Red Bull Hardline Tasmania Rider List Announced

Dec 13, 2023 at 3:34
by Jessie-May Morgan  
photo
Will Red Bull Hardline Tasmania see the return of Gee Atherton? We certainly hope so. Credit: Sam Dugon / Red Bull Content Pool

For the first time in its ten-year history, Red Bull Hardline will be a two-stop series in 2024, with its inaugural satellite event taking place on February 23rd and 24th in Maydena Bike Park, Tasmania. The rider list has now been announced, bringing with it some very pleasant surprises.

First up, I think we can speak on behalf of the entire mountain bike community when we say we're stoked to see Gee Atherton on there. It's a good sign that injury recovery is on track, after that 75ft slam at Red Bull Rampage. We are yet to receive an injury update from Gee, but Atherton Racing have confirmed his intention to be fit to compete.

photo
Jess Blewitt tows Louise-Anna Ferguson off the step down. Credit: Sam Dugon / Red Bull Content Pool

Secondly, 2024 brings with it a small field of female freeride and downhill athletes who will compete for the very first time. While we have seen female riders ticking off features on the course in recent years, most notably Jess Blewitt in 2022, with Tahnee Seagrave, Vinny Armstrong and others getting amongst the action earlier this year, this is the first time we've seen women on the official rider list. The field includes Louise-Anna Ferguson, Casey Brown, Tahnee Seagrave, Hannah Bergemann and Cami Nogueira, with Gracey Hemstreet and Harriet Burbidge-Smith on the Wildcard Riders List. Perhaps this is the year we will finally see women complete a full run of the Hardline course, after stormy conditions at this year's event put a stop to play for everyone.

bigquotesRed Bull Hardline is the pinnacle event for MTB riders. I am truly so excited to see Australia host this in 2024 and in a location like Tasmania. It will no doubt come with its challenges, but this is what us riders train and work so hard for.—Harriet Burbidge-Smith

photo
Louise-Anna Ferguson was awarded the BF Goodrich Rider of the Week Award, as the only female rider to send the infamous On-Off feature. Credit: Nathan Hughes / Red Bull Content Pool

This is the positive news the female freeriding community needed to hear, following widespread disappointment at the lack of female inclusion at this year's Red Bull Rampage. In conjunction with the news that Crankworx will include a Women's Category at the FMBA Slopestyle World Championship in 2024, we're hopeful that 2024 could be a ground-breaking year for women's freeride. And maybe, just maybe, we'll finally see these incredible athletes take their first competitive hits in the desert next year.

Full gas and determination to the line for Loic Bruni but it was not enough to hold off Amaury Pierron

Another surprise comes in the form of Loïc Bruni's appearance on the Tasmania Wild Card Riders List. The five-time Downhill World Champion rarely strays away from the World Cup Circuit, so we're excited to see what he can do on what Dan Atherton hopes to be Hardline's longest and fastest course to date.

2024 Rider List:
Ronan Dunne (IRL)
Gee Atherton (UK)
Jackson Goldstone (CAN)
Bernard Kerr (UK)
Laurie Greenland (UK)
Kade Edwards (UK)
Brook MacDonald (NZL)
Charlie Hatton (UK)
Kaos Seagrave (UK)
Adam Brayton (UK)
Craig Evans (UK)
Camilo Sanchez (COL)
Gaetan Vige (FRA)
Thomas Genon (BEL)
Reed Boggs (USA)
Juan Diego 'Johny' Salido (MEX)
Tahnee Seagrave (UK)
Louise Anna Ferguson (UK)
Cami Nogueira (ARG)
Hannah Bergemann (US)
Casey Brown (CAN)
Theo Erlangsen (SA)
Matteo Iniguez (FRA)
David McMillan (AUS)
Tomas Lemoine (FRA)
Mark Wallace (CAN)

2024 Tasmania Wild Card Rider List:
Baxter Maiwald (AUS)
Sam Gale (NZL)
Sam Blenkinsop (NZL)
George Brannigan (NZL)
Connor Fearon (AUS)
Harriet Burbidge-Smith (AUS)
Dan Booker (AUS)
Ed Masters (NZL)
Remy Morton (AUS)
Loïc Bruni (FRA)
Darcy Coutts (AUS)
Gracey Hemstreet (CAN)

The Tasmania event kicks off the series in February, with the original Dyfi, Wales event set to take place on June 1st and 2nd.

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Member since Oct 26, 2023
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122 Comments
  • 300 1
 The Atherton's have activated another Gee clone ready for action.
  • 26 1
 Project Phoenix is in overdrive.
  • 59 0
 His "injuries are not too bad though, some fractures to vertebrae and a few skull fractures will mean I'll have to chill for a few weeks."

I guess it has been a few enough weeks.

Athertons?!
  • 23 0
 @Vudu74: he's like Wolverine!
  • 6 0
 @mtnrush666: Logan Norris.
  • 5 0
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc
  • 32 0
 They just 3D print a new one out of titanium.
  • 5 2
 Wonder if they are at a higher serial number than FortNine's #45?
  • 3 0
 @AppleJack76: bugger meant to props up but hit down by mistake
  • 2 0
 Titanium no less.
  • 1 0
 @Vudu74: we can rebuild you
  • 2 0
 For god's sake Gee take it easy!!!!
  • 137 1
 Remy Morton doing the whole course on a 26/24 Mullet with no chain, shorts and no knee pads.
  • 44 0
 it's what the people want
  • 8 2
 this is the way
  • 4 0
 So excited to see him ride!! It would be sick if he shredded it on that new Wethepeople Swampmaster
  • 3 0
 and white socks
  • 3 0
 Doesn’t he just sort of have a scooter or balance bike now?
  • 64 0
 Also calling Lemoine just gapping the whole of the hill now.
  • 24 0
 ...on a hardtail.
  • 58 0
 Never thought I'd see Bruni risking it, Ed Masters is another unexpected entry, didn't think freeride type stuff was their cup of tea.
  • 22 0
 Bruni was 3rd in the 2014 race
  • 45 3
 If Bruni wants to battle it out with Goldstone next year (which I am sure he does!), he's probably thinking he needs to step outside his comfort zone and change his pre season prep.
  • 30 0
 Getting towed into one of the biggest features in our local area by Ed after he looked at it for like 10 seconds gives me confidence he’d do just fine.
  • 2 0
 Surprised too - really surprised, not just Bruni but some of the others. In the moto world, back in the late 90's there was a big transition from pro motocross racers being part of the freeride scene to them not doing it due to contract reasons.

Travis Pastrana has talked about that a bit - he had his "million dollar jump" in the early 2000's where he blew himself up freeriding out at Castillo Ranch leading up to the actual moto season, all contracts were forfeited due to that season ending injury....career ending actually, at least racing wise (good watch):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=atQ6xkt1GBE

As professional as these guys are these days - extra-curricular things like this seems a bit risky....glad to see it though!
  • 5 1
 @RadBartTaylor: One might imagine this is all being done in consultation with the sponsors. Jackson Goldstone noted in an Syndicate video that he seemed to get vastly more engagement from Hardline than anything else in his last Junoior season. It may be quite worth the risk for sponsors and it is after all an actual race, not Rampage.
  • 3 0
 @The-Foiling-Optimist: none of us know contract T&C's so tough to say, I was just pointing out sim scenario. It may be a gamble for the rider, more exposure but forfeiting a season of pay if they get injured. Most sports contracts limit athletes from doing 'unreasonable' things....

This is certainly blending the line between "racing" and "freeriding" with mandatory features and is certainly more about sending it than not.

Maybe Redbull has some sort of contractual agreement if the riders get hurt.

None of that changes the OP's point that it is surprising.
  • 38 0
 Goldstone Vs Bruni will continue
  • 30 0
 I was hoping to see Levy on the list. I heard he has some free time now.
  • 29 1
 After PBR ep 2 I was hopping to see Thibault Laly in the line up.
Maybe some PB's insider can comment about it?
  • 6 0
 I was thinking exactly the same thing. I was hoping to see his name up there.
  • 3 0
 might get a wildcard for the Welsh one
  • 6 0
 You drank 21 PBR’s? That’s impressive
  • 2 0
 @dkendy1: From what I've heard of the taste drinking one is impressive.
  • 26 1
 Brendog got robbed!
  • 22 0
 Already scared for Ronan Dunne.
  • 17 0
 Might seem a little out there, but I could see Dak Norton doing well at an event like this. Would be cool to see more Americans on the roster!
  • 12 0
 Not even sure why you would consider that “out there.” Top-ten downhiller, moto background…

I can totally understand why he wouldn’t accept an invite right now, though, as he wouldn’t want a big injury to derail his momentum
  • 16 0
 A good line up of riders. I'm looking forward to seeing the track. It would be cool to see a few more places in this series in future.
  • 26 4
 Would like to see Zink and Strait on the list so they can get robbed.
  • 20 2
 Where is Brage?
  • 117 0
 Probably in Norway
  • 52 1
 My understanding is that Redbull banned him from the course because they were concerned about the apocalyptic grade chaos and indiscriminate viking destruction he would unleash upon the track, rendering it unrideable for subsequent competitors.
  • 2 18
flag stacykohut (Dec 13, 2023 at 9:39) (Below Threshold)
 first thing i thought too...... where is that chubby lil dude?
  • 2 1
 @stacykohut: Interestingly the invite list is almost all active or former elite level racers.
  • 15 0
 no Thibault Laly?
  • 9 1
 Awesome list, cant wait to see the track previews. I wanted to see Lewis Buchanan and Oli on the list so they can trash it out with each other, loser retires from youtube.
  • 9 0
 Stoked to see Morton and Maiwald on the wildcard list. Both of them rip
  • 3 0
 They should be an auto-in!
  • 8 0
 I am still recovering from seeing Gee's ridge crash and he's on to the Hardline
  • 7 1
 I love a good diverse line-up! The world has spoken and eventually, the events are listening!
  • 2 18
flag dmanvan (Dec 13, 2023 at 7:06) (Below Threshold)
 Lol . The world has spoken. Have you ever paid attention to the World cups time differences . This is a timed event. Not sure why they don't just have an actual complete wens category instead of putting them all in together.‍♂️
  • 7 0
 @dmanvan: I’m pretty sure they will divide the categories.
  • 6 0
 Wow Gracey is on the list. Happy to see here there. I probably missed it but what is the significance of Wildcard?
  • 1 3
 They could be offered an invite if one of the invitees declines
  • 1 1
 Seems like ‘wildcard’ means Tasmania.

On IG the first three pages of competitors are listed as Tasmania / Wales, and the fourth page of Wildcards is mostly Australian and New Zealand riders.
  • 7 0
 @bykeco: my reading is that the 2024 riders are confirmed to attend both events. Tas wildcard riders only do that event and I'm expecting a Wales wildcard list to be announced closer to the time that largely includes UK riders.
  • 1 0
 @richieblade: This is what it seems like reading the postings on some other sites. None are 100% clear but I think you are correct.
  • 16 0
 @sino428: we can confirm- Wildcard just means they are only racing an individual venue, not both events. All Wildcards are racing if they can clear a full run.
  • 1 0
 @maydenabikepark: awesome, looking forward to seeing the course you guys have created down there.
  • 7 1
 Gee is riding?! That boy heals fast! Awesome!!!
  • 5 2
 He seems to be indestructible….remember the Knife Edge crash?
  • 5 1
 The guy heals faster than Wolverine.
  • 2 0
 @MrRight: nearly Wink
  • 1 0
 I don't even know how he does it, he certainly doesn't look like a GH user. Maybe peptides? They're legal and pretty good for this sort of stuff.
  • 3 0
 They just activated another Gee Atherton clone, the original Gee is busy being an Uncle and managing the clones
  • 1 0
 @froman82: Yes! Wolverine!!!
  • 3 0
 @tempnoo1: if he’s not being tested I’m sure he has access to all the good stuff.
  • 9 6
 Gee will never fully heal from the slams he takes. He is very likely heading for a lifetime of chronic pain, starting around middle age, if it hasn't already. And I say this as a huge Gee fan with a lot of respect for what he has done for the sport, not least of all the inspiration he has given me personally.
  • 2 2
 @tempnoo1: not anymore.. just tried to prescribe them to a patient and the compounding pharmacy which I used to get them told me they can’t carry them anymore as FDA is officially banned them. Sure you might be able to find them in the underground. Total bummer as the peptide BPC 157 was a total game changer for tendon ligament and muscle repair!
  • 1 1
 @keithbellpa: They're still legal but only for reasearch purposes, not for human consumption. Same sort of idea as MK677 and other research chemicals.

I'm still going to use them and source them underground if needed, I stacked BPC-157 with TB-500 and it competely healed my rotator cuff in under a month without needing surgery.

lol at the downvoters on your comment
  • 5 0
 Have to say, I do want to see Bruni and Goldstone have a go.
  • 4 0
 Mista Ed and Loic wildcards :o Would love to see cue ball sending it yuuuge.
  • 2 1
 I tought wildcard riders only raced if someone in the main list resigned, if so i doubt that we will see more than one of the wildcards riding. I really really hope to be wrong, beacuse i dont know how a race could be more fun to watch than having both morton and bruni
  • 4 0
 Confirmed riders = both Aussie and Wales events, wildcard = Aussie event only
  • 1 0
 Great to see local boy Baxter Maiwald on the wildcards.

Met him once when he was a junior on a bubble in Morzine. Seemed the nicest humblest dude given his talent, just stoked on life and bikes.

Can’t wait to see him racing again at the highest level.
  • 5 0
 CAN NOT WAIT!
  • 2 0
 P.S wondering on Remi's set up for a race?
  • 6 0
 @naptime: BMX
  • 2 0
 @milanboez: :'D
ssen him on a geared set up recently so wondering if he's gonna be on that crazy chainless 24/26" or a more 'traditional' rig :/
  • 1 1
 Better not rain again lol.
  • 3 0
 Wow this is going to be cool, and times are changing with the female roster!
  • 2 0
 Great event and looking forward at the Tasmanian track. I wish to see more nation also on that event and not half of the rider being UK or french.
  • 5 2
 Now that is what I call a (hard)line up!
  • 2 1
 Cool to see Mark Wallace on the list. Hopefully he's on a Norco. Would be a shame if they drop him to make space for Greg the Goat...
  • 2 3
 I haven't brought myself to compose a lengthy screed on the subject but as a long time BC bike industry observer, Minnar to Norco doesn't make any sense.... Best of luck to Mark.
  • 2 0
 Did they just throw Theo in there to fck with him so he'd have to take a break from golfing?! Big Grin
  • 1 0
 Hopefully most of these riders come to Cannonball the week before. I’d imagine the WC guys will use it as a good training race.
  • 1 0
 Pretty stoked to see Connor Fearon on the list. Always felt like he never quite lived up to the promise he showed in the early days. would be thrilled to see him smash it!
  • 3 1
 Where is Josh Lowe, Get him stuck in.
  • 2 0
 Guess he'll be in the Wales wild card list when announced (along with Joe Smith hopefully)
  • 1 1
 Bummed to not see Greg Minnaar on the list. It is right down his hemisphere. He's competed in both WC DH as well as Red Bull Rampage. I think he'd do well.
  • 5 0
 It'll be interesting to see the finished track and how full on it is. I remember him talking to Warner at Hardline some years ago and saying there was no way he'd race it.
  • 1 0
 Theo is there to entertain the crowd, thats why he is there
  • 1 0
 loic bruni and remy morton on the same course, hectic
  • 1 0
 hell yeah I'm here for it
  • 2 0
 Would love to see Remi
  • 1 0
 HBS drops TREK then announces a hardline invite a few days later....
  • 1 0
 The UK is super underrated on this list.
  • 1 1
 One Aussie on the main list is a bit disappointing, still, gonna be a ripper event.
  • 1 0
 There’s 6 on the list my dude
  • 1 1
 @MrRight: I'd have at least six on my list too.
  • 1 0
 @watchtower: … there’s six on the list
  • 1 1
 @MrRight: yeah but on the wild card list.
  • 1 0
 @watchtower: everyone one the wildcard list is racing is they can do a full run of the track
  • 1 0
 If
  • 1 0
 Bruno has entered the chat… oh man…
  • 4 6
 Upvote for Kyle Straight! A shame we did not get to see a race run last year. He may need to get an old Commencal frame out of retirement but that is not a bad thing huh?
  • 1 0
 Epic
  • 1 0
 So excited to see REMY
  • 1 1
 Kade riding with kaos again or what
  • 1 0
 *Bruni SMH
  • 1 3
 It's two standalone events, not a series. Stop calling it a series PB
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