Bike
MTB
Watch the Toughest Downhill Race Ever
See what went down in Wales as Red Bull Hardline returned bigger and badder than ever for 2015.
Hard by name, hard by nature, Red Bull Hardline isn't an event for the faint-hearted. Over four days of practice and racing, the insanely difficult downhill course claimed several victims, and by race day, only eight riders were left standing to race against the clock.
Built by Dan Atherton on a remote mountainside in Wales, Red Bull Hardline combined gap jumps big enough to fit trucks into and sections that wouldn't look out of place on the toughest UCI World Cup track on a course around four minutes long. It's incredibly tough on mind, body and bike.
Watch the best of the highlights from Red Bull Hardline below:
"Just the size of some of the features is mentally quite hard to get over, and then others are really technical. You've got to get three or four things in line, and it's right on the limits of what's possible," commented Ruaridh Cunningham ahead of the final. "You've got to get everything perfect. Combine that into a full run, where you're fatigued, and it's really challenging. There were big head games at the top of the course."
Adam Brayton flies big off the road gap
© Sven Martin/Red Bull Content Pool
The road gap feature, made famous by last year's event, returned in dramatic style for 2015, sending riders off the side of the mountain and almost over the heads of the crowds of spectators.
But even this paled into insignificance in the shadow of the Renegade, a step-up so hard that nobody even attempted it. A near-vertical take-off looked to launch riders into thin air, turning to a landing a good three-stories high.
Dan has built a jump so big no man can ride it
Dan Atherton, himself, was the first victim of his monster creation, with a spectacular crash resulting in a broken shoulder. Despite surgery on the Thursday, Atherton still came to watch his behemoth in action.
Taylor Vernon injured ligaments in his foot, ruling him out racing. Martin Maes, Remi Thirion and Luis Lacondeguy all fell by the wayside, and Gareth Brewin, co-creator of the Hardline, and Matt Simmonds were also out.
As if the course wasn't hard enough on its own, on Saturday the Welsh weather closed in, adding horizontal rain, wind and low clouds to the mix. It resulted in the open moorland top section of the track becoming completely unrideable. This meant that, come the race itself, no rider bar Gee Atherton had managed an entire run successfully.
Gee put down a very impressive qualifying run
© Sven Martin/Red Bull Content Pool
On race day, Kye Forte was the final victim of the Hardline, with a few too many knocks to the head leading him to call it a day. Just eight riders lined-up at the start of the finals: Ruaridh Cunningham, Joe Smith, Adam Brayton, Gee Atherton, Alex Bond, Craig Evans, Reece Wilson and Bernard Kerr.
Sadly for Atherton, a flat near the top of the course held echoes of last year's performance, and although he rolled to the bottom with impressive style on a tyre-less rim, his race was over.
Joe Smith blitzes through the woodland section
© Sven Martin/Red Bull Content Pool
In the end, Ruaridh Cunningham claimed the victory in a run that was as much about survival than style.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet. I think the goal for most of us was just to make it down. To link it all together and make it to the bottom was pretty challenging. I'm happy to be going back to Scotland safe!"
Joe Smith took second place, 3.6s behind Cunningham, and Bernard Kerr placed third.
See the POV video of Ruaridh Cunningham’s winning run below:
4 min
Ruaridh Cunningham's winning run, Red Bull Hardline 2015
Watch Red Bull Hardline 2015 winner Ruaridh Cunningham's POV video from his winning race run.
Red Bull Hardline final results
1. Ruaridh Cunningham 3m53.785s
2. Joe Smith 3m57.402s
3. Bernard Kerr 4m1.035s
4. Adam Brayton 4m11.028s
5. Reece Wilson 4m15.335s
6. Craig Evans 4m20.701s
7. Alex Bond 7m47.398s
8. Gee Atherton 10m47.941s
Joe Smith, Ruaridh Cunningham and Bernard Kerr
© Sven Martin/Red Bull Content Pool
So what's the future of the Hardline? With the mercurial Welsh weather, combined with a course that may have pushed the envelope of what's rideable a little too far, has Dan Atherton reached the limit of what’s possible?
"We wanted to establish the Hardline as a really tough event, and we've done that now," he says. "I think we can bring it back a few notches, calm it down a little and appeal to a broader spectrum of riders. But it's still going to be tough."
