Red Bull Hardline 2024: The biggest DH Race gets bigger, with extra venue added

Some of those drone shots make it look like a video game!!

But it’s SO far removed from WCDH racing it’s a completely different sport and never the twain shall meet.
I don’t see a cross-over between them for many many years (if at all)

its the same athletes (until the UCI ban it) on the same bikes. For sure its harder, but calling it a completely different sport is mis-representing it. It’s possible it’ll become the pinnicle of the sport.

its the same athletes (until the UCI ban it)

Why d’you think the UCI would ban it? They don’t ban Crank Works, they don’t currently ban Hardline or IXS? Makes no sense 🤷‍♂️

HOw many of them are WCDH racers ? Answer is… Not many.

Erm, no. Answer is… around 2/3 of them.

But it’s SO far removed from WCDH racing it’s a completely different sport and never the twain shall meet.
I don’t see a cross-over between them for many many years (if at all)

some athletes will be good at both, I guess eventually they will go where the money is if the injury risk from one would drastically affect their earning potential in the other. (Salary from their teams and income from their social media posts as well as prize money)

some sadly won’t be. see how enduro has gone from the “future of bike racing” to the ginger step child. some of the specialists might get hung out to dry, others will be able to switch codes with a winter’s worth of focussed training.

all the PInkbikers see this as the saviour of DH,

oddest thing about this (the gutter of the PB comments) is that they moan on and on about WCDH being ruined by:

barely changed and repeated tracks;

small entry fields;

cameras focusing on big jumps and not on the technical bits where it is won and lost;

and weather cancellations/changes

… and yet Hardline is the saviour, despite suffering from all these problems to an even greater extent.

Good news, always rumoured and now official. How long before we see another race added?

And I never understand the Pinkbike lot; why would the UCI ban those taking part? It’s not a rival series, merely an additional series for those that want to do it. No different to when we had Enduro GP, plus a Hard Enduro series for those that wanted more challenging Enduro courses; eventually, the latter gained World status.

Or in other motorsport disciplines where drivers will race in other series as well as the World championship – it doesn’t have to be one or the other.

Similarly, we have the Urban Downhill series in South/Central America….and there are now Urban specialists….I suspect, we may well see Hardline specialists if more races are added.

The problem is, all the PInkbikers see this as the saviour of DH, but in reality, it’s not even remotely DH racing.

why is that a problem?

it is dh racing, just not world cup dh racing. if the competitors in wc racing don’t want to race hardline, what is the problem? wc can be wc and hardline can be hardline. both are mountain biking and far more interesting to me than slope style. 

i’d follow or watch both. 

that said, i’d also be surprised if it replaced wc.  

Curious that they don’t specify the location in Tasmania… it’s about the size of Ireland.

Yeah, that’s confirmed by Maydena themselves,  just weird that they don’t mention it in the PR.

Same goes for the riders who need sponsors but don’t get the coverage on compressed WC events 

Oh another marketing event to sell some more fizzy drinks. Just what the sport needs. I really don’t get the excitement.  It’s not a real race, most of the worlds best DH riders won’t be there, and nobody cares who won

Oh another marketing event to sell some more fizzy drinks.

All ‘events’ in sport are sponsored by someone, they don’t do it for no reason, F1, TDF, the Tennis, etc etc.. It’s all marketing otherwise why would they bother ?

It’s not a real race, most of the worlds best DH riders won’t be there, and nobody cares who won

That’s like saying anything outside of WCDH isn’t a real race then. Of course it’s a race, it’s just not a race that every DHer will attend. Is Crankworx not a real race ? IXS ?

Re: Hardline vs. UCI events. Hardline and UCI DH are directly competitive as both of those types of events involve risk and attrition for largely the same pool of riders. Like it or not, UCI DH is being ridden so much on the ragged edge right now that remaining injury free is at least half the battle. This year the French(!) lost 1/2 of their top 20 riders to injury over the season.  Hardline and Rampage present similar dangers to UCI DH, especially if they are serialized.  Also, because there are potential schedule/team/equipment overlaps, the UCI is competing for resources. The UCI has fought/banned riders in Enduro and BMX orgs in the past, it would not be surprising if they decided to battle on this.

Nah, completely disagree

100% wrong.

why? Now many lf those listed above a have been in the top 10 at a WCDH race in the last 2 seasons?

14+ of the 2023 list race WCDH.
In 2022 you had 2 top 5 overall (Kolb & Kerr) plus Junior overall (Goldstone) plus this year’s DH World Champ.

If Goldstone was fit you’d have had 3 of the Mont St Anne podium on the 2023 list.

Whilst certainly not all the fastest riders, there’s generally decent representation. Do they ever invite Monster sponsored athletes as that removes a few as well?
I imagine most at that level would ride the course but can see many deeming it not worth the risk when they are pushing for overall, podiums or just to stay on the dwindling number of teams!

Bit more detail on the February event 

https://flowmountainbike.com/post-all/redbull-hardline-maydena/