Hard by name, hard by nature, Red Bull Hardline isn’t an event for the faint-hearted. Over four days of practice and racing, the insanely difficult downhill course claimed several victims, and by race day, only eight riders were left standing to race against the clock.
Built by Dan Atherton on a remote mountainside in Wales, Red Bull Hardline combined gap jumps big enough to fit trucks into and sections that wouldn’t look out of place on the toughest World Cup track on a course around four minutes long. It’s incredibly tough on mind, body and bike.
Watch the best of the highlights from Red Bull Hardline below.
The road gap feature, made famous by last year’s event, returned in dramatic style for 2015, sending riders off the side of the mountain and almost over the heads of the crowds of spectators.
But even this paled into insignificance in the shadow of the Renegade, a step-up so hard that nobody even attempted it. A near-vertical take-off looked to launch riders into thin air, turning to a landing a good three-stories high.
In the end, Ruaridh Cunningham claimed the victory in a run that was as much about survival than style.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I think the goal for most of us was just to make it down. To link it all together and make it to the bottom was pretty challenging. I’m happy to be going back to Scotland safe!”
Joe Smith took second place, 3.6s behind Cunningham, and Bernard Kerr placed third.
See the POV video of Ruaridh Cunningham’s winning run below.
Red Bull Hardline final results
1. Ruaridh Cunningham 3m53.785s
2. Joe Smith 3m57.402s
3. Bernard Kerr 4m1.035s
4. Adam Brayton 4m11.028s
5. Reece Wilson 4m15.335s
6. Craig Evans 4m20.701s
7. Alex Bond 7m47.398s
8. Gee Atherton 10m47.941s