Those Tasmanian devils of dirt are at it again, hand-carving out one of the most extreme and fastest downhill courses in the world, ready for the third edition of the Red Bull Hardline Tasmania, the fast-moving, big-gapping baby brother to the original Red Bull Hardline Wales.
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The original Hardline started out in 2014 on the steep and highly untamed slopes of the Dyfi Valley in North Wales as a project between Dan Atherton and Red Bull, with Dan hand-carving out one of the most dramatic and extreme downhill runs ever seen. Over the years, Hardline Wales has become the late summer thriller for the absolute elite of gravity racing – who flock by invitation to brave the green and grey slippery slopes on the edge of Snowdonia, for what is one of the scariest and most prestigious of downhill races.
In 2024, Red Bull announced the birth of Hardline Tasmania, an early-season antipodean version of the original. This race has a faster, more manmade, jumpy jungle edge to it – sitting somewhere between the “natural extremes of Wales and a very extreme World Cup course”. Pretty much the same select band of brothers, and a growing number of sisters, also show up for this close-cut battle down under.
How it works
Red Bull Hardline runs as its own entity, completely outside of the UCI World Cup and other series. A small selection of the greatest downhill and gravity riders of the moment are invited to take part, numbering 26 this time around, while many other top riders dare not take up the invitational gauntlet of risk and extremes, not to mention the crash likelihood factor. Simply finishing a run intact at Hardline is a huge feat for any rider.
Racers pretty much spend the full week together, walking, riding, and casing the course, mostly sharing lines and info – such is the extremity of the course. On Saturday, 7th February, there are training runs in the morning, followed by a seeding run in the afternoon. If riders fail to complete this run for some reason, many are still allowed into the finals depending on the individual situation (as we understand it). Sunday the 8th will be morning training, followed by the timed finals run in the afternoon – pretty much as it is with a regular downhill race.
The course
The trail builders at Maydena Bike Park alter and tweak the course each year, with last year’s finals running at a staggering 12kph faster than the first year, and this year could well top that 52kph average winning speed of Jackson Goldstone in 2025.
This year’s tweaks have made the course slightly longer, adding a new top section with a technical twist to the new 5.5m Express Drop, which should seriously spice things up early on. Lower down the course, builders have also boosted the road gap somewhat, which should make for a faster final section too. As we understand it, the course will be around 2.7km long with an altitude drop of around 600m.
The going is fast, very switchy with close-quarter tree hazards, lots of jumps, and a treacherous rock garden, which ended Goldstone’s 2024 season before it even started. The terrain is quite jungle-like, with loose sand and dust, which can turn into an unpredictable slippery beast when wet, which looks like what’s forecast for both race days (but not heavy or prolonged).
The course is not taped to the extent of a regular downhill race, and riders must simply stay between the well-spaced-out marker posts, which was a bone of contention amongst the racers last year. Their reasoning was that Jackson Goldstone and a couple of others took a “sneaky secret” high line on one section, potentially giving him the victory over Asa Vermette. Though he was within the event rules, and the organisers have pretty much stuck with that slight freedom of line choice element this year, so we’re sure this will add to the fun this time around.
The prime contenders
Hardline really does attract the cream (and the bravest) of the crop, and this year’s men’s field is solidly star-studded. The 21-man roster includes Jackson Goldstone, Asa Vermette, Aaron Gwin, Sam Hill, Troy Brosnan, Bernard Kerr, Matt Jones, Ronan Dunne, Luca Shaw, Charlie Hatton, Kaos Seagrave, Conor Fearon and Luke Meier-Smith, amongst others.
Who will come out on top? This is always a very close-run race, though past Hardline winners Goldstone, Vermette, Dunne and Kerr are a safe bet. Though, wouldn’t it be amazing to see Aaron Gwin mark his return to the big league and Hardline debut with a win?
It took a long time for the women racers to get onto the start line of Hardline Wales, and the rider who was the first to conquer the race in 2025 was Britain’s Lou Ferguson, who will also be back in Tasmania this year and could be considered as a prime rival to Canadian defending champ and hot favourite Gracey Hemstreet. There are four other female riders out for glory this weekend too, all strong contenders for a potential win: Jess Blewitt, Millie Johnset and Britain’s Mikayla Parton.
Red Bull and mountain biking
Big up for Red Bull! We’d like to thank the company for the support it’s given to the sport for so many years, for bringing us so many great and extreme events, and even more so for providing great and free live coverage for many years, especially for all those years they broadcast the UCI World Cup for free. That was a real lifeline for sponsors and teams in that pre-pay-to-view era.
From events like Hardline to Rampage and Crankworx, with a whole lot more great and extreme events too, you can find many free-to-view classic events on the Red Bull Bike YouTube channel and the Red Bull app/website.
