maxetak

I don't care if they make mistakes. Their broadcasts are just funner!

@theophilus654: I'm am curious to understand what is the future direction of the Hardline sport. I personally don't know what Dan Atherton's original concept was, and how that may have evolved in his brain since learning there is an appetite and financial support for creating courses to challenge top riders. I know it was his hope to progress the mountain biking spirit and I would say that with bike evolution has come rider skills evolution and vice versa. For me, I would like Hardline to be an extremely technical track with big risks (of lost time) similar to RedBull Romaniacs motorcycle competition rather than a contest of who can survive the jump with the largest injury potential. But I like rally cars more than race cars (I do like both!) The top section in Wales and Tasmania are much better than the bottom sections to me. At Cypress they could do a section with hip-to-wall ride-to teeter totter lilly pad device to get across the finish line and I would be entertained more than the massive last jump line. But that is only what I like to see. Everyone has their own idea of what makes a good "show".

@toast2266: For my part, I enjoy the work up to Hardline more than watching the race. I like seeing the variety of riders trying stuff that is beyond their comfort zone. And I recognize that all of them are extremely skilled riders in their own right and that their comfort zone is waaay different than what I might perceive it ought to be. Vali Holl doesn't partake in Hardlines though Im sure she has the skills. Some of the old guys showing up now and then is fun because the young hot shots can compare themselves to Legends. And I count Brendog as a Legend due to his history of high level racing, his involvement in extreme events, and his continued positive attitude to hucking his aging body off silly things. A great promoter of our sport. I was disappointed in the lack of coverage of the women's field this time around. I don't mind that women are physically unable (it is a sport relying on the physics of momentum and mass) to set the same lap times as the men. I am watching to see people who are scared s*****ss face huge challenges and overcome mind and body to push forward. To me, that is what is elite about these riders. And having the physics stacked against them makes the women braver than the men in my books for trying to clear stuff designed carefully for someone else. That is exciting viewing.

Extremely proud of her for pulling it together and qualifying. This is a big stress event. She's 17 - she's got a bright future.

@toast2266: and in Maydena we get a bunch of Aussies and Kiwis turning up, and in Wales we get a load of local Brits (Adam Brayton etc). Aaron Gwin and Luca Shaw have competed recently but didn't come to this one. Perhaps its too far to travel? Or not their cup of tea? Extreme sports don't always attract mainstream talent and that is not a dig at anyone.

@jackfunk: I think I'm correct in saying that Gracey has completed three race runs, Louise has completed two race runs (Tasmania and Wales), and honorable mention to Tayte who started a race run today before DNF with a mechanical. Those three plus Erice are the only women to have Qualified to compete at Hardline but Erice crashed heavily in practice and did not take a race start. Sad to see Jess didn't make it to competition as she is the first woman to have attempted Hardline back in Wales 2023.

Charlie and Dan summed up by pointing out the jumps are just icing on the cake once you figure out the speeds, the real race is on the bits in between. Now we've lost half the on-ground audience by shifting the race ahead a day because the jumps wont be jumpable if they get too soggy. In Vancouver. In mid-October.

Still frothing at the mouth..... RedBull Romaniacs is much more interesting to watch than Supercross to me. But it doesn't have high flying air gaps. Sure there is exciting head to head racing in Supercross but downhill MTB has never been head to head. Just race on a truly difficult course and leave the big jumps for a stadium show. Big mountain freeriders are usually hanging on for dear life too tight to backflip what is truly difficult. Except maybe for Brage but then he didn't bother coming to this event anyway. Brendog got robbed at Rampage 'cuz he rode hard lines instead of tricking hips. I think this time it's Hardline got robbed by RedBull who've lost sight of what they started with.

I had kinda expected that with a year to plan and knowing the history and climate on the North Shore that they would build a course that could ride in the rain. I will be there to watch but I'm saddened not so much at the change in schedule but that The Hardest Racetrack in The World cannot be constructed in such a way that it is technically challenging, frightening to ride perhaps, physically difficult, and visually exciting, when ridden in a downpour. Any mountain biker in the Sea to Sky has ridden in a deluge. Get rid of the air-show aspect of the course and go Discombobulator or Flying Circus mode with the construction. You can have dirt and rock sections that are super gnarly and race worthy, then for dramatic effect hit a loooooong elevated skinny or teeter-totter. Yes it will slow down the pace of the race. Just as it does in WRC or F1, its called a chicane and everyone can only ride it at the speed of the teeter-totter's mechanism. If they fall off, they've lost too much time to win. On the other side they pick up race speed through the next difficult section. It would still be completely watchable on TV and the spirit of competition would remain. And before I get blasted for suggesting a silly-old skinny at a Red Bull event, it was skinnies and see-saws that inspired this riding a bicycle on a hill nonsense in the first place. Thank you Digger.

I hiked up the mountain yesterday. They didnt mind as long as I wasnt walking ON the course. Theyve done a ton of digging and probably dont want hundreds of walkers kicking shoes into the trail to find purchase. Its quite steep in places and just a void in others. Riders are not on the ground very much. There was no problem seeing the jumps from the sidelines. What may be tricky is seeing the course through the crowds. One staffmember said they're expecting 10,000 and Cypress is a lot smaller than Creekside was two weeks ago. FWIW I think the course will be fine if it rains as long as the "built" landings and take offs are solid. A lot of the challenges are protected by big trees so I dont expect wind to be as big of a problem and that last jump at the bottom is also quite sheltered as its in the base of a valley. I am VERY excited.