Redbull Hardline – Race Report

The best of the best riding the toughest downhill course we’ve ever seen. It was the perfect recipe and Martin Francis was on the sidelines to soak it all up

Unless you’ve been in social media hibernation for the past month, RedBull Hardline needs no introduction. Dan Atherton’s vision of mountain biking carved into the side of a mountain in the middle of Wales. Unfortunately I’m not able to get to many Downhill races to spectate. For my day job I work offshore so inevitably most events happen when I’m away working. That and the fact I got married on the same weekend that Fort William World cup is held I’ve not had much luck.[Editor’s note: Martin’s wife would disagree!] When I saw that this year RedBull Hardline was giving people a chance to spectate I went straight to my calendar. I wasn’t offshore working and I wasn’t going to be running round Tesco buying a card, flowers and chocolate. Sign me up please. So me and my 4 year old son set off on the Sunday morning excited to see what had been billed as the hardest downhill course ever raced.

We arrived in good time to catch the first practice runs and armed with a camera, our best mountain gear and plenty of food a very excited 4 year old and 33 year old set off to scale the course. First stop was the media tent to collect our passes where we were informed that rather than have to join the masses walking the side of the track as media pass holders we could be chauffeur driven up to where ever on the track we wanted to go with the 4x4s laid on by Jeep. So now with so much excitement between us that we were fit to burst we jumped in the very shiny Jeep Wrangler and headed up to the Renegade jump the monster hip we’d seen pictured in the run up to the event.

The jump was massive, the manhood that would be needed to clear it was well beyond my comprehension. It was also an eye-opener into how much hard work Dan Atherton and his building crew had put in to make this event happen. A serious amount of dirt had been moved and sculpted to produce this monster. Unfortunately the Renegade jump proved to be too big for the North Wales weather and was not jumped over the course of the weekend. The classic summer precipitation meant the run into the jump was just too soft and the riders wouldn’t have the speed to clear the massive gap. Instead they all opted for the chicken run round the outside. So armed with the knowledge that we weren’t going to see any riders heading into orbit with my little media helper in tow headed for the next set of jumps down the hill.

The top part of the course was closed to spectators due to the extreme conditions under foot. The highest point you could access was just a short way down the hill from the Renegade jump. With a practice due to start at 10.30 large crowds had massed ready to feast their eyes on some mountain biking mayhem. Due to the classic “Welsh” adverse weather (sideways rain) the top section of the course had been closed the previous day. This would have been the first time most of the riders would have put their tyres through the mud of this section of track. Due to this it was a long time before any of them came into view as they were having section the track as they came down to make sure everyone was ok at tackling the large features. The long wait was rewarded as the riders stayed and sessioned the step down and large jump styling it up in front of the spectators. It also gave us chance to move down the hill to the next obstacle before they did, to double our money as they boosted through the next set of jumps.

Once all the riders had passed with a memory card already full of banger photos we decided to move down the mountain to the famous road gap jump. We set off for what would be our own Hardline down the course. We certainly had been very lucky to get a lift up the hill as the steed slippery walk up track would not have been something my 4 year old helper would have been able to tackle. Going down however was a different story and decided the best way down was to don water proof trousers and slide down on our backsides. (His favourite part of the day).

This wasn’t like a normal race event where there’s a steady flow of traffic on the track to keep the level of excitement at boiling level. With only 13 riders on the event list and only 8 riding come Sunday there were some quite lengthy gaps between action. This did give you chance to move about the course and with a great atmosphere and the anticipation of what we’d whiteness next kept us going. Sitting under the enormous road gap we new that we wouldn’t be disappointed. One of the ever present Jeep 4×4’s was parked beneath the drop and it looked tiny in comparison. It was Gee Atherton who led the way making it look brutal and easy all at the same time. You could hear his suspension bottom out on the steep landing before getting back into shape to rail the impressive right hand berm. The rest of the pack steadily followed all making it safely to the landing greeted by big cheers from the large crowd flanking either side of the road. The biggest for Joe Smith who got his bike going sideways to add to the mad factor of the jump.

With the riders now taking a break for lunch before race runs we decided to head for the pits and do the same. More sliding on backsides were called for to the delight of the youngster. It was nice to see all riders out and about mingling with crowd signing all that was thrust in front of them and posing for pictures. There was a great friendly feeling to the event despite the seriousness of what was been tackled on the course.

Lunch consumed it was time to find a spot for the final race runs. We opted for the final hits in the finish area in the hope of seeing some rad shapes on the jumps. First down the course was Al Bond who part way down let some wind out of his rear end and had to ride the remainder with a flat. We were treated to a fist pumping jump from Mr Gas to Flat Adam Brayton and big whips from Reece Wilson & Bernard Kerr. You could see Joe Smith was on a mission keeping it low over all the jumps and Ruaridh Cunningham storming in the finish area to take the hot seat by over 3 seconds. The crowd reaction during the race runs was fantastic, you could hear the cheers from up the course as the riders made it down all the obstacles. Then came the most anticipated run of the weekend. Gee Atherton qualified 12 seconds faster than any other rider the day before, how much faster could he go today. Not that much as it seems he was unable to better Ruaridh’s first split time then disaster. We hear Gee has had a massive rear end explosion with his tire ripped off completely. Would he try an Aron Gwin and ride it on the rim? Even with the power of God I don’t think anyone would make it off the road gap with out rubber round the rim and Gee could be seen walking his bike down the rocks. When he finally arrived in the finish area you could see he was very disappointed. It will have to be 3rd time lucky after suffering similar last year to steal victory away from him. So at the close of play Third place would go to Bernard Kerr bettered by Joe Smith for Second but taking the Cigar was Ruaridh Cunningham.

Podiums done the riders stay on for all the fans making their way off the hill to pose for more pictures and sign posters. Chatting with a few of the guys all were very genuine with the fact this was the hardest course they had ever raced and were just glad everyone made it down safely. Big respect have to go to Red Bull, Jeep and Dan Atherton for not playing it safe and trying hard to progress the sport. Not to forget the riders for all putting their life on the line for the big show in very difficult conditions. Bring on next year, hopefully more riders can take their man up pills and come along. Just make sure it’s on when I’m not working.

#HardLine

Words and Photos – Martin Francis, Ably assisted by Roo Francis