Results: Red Bull Hardline

Sep 13, 2015 at 8:59
by Pinkbike Staff  
Red Bull Hardline Results

Note:
Gee Atherton suffered a mechanical during his race run.

Full race recap and photo epic coming.

MENTIONS: @redbullbike / @GTBicycles


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162 Comments
  • 240 13
 All this work, building and marketing for only 8 riders? Even if there was 15, that seems really low.
  • 238 7
 Just goes to show, the course really is as terrifying as it looks: most pros just don't want to ride it. Claudio's previews make World-Cup DH courses look relatable. Gee's POV of this course was simply panic-inducing...
  • 47 7
 Sincerely, i think many riders could've ride that track. The top guys definitely can tackle this monstruous track, look at last year, they were many more guys riding the hardline. Maybe some just want to rest after this difficult and beautiful season.
  • 68 2
 They should space it out further from Rampage and World Champs.
  • 30 6
 The invite list was pretty small if I remember correctly. I don't think last years winner DANNY HART was even invited. Seems as though Gee was expected to win this one. Wouldn't have minded live footage though.
  • 9 0
 Maybe tuff timing with rampage coming so soon; wcdh guys proly sleeping/surfing
  • 37 58
flag theedon FL (Sep 13, 2015 at 11:11) (Below Threshold)
 Should've invited the fest guys to this one. Aggy would've won
  • 19 1
 From the coverage on Vital there were more riders but due to injury/crashes and just not clearing stuff from what they are showing, not everyone raced from what I can tell. And fair play to them.. looks mental.
  • 25 1
 @ mestapho - I guess you've never been to Wales then. Riding this place too far out of peak season would make it about a million times more difficult than it already is!

In short, we have very wet winters here.
  • 33 26
 Looks like they need to invite some FEST riders.
  • 26 4
 They did lluis lacondeguy and he he a couple of runs and bailed because it was to much
  • 27 0
 Rather see the video than results
  • 22 6
 "They did lluis lacondeguy and he he a couple of runs and bailed because it was to much"

What?
  • 5 0
 Was lucky enough to go along today, photo's and vids don't do the gaps/drops any justice! It was large!
  • 13 1
 ok 15 invited, Dan wrote himself off early, but the fact that 8 out of of 15 finished leads me to thing this track is FECKING bonkers. Affy was sent out with a plan to test the worlds best... he has definatly done that!!!
  • 2 2
 Neg props? I was wondering the same thing myself. Would be like a freaking monster speed&style
  • 6 1
 I would of thought most of the pros are kicking back drinking beer and enjoying the few weeks they get off after what was a crazy season...
  • 22 1
 Well I just got home from the race, the course was brutal! 60 ft gaps straight into rock gardens, 20ft slab drops into stumpy singletrack, and a 30X30ft road gap with a steeeeeep landing right into a 90° berm...
Half of the riders didn't make it through practice, and all but Cunningham came off!
It is indeed a shame that so few made it to the finish, but that's hardline for you. Besides, how many people complain when most riders fall at rampage?
  • 5 2
 Yeah I think you guys are forgetting that Dan didn't build this trail specifically for this invitational comp...
  • 4 3
 Told you guys it's sideline not hardline, the buillder hurt himself riding it too.
  • 1 0
 @ scott-townes
Actually, I'm pretty sure he did.
  • 2 0
 From my understanding Dan purchased the land to build what he wanted and this was one of his creations. It was only after the documentary that Red Bull produced is when Red Bull was open or proposed the idea to have an invitational race on it. I could obviously be wrong but I'm basing this on interviews with Dan, Gee and Rachel.
  • 191 1
 Can I just say, a crappy folded up printout of results is still 1000x better than that scribd shit
  • 7 58
flag pancakeflatted (Sep 13, 2015 at 13:17) (Below Threshold)
 scrib'd works! You just have to click the download arrow.
  • 6 35
flag norcal77 (Sep 13, 2015 at 22:22) (Below Threshold)
 The jumps were not built well, why is everyone ignoring this? those jumps were not just big, but they were awkward. After the fiasco in China you would think Red Bull would want to make sure they weren't putting athletes in impossible scenarios. This whole event was clown shoes and it is a black eye on the sport. Go Big and progress, but dont do it half ass.
  • 14 0
 Wasn't that the point? Build something technical, big and difficult rather than a nice smooth flowing trail with huge jumps. The Fest series is massive, but it all appears to be built to flow nicely.
  • 8 0
 Should've been handwritten with mud splatters.
  • 4 0
 @norcal77 its a dh race, not a style comp. Its supposed to be gnarly
  • 53 0
 just got back from Hard-line,.totally crazy. You do not get the magnitude of the jumps from the gopro footage you see. To stand under the jumps, then see the height and distance these brave or slightly loopy riders are hitting is immense . Granted that Rampage is one hell of an event, but when you look at the terrain , with all the trees, stumps, monster rocks and some big steep drops , if you go off line and crash at Hard-line you boll...ks. You don't just tumble down a sandy cliff. As I understand it over 30 riders where invited but only 15 came to play, with some going to a big hitters wedding. and a few put of by the sheer relentless brutal coarse, not one area for a breather. May be next year the big names may come to see who can put the name as the first the to clear the step up from hell. Well done and fair play to all the riders who attacked it, even the fallen heroes
  • 4 1
 @boats... So no one jumped "the step up from hell"? Had to of been epic being there... Cheers!
  • 1 0
 as far as I know, no one attempted to do it. Dan Atherton and Gazzy B (Gareth Brewen ) who played a big part of building and sculpting the jumps where keen on having a go weather permitting but there early departure put and end to it.
  • 41 1
 gee... wasn't expecting that.
  • 4 13
flag mrmcpix (Sep 13, 2015 at 10:54) (Below Threshold)
 But look at his first split!!! so far ahead!! must have managed a mech failure... Frown
  • 4 0
 he was 7th?
  • 9 0
 mrmcpix your looking at the speed trap... haha
  • 4 0
 ahaha woops my bad!!... still sucks though
  • 9 0
 His tire came off the wheel on his race run. And this is not a track for Gwinn-esq heroics, unless you want to die.
  • 39 3
 Fair play to all the riders that took part, looks like Gee had the same stroke of bad luck that Dan did though..
  • 15 8
 seriously... does this race really compensates all the hard work ?
  • 20 1
 I think Redbull compensates for the hard work.....cash and sponsorship to both the builders and the winners.
  • 29 0
 It's a track they've been building for years and it isn't going to disappear overnight, so the hard work is an investment of sorts
  • 17 0
 Ride results brought to you by Office Depot
  • 35 1
 Well done Ruaridh ... you truly deserve the win... brilliant rad skills.. UCI Downhill is too easy for you ;-)

and well done Reece ... you guys rock :-)
  • 36 1
 Its like FEST series racing, what could be better....
  • 47 2
 Electric assist fat bike uphill slalom, on ice?
  • 12 1
 dingus knows what time it is.
  • 28 0
 Man,if I entered the race and someone would get me a parachute and some rappel equipment,I could tell everyone I finished 9th at Red Bull Hardline!
  • 27 0
 suffered a mechanical...on that trail? naaaaahhh
  • 27 7
 They should invite big mountain guys like Graham Agassiz, Kurt Sorge, Andreu Lacondeguy, Brandom Semenuk. I´m sure they would love to ride that track and race against the clock for a change. It would be great for the event and for the sport in general.
  • 8 7
 Those guys are not racers Smile
  • 13 1
 I know that, but they ride gnarly terrain fast anyway.
  • 16 27
flag WAKIdesigns (Sep 13, 2015 at 12:24) (Below Threshold)
 Yea, they should totaly do World Cups
  • 19 1
 Yeh. They should invite those riders... let's be honest. Gee raced a rampage run and made it look simple, should have won but was just too smooth to win. Gee made this track look difficult... I think that hardline is a different game to rampage. Both are ace, bonkers, crazy mad. Different riders are better at different things, makes the sport so good.
  • 2 0
 Cam Zink and Kyle Strait would probably fare well out of anybody from the freeride discipline, IMHO. I'd guess they were invited but are likely training for Rampage.
  • 8 1
 Zink was busy getting married this weekend
  • 16 0
 Remember many pro WC racers are probably thinking about training for the next season and their career, they will not risk months out due to injury for an event which doesn't have the rewards of a World Cup season or world champs etc
  • 19 0
 Is there anywhere I can watch the full event?
  • 14 0
 Saw the photo of Mark Wallace's crash at the hardline yesterday. He fought a tree and the tree won. Not good.
  • 17 2
 Can you post the women's results?
  • 14 1
 DNS
  • 6 2
 silkyrhino, you are a funny man.
  • 9 0
 It was crazy. The vids do not do it justice! That road gap is MASSIVE..... and the canon jump well #### that. Fair play to each of the riders to get down it let alone at speed!
  • 11 1
 The results list? Or the heros list? This track is so unique and insane. Congrats to organaizers and heros that rode that track
  • 9 1
 I know that these guys are competitors, but I get the feeling that it's bro's having fun as much about fun as anything (hence invitational). The results are almost an afterthought. Nobody seriously cares who won, but I'm sure they all had a mega fun week!
  • 2 0
 I'm sure they were more concerned for everybody else's well being over the results. I know I was!
  • 9 0
 I swear Cunningham should hit up rampage. The dude looked super capable, despite trying playing Vlad the Impaler with a branch.
  • 10 1
 Six hours waiting in a field for 1 practice run and 1 race run.Value for money.
  • 4 0
 What was the weather like?
  • 4 2
 Couldn't of been any better sunny spells they would'nt let you all the way up to watch. Not the best organisation.
  • 7 0
 Think it's important to consider that Hardline isn't like your average BDS or regional downhill race where riders are constantly riding down. Riders would do a couple runs a day but session parts of the track on their way down for a few hours.
  • 8 0
 Check out Ruaridh's run replayed on RBull uk or his_twitter_acct - brutal on bike and Man! twitter.com/Rc_mtb
  • 1 0
 winning run without going over the big step up. Therefore either nobody took it or the ones who did, didn't make it down.
  • 1 0
 Nobody hit it, it was decided that it was too windy to risk trying it
  • 1 0
 alright, thanks for clearing that up!
  • 5 0
 It's called hardline.... These lines/gaps/drops were not meant to be rode by 100% of racers or jumpers out there. So many different riding styles coming to play just to make it through the course. It is tough to see riders get hurt from the course but look at Baja, barely half ever finish. Hardline is where it's at, I think some more rider integration to the coverage would add allot of depth to what we as readers get to see. Keep pushing for newer, bigger, better!
  • 3 0
 For all those whinging about number of riders. Apparently 40 were invited. Of those that turned up a load looked at course and said "no thanks" then you had 4 or 5 riders breaking bones in practise resulting in the low number of racers on the day.
  • 8 2
 Rudy! Rudy! ......................sorry, stoked for him though.
  • 8 1
 Honest question: How does one pronounce Ruaridh?
  • 23 1
 r oo ah r ee
  • 34 1
 he was was born to be a dh biker... he even has dh in his name
  • 3 1
 The best I can describe it is rur - i hope this helps
  • 4 2
 Its basically just an old spelling of 'Rory'
  • 2 1
 Roory
  • 2 0
 Its an Irish name, it's not old. rour ree
  • 3 0
 @weedoot and Irish is an older language than modern English, I'd take a guess the modern name Rory is a derivate of an older English spelling similar to the Irish version
  • 2 1
 rooree!
  • 3 0
 The only guy with a silent "DH" in his name. Born for this.
  • 2 0
 Oops! mate1998 said it first... Have a good day, everybody!
  • 1 0
 This might be why some people just call him Gump...
  • 2 0
 Rory D.H. Cunningham
  • 6 0
 Why is this not available on redbull tv?
  • 1 0
 Only the second year they've done this. Last year it was riders only. This year, they let a limited amount of spectators in. I'd guess they are working out the kinks before they commit a broadcast to it. Also, not having been to that particular area of the world, I don't know what their signal would be like.

Last year, they did a 10-something minute edit/recap video...I'd imagine one is coming for this edition?
  • 2 0
 There was 40 invited and 32 riders confirmed before the event, no disrespect but I South the freerider boys would have been able to get down the techy parts of the track, even with out the jumps it was still pretty hard going
  • 3 0
 Bernard Kerr did a stoppie down a landing of one of those huge fuckers, wish I'd been there for that rather than just hearing it over the mic during racing!
  • 1 0
 He didn't actually do it, said he wanted to but none of the landings were dry enough for him to risk trying it
  • 1 0
 The commentator was saying it like he'd done it...
  • 2 1
 I wouldn't ride that track for all the gold in China. It's brutal, just walking/climbing up the side of it to watch was hard enough & Gee finished his run with no rear tyre before he got half way down. He wasn't very happy about it!
  • 4 0
 Did anyone send that huge step up? We need footage of that! Rampage line!! Mental!
  • 3 0
 And insurance agents everywhere rush to make sure that nobody on this list has Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage with their company.
  • 3 0
 Surely the weather affected the final racer count... Crashes or no-shows? I wonder if some racers' sponsors would c@ck block them from such an event due to risk of injury??
  • 4 0
 I guess go big or go home .. Quite a few went home . Amazing talent that rode it tho.
  • 7 3
 If Richie Cunningham did win then happy days Big Grin
  • 3 0
 sit on it potsie.
  • 4 0
 Anyone know what happened to the rest?
  • 1 0
 Course looked awesome!! can't wait for the photos and more footage.
I agree more riders should have been invited/attended if they were. Brendog and Danny Hart were there last year, this is right up their street too!!
  • 4 0
 BERNARD KERR 3RD PLACE CELEBRATION TIME
  • 3 0
 did anybody even hit/clear the massive step up (the one Gee doesn't hit in the course preview)?
  • 6 6
 IMO This is not a progression of DH. Extreme freeride is a very different beast and does not necessarily mix well with racing against the clock. If the jumps get too big the emphasis should be on style, not speed. That's why Fest series and Rampage are not races.

The short invitation list, shorter race participation and even shorter finishing list shows the risks in this mix were just too high. These guys are all professional riders and an off season spent nursing broken bones is not going to help their success next year.

It's been scary and addictive to follow and I can't wait for the official video but for the spectators there must have been a lot of hanging around to see just a hand full of riders. What was it like to be there? Any spectators want to give their opinion?
  • 1 0
 Course is so mental people weighing up the risk or reward. In 10 years time if it continues the prestige of winning it might be worth the throwing down.
  • 2 1
 half the course was off limits to the spectators , would of been nice to see The rest of the track . Health and safety rules again.
  • 1 0
 I asked the head marshal about it, apparently to get higher following the track, the only area "safe" enough for them to use for spectators over the rocky section between the step up and where spectators could go was the track!
  • 3 0
 That's 2 years running that Gee's had a mechanical/flat
  • 4 1
 Really sad.. i was hopping see more riders
  • 1 0
 Gee looked amazing in practice. Super bummer he got a mechanical ! I would love to see a video recap...
  • 4 2
 Why is there only 8 racers on that sheet, i thoght there was 15 ?
  • 41 1
 The others got fcked up.
  • 32 0
 The rest all crashed out. Not many full race runs were completed
  • 5 0
 I was more gutted that you couldn't view the techy bits , jumps were cool but I wanted to see some rocks get smashed,
  • 2 0
 Can the full race be seen anywhere? Can't find it on Redbull.
  • 2 1
 Sounds like more was bit off than could be chewed! Definitely an elitists event when half the attendees (all elitists) DNF.
  • 1 0
 Why should they invite the Fest-guys? What -except from the big jumps- can be compared to "Fest Series"?
  • 1 0
 I didn't hear much about Ruaridh after he became world champion downhill (junior). Good to hear he's winning stuff again.
  • 2 5
 Great event, but it should be more like Rampage for downhill racers. To be honest, I am a bit disappointed, cause there's almost no coverage troughout the event. Imagine... more best racers in the world (like Gwinny, Bruni, Hill etc.), more coverage, live feed and Claudio + Rob. Maybe someday, though... Wink
  • 2 0
 Dat DNF.
  • 1 0
 Dam mechanical..............
  • 1 0
 Cool to see Rudy Cunningham on top!
  • 1 0
 when is a vid/edit coming out of the event?
  • 2 2
 not big riders list, to bad
  • 1 0
 Is it on redbull TV?
  • 1 3
 Where was the fest crew? Thats who should have been invited to race hardline...
  • 1 3
 Replay before results!
  • 4 0
 There is no replay.
  • 3 0
 @geebeebee - No way to watch it at all?? Bummer.
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