Red Bull Hardline Returns for 2023

Feb 23, 2023
by Ed Spratt  
4th place for Charlie Hatton. Charlie really is on a roll at the moment - it could be a good outside bet for tomorrows race


Red Bull Hardline returns to Wales’ Dyfi Valley July 15 -16 for the ninth edition of the event.

The Red Bull Hardline course is again designed by Dan Atherton and will follow on from last year's event where huge 86ft gaps were added in for riders to hit in their race runs. It will be interesting to see which riders attend this year's race as it falls during the middle of the World Cup season instead of its normal spot at the end of the race season in late September.

The event continues to be a Gold Standard Trash Free Trails event with attendees encouraged to bring their own water bottles, race marshalls collecting litter left along the course and areas for old kit to be donated to a local youth cycling project.

Tickets for the event are available now here.

For more information about the event visit www.redbull.com/hardline.

Posted In:
Racing and Events DH Racing Press Releases Red Bull Hardline


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83 Comments
  • 81 0
 What the fook is all the moaning about ? It's basically £20 to go and watch and spend the day in the Welsh countryside chilling and generally have a good time while whittnessing some epic riding. £20 seems good value to me .
  • 41 0
 It’s Pinkbike, people have to complain about something.
  • 1 0
 Let's GO!
  • 2 0
 is it not £104 for the sunday? according to thier website
ok scratch that, reread it
£104 for car parking and entrence for up to 5 people
  • 2 0
 @fredohyeah: 104 for parking? Wtf is going on? That's almost Downtown San Francisco parking prices!!!
  • 2 0
 @Narro2: That's the total price to park 1 vehicle and get 5 people into the event Smile \m/
  • 39 0
 Price actually makes sense in the concept of reducing overall traffic and the lower pollution trend. 5 in a car reduces the congestion 4 fold so in reality makes for a less chaotic inward and outward travel for the event. IMO.
  • 36 0
 I'm sorry, but am I missing something on the debate about charging £20 to get into this event...isn't that roughly $24 US? Is that seriously the fee to attend and people are complaining??? Maybe I missed or overlooked something but that's crazy cheap for a ticket into a sporting event and especially if you are into biking (which if your on this site you obviously are). Who cares if you pay a small fee to see these dudes ride this course.
  • 36 2
 HARD LINE WORLD SERIES F the WC
  • 4 0
 yes please!
  • 2 0
 Bump^ Big Grin
  • 19 0
 It'll be interesting to see if any of the world cup DH racers will sign up for the Hardline, as it's smack dab in the middle of the DH race mid-season break......

Will the DH racers risk their season?
  • 8 0
 Agree timing is terrible with the dh season stretching until October
  • 5 0
 Only those who are contracted to be there. Most of the top 10 / 20 dont turn up anyway
  • 7 0
 As someone else has commented here, the World Champs are soon after, so those who are racing there will have to give it some thought. It will be interesting to see what BK does.
  • 1 0
 Agree with all of the above, but when can they run Hardline w/ WC schedule from June - Oct? Oct guarantees course will be too wet to run a reasonably safe race, & a late May preseason slot isn't an option for anyone w/ WC overall aspirations. Midseason does offer senders way back in overall rankings a chance at redemption & screen time for their sponsors - is there a better solution we're all missing?
  • 15 0
 Being 2 weeks before World Champs will cut down on prospective entrants, given the races historic attrition rate.
  • 11 2
 Money talks and they have limited parking. It incentivizes families and people willing to ride share over single adults to attend.
  • 9 1
 One thing is for sure…those Continental tyres will be hooking up nicely. - Rachel
  • 6 1
 I really enjoy Hardline and I hope to see a few more Hardline style events pop up in the future. Not too many that it waters down the original, but maybe a North American and Australian venue as well.
  • 6 0
 If they're serious about the environment and lowering traffic, why don't they make a ticket that includes a bus up from the Machynlleth railway station?
  • 1 2
 Exactly. Its about maximising revenue per car given thats the only realistic way of getting there
  • 4 0
 £20 is perfectly fine...I'm not sure what the problem is. My only issue is the date; July is bang in the middle of the DHI season......coincidence, or shots fired by Red Bull?
  • 3 1
 My only issue is, the week before is DH National, the week after is DH National, both in North Wales in Llangellon and Bala.... Going away to North Wales for 3 weekends running isn't going to help my marriage.
  • 6 1
 Exactly. Incentivises car sharing. Good for the planet and not chewing up the fields…
  • 2 1
 It maximises their revenue as car parking is the limiting factor
  • 2 0
 This is definitely on my to go list this year! Craig Evans coming in swingin’! BK will want redemption, Jess has unfinished business, Jackson will want to keep his crown and could this be Jono Jones’s year?! It’s gonna be epic!
  • 5 0
 Why would they schedule it in the middle of race season.... last one was in September 2022 Either way gonna be a fun one
  • 1 0
 Likely due to weather. WC season goes until the first weekend in October this year. I’m guessing having after the season in mid October would be too late in the year.
  • 7 0
 Pidcock for the Win
  • 3 0
 I think that new date is going to hurt the event a little bit regarding WC Pro participation. Goldstone's run was one of the best things I watched last year.
  • 5 0
 Anyone know if you can cycle to it? Turns out I quite like biking.
  • 3 0
 Ah... Just read the rules. "No bikes". That seems strange.
  • 3 0
 @bigtim: I think they'd be scared of an avg Joe trying their hand at that stepdown.
  • 7 0
 @yinyang: yeah, that is top of the list for almost everyone. 100 - 120mm of travel should do the job.
  • 1 0
 Me? No, too far.
  • 3 0
 Folding chairs ate not allowed??. Also energy drinks and coffe are banned items??I don't plan on going but some of these rules seem....odd.
  • 3 0
 The no caffeine rule is especially hilarious
  • 4 0
 @Fahhhmed: don't worry, there will be plenty of redbull for purchase at the venue.
  • 14 0
 @kingfish666 Bring an antique rocking chair or an overstuffed lazyboy, and a platter of cocaine. Loopholes! You're welcome.
  • 1 0
 Last time i attended in 2019, security went through my rucksack on the way in, confiscated a Monster energy drink and gave me a free Red Bull as a replacement. He had a table behind him full of confiscated drinks that weren't red bull....I found it quite amusing, as did he!
  • 2 0
 The prohibited items list makes me laugh,

No bikes
No chairs
No branded coffee cups ( like the TV camera's are going to notice a random spectator holding a starbucks and lose revenue lmao)
  • 1 0
 Any info on whether we'll be able to apply to marshal or do they bring in their own crowd? Probably won't justify the cost to attend normally with my small local group, but I'd be happy to volunteer to help out.
  • 4 0
 Quit whinging, this is biking, not climbing. Go Jackson!
  • 2 2
 Shots fired by Red Bull now they no longer have the UCI rights.. upping the ante with Urban DH, Crankworks and now Hardline in the middle of the season. I think there is a way go with this, I reckon Red Bull are going to challenge the UCI monopoly and draw away a lot of riders to think kind of event instead of racing WC's.
  • 3 0
 Quite the opposite. Its the only time in the season they can have given the WC doesnt finish til October. Trust me North Wales could be stunning or biblically wet by mid October.
  • 5 0
 @chrismac70: good point yes, we will see. North Wales could be stunning or biblically wet in July as well to be fair Smile
  • 3 0
 Are they banning tea as well?
  • 24 22
 Oof that's an expensive day out. I'll be watching at home by candlelight wearing 2 jumpers.
  • 8 20
flag wolftwenty1 FL (Feb 23, 2023 at 3:37) (Below Threshold)
 I believe they are called 'sweaters' Wink
  • 7 0
 It is and it isn't in a way - if you can get a carload of friends to go it's £20 each for Finals day. Still not "cheap" as such but it's a really cool event to be at!
  • 2 8
flag motardnoob FL (Feb 23, 2023 at 3:44) (Below Threshold)
 They've upped the costs by £10-20 on last year's fee. Sure - it's not too bad if you're splitting that cost with a car full of people, but how do they justify that cost increase? You would've thought they'd make more money on concession stands. Shame as this is an event I wanted to attend, but you'll probably get better watching online with a bunch of mates in the same room.
  • 13 0
 @motardnoob: From some motorsport stuff I've seen, the cost of insurance for some events has gone up hugely this year. It could be something along those lines, but it could also simply be that as the costs for most stuff has gone up this year that it's costing them more to run it. Even things like the cost of hiring toilets, hiring the crowd control stuff, the cost of building materials, etc. There's a lot that goes into it.

I'd certainly prefer it if it was last year's prices, but it's basically £2.50 more per person if you have a car full of people going. That's not nothing, but it's also not too much.

You could just watch it at home, but seeing people fling themselves over the road gap and hit the other features in person is wild. It's basically the same as watching a World Cup on TV vs in real life. It's not the same experience. It might get rained off or be a bit anticlimactic like it was last year, or it might be awesome. You never know but that's kind of the point of live events.
  • 7 3
 @motardnoob: The justification is; more money = more money
  • 8 1
 @motardnoob: Dunno if you've seen the news in the last year, but we have rampant inflation so everything costs more now. Keeping prices the same as last year likely want an option
  • 1 0
 @CleanZine: Take into account though that this is basically a huge marketing event for Red Bull. The money they charge for this is just a extra.
  • 16 0
 Not at all.
£20 for a ticket is good. They are doing this to incentivise car sharing…. I thinks its a really good idea.
  • 7 0
 @rich-2000: Yep. I'm meeting two friends from elsewhere in the UK on the way there, we're ditching two of the cars and doing the last hour or so each way in one car. It's a little inconvenient for us in some ways, but it means that more people overall get to go than if we'd all come in separate cars with only one occupant. There isn't a huge amount of parking there so it's a good way of maximising the amount of people who can actually get there even if it's a little unusual.
  • 1 0
 @konastab01: what's Red Bull? Never heard of it.
  • 1 0
 @goldmund: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull
  • 1 0
 RB dont do anything that isn’t going to make there money
  • 4 1
 The new WC schedule sucks.
  • 31 0
 What are you complaining about? There's only 18 months until the first round.
  • 5 0
 I'll be shivering in Snowshoe in October......
  • 1 0
 @TommyNunchuck: The 2023 season is actually well into the 2024 season....
  • 1 0
 I saw there last year and a few years ago....it was pretty class! I feel ticket options is the only thing that needs looking at.
  • 1 0
 *was
  • 1 0
 As it should return year after year after year after f*ckin year! Who doesn't look forward to this event?
  • 1 7
flag chrismac70 FL (Feb 23, 2023 at 23:59) (Below Threshold)
 Me because its not a fair race. Its an invitational marketing event that most of the top racers dont turn up to
  • 2 0
 @chrismac70: Fine, don't get involved then.
  • 2 0
 MSA in October is gonna be sick in person holy cow xD
  • 2 0
 With all the pro racers likely out all the money on Kaos ftw!
  • 1 0
 It’s almost as if Redbull don’t give a f*ck about the World Cup any more
  • 1 0
 Did Reynolds ever have anything to say about BK's wheel exploding? just wondering...
  • 1 0
 So sick
  • 1 1
 But will the organizers 'forget' to invite Jackson Goldstone?..
  • 1 0
 you mean his long rival Jordan ?.. that was hilarious...
  • 1 0
 really that invitation thing.. is the only thing that sucks at RB events... they should be way more fair and open.
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