Red Bull has linked up with the Dutch Drone Gods team and Kade Edwards to capture a unique single-shot run of the Red Bull Hardline course, one of the most technically challenging downhill courses in the world.
Drones are becoming a common tool for mountain bike videos, offering unique points of view that would be otherwise impossible to capture. The most notable drone use is the recent introduction of drone footage during the World Cup downhill mountain bike live coverage.
Rather than just focusing on one section of the course, the aim of this project was to create a unique top-to-bottom continuous shot of the Hardline track giving us a new perspective of features like The Cannon, Step Up, Road Gap, and the massive new doubles.
Of course, there was only one rider for the job. Red Bull athlete and bike handling extraordinaire Kade Edwards is the perfect man for such a run thanks to his blistering speed and effortless style.
Drone pilot, Ralph Hogenbirk said. "This was a crazy project and we’re super happy with the result! I’ve always loved watching Red Bull Hardline, and I knew our drones could give a sick new perspective at this event to show the skill of these riders. But didn’t know if it was even possible to follow them from top to bottom, and it definitely wasn’t easy. I had to push my drones to the limit and stay 100% focused all the way down to make it work!"
It was a difficult operation to capture a single continuous clip, requiring a three-man team to help pilot the drone. The team included an FPV drone pilot, a Mavic drone operator for the signal relay, and a signal stability spotter in order to deal with long distances, navigate the tight technical forest sections, and changeable weather, all while capturing every moment of Kade's run.
The resulting clip shows the raw talent required to navigate such a challenging course with the picturesque backdrop of the Dyfi Valley.
