Hardline is arguably one of the hardest and most technical race courses on the calendar with its steep rocky sections and massive jumps. Dan Atherton and his dig crew have been hard at work to create what they are claiming to be the toughest course to date for 2022 Red Bull Hardline.
Red Bull Hardline is a downhill race that aims to push the boundaries of what is possible on a bike. Such a demanding course requires demands the best riders in the world and those invited Red Bull Hardline 2022 riders are going to be faced with some daunting new features this year.
Brand new for this year, Dan and the team have created two fresh sections to challenge riders. Replacing the classic ‘Dirty Ferns’ hip there is now a huge on-off jump. The section has been developed to not only challenge riders but to build speed for later sections. While the 40ft gaps on either side of the middle landing pad would have most riders quivering, it's the 30ft landing pad that makes this so technical as riders will need to be incredibly precise at the speed they will be going. As Gee Atherton points out, carrying the perfect amount of speed is a necessity here, not an option.
The second new set of features is two back-to-back 85ft plus doubles that are more akin to something from the Fest freeride series than a downhill race. Even riders who are comfortable with such airtime will be feeling the nerves as the jumps are apparently completely blind until you take off and only become visible once in the air.
“Boundaries are made to be broken. Red Bull Hardline strives to keep pushing the limits of what’s possible in mountain biking and I’m proud to see Dyfi as the stomping ground for it all to happen”, says Dan Atherton.
With the riders confirmed and the course receiving the final tweaks all that's left is to tune into the live broadcast from 1pm on Sunday 11th September. Red Bull will also have a behind-the-scenes action at Hardline with two pre-event episodes on the 10th September, and episode 3 as an exclusive pre-show. All Hardline coverage will be available on Red Bull TV.
You can find out the full story behind this year’s build process at redbull.co.uk/hardline2022
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