to be exact.
The Rock Drop
Adam Brayton positions for the landing
© Boris Beyer
From lift-off to landing is around 13ft according to Blake's numbers. The rock drop is a slow speed, steep jump – if you drop-off too fast when you land, the front of your bike will take all the energy and you could end up ass-over-bars. The ground here is also very soft so you'll lose time if you land too hard and heavy.
The Dirty Ferns
Taylor Vernon coming off the step-down
© Boris Beyer
The dirty ferns are always a spectator favourite, with a huge step-down followed by a massive berm to catch the riders as they flow towards the intimidatingly high step-up. Just how far do the riders travel in the air? 45ft! Yowza.
The Step-Up
Alexandre Fayolle takes a leap of faith
© Nathan Hughes
It's all about getting the speed right to clear the step-up. Too slow and you'll never make it over the 7ft case pad. Too fast and you'll overshoot it and land horribly on your front wheel. The ideal speed its around 40mph to get up the 11ft kicker and clear the jump.
The Road Gap
The road gap is the 'Hollywood feature'
© Sven Martin
The star of the show is the road gap – a huge booter sending the riders over a road back into the trees. It's 26ft high and rider trajectory is around 55ft. The riders come off the gap at full speed to clear the road and land heavily into a big berm which transfers them back into the trees.
The Final Jump
Bernard Kerr hits the final jump
© Boris Beyer
Just when the riders think they've made it to the finish, there's one final jump they have to clear. Coming through the woods into the slippery grass, a long and low jump launches riders over a 52ft gap and towards the finish corral.
