10 Years of Insane Red Bull Hardline Wins! #sports #mountainbiking

It's insane, it's crazy. The whole way down you're just literally holding your breath. There's so many sick features and big hits down here. It's long to be honest. As soon as you hit that first obstacle, there's no let up all the way down. So incredible! It just gets gnarlier and gnarlier towards the bottom. It's bigger and faster and rougher. Oh my goodness! All this stuff's bigger, higher, faster than what we usually do. Oh my goodness! The stuff that hit is incredible. Hardline is definitely pushing the limits. Oh no! It's proving what can be done on a mountain bike. If you're super confident, you're probably going to ride it good. Only two riders left. Dropping in, it's Danny Hart. Oh, so light on his bike and carrying so much speed. Comfortable on the big parts of this course. Going light over those big rock sections. A different line here. We know this man will take it to the limit. So much hang time. Hart, not easily scared. He's eating up this course. Coming down off this big rock drop. Goes in hard there. Throwing out a signature whip. He goes fastest here at the first ever Red Bull Hardline. Rory Cunningham next to drop then, Rob. And the 2011 national champion. Well, he's got a big ask here, hasn't he? It's a big day for Rory Cunningham. He's been a junior world champion. He's had a lot of injuries since. But slowly and surely, he's picking his way back towards the top. Got the bronze medal at this year's national championships as well. Let's hope his run actually fares better than his teammate and cousin who we just saw crash a few moments ago. But Cunningham, he's been on the World Cup circuit forever. And like I say, 12 really and 13 written off with a shoulder injury. And he's been clawing his way back ever since. Well, he seems to be going pretty quick on that top section there. And you know what, Tim? This is a course that will suit him. He's from Scottish borders as well. Typical pine forest that we've seen. And he's been absolutely loving this course in practice. Relishing the challenge. He spent more time on this mountain than perhaps anyone. Quickly around that right-hander there. And these big jumps don't seem to be phasing him. I mean, you're not national champion in the UK without being something very, very special on a bike. This is where the world's best riders come from. Up to split number one then. Oh, my word. Well, he's up by 12 seconds. So this is a huge run from Cunningham. He's done the flat top bit. He's done the steep woods. Can he keep it going now? I would say he's only going to get better as this course now looks a little bit more like a World Cup track here. Straight lining down there as well, Tim. So this is good from Cunningham. He's really keeping it together here out in the open. Well, coming into the Dirty Ferns. Two very big jumps to come. This is where a lot of the crowd have gathered. And that's surely going to push him on even harder now as he comes into the lower portion of this Red Bull Hardline course. He can hear the bells from the fans. That'll be ringing in his ears. Sends the first one. Holds a good tight line into that second one as well. Had plenty of speed over that. I'm actually very impressed to see Ruri, a World Cup racer, showing us the skills that make him one of the best because to handle these big jumps like he does is spectacular. Cunningham looking very, very comfortable on him indeed. How do these guys set up their bikes compared to, say, a normal downhill race? Well, it's a downhill bike. It's the same bike they're going to race at a World Cup, but they've all had to go up on the spring rates. They've had to go stiffer to handle these harsh landings and, of course, the take-offs as well, bottoming the bikes out into the face of those take-offs as well. So, across the road gap, what he's done is he comes now up to split number two. Looks very fast. Well, it's 16 seconds now, so he is extending that and Brayton's time now surely is going to tumble and it's a brilliant... You can't say anything bad about Adam Brayton. His middle section, spectacular, but Cunningham has really took it to him on the top bit, on that flat bit. He trains hard Ruri Cunningham and today it might pay off for him. He looks in so much comfort and control here. Sends that big jump as well. Lands deep on that. I'm sure he's going to go fastest. Yes, he does. Cunningham into the number one spot. What a run from the Scotsman. So, Bernard Kerr, an incredible all-rounder. Slopestyle, dirt, freeride and downhill racing. He's got it all. Can he make it count on this course? Third last year. He is the last rider down. He can spoil Ruri Cunningham's party. And definitely the biggest threat, the number one qualifier. Like we said, coming in off a fifth. And it's an aggressive start for him. He's been working on his fitness and you can see it. And he squashes that step up there, directly over that. So that was fast from where I was sat. And what a season he's had, Bernard Kerr. His best ever World Cup season. 15th overall. Inside the top 10, 7th in Leogang. Into the trees he goes. Pumping through those first couple of turns into the trees. And onto the 12-foot drop. No problem. Big, heavy landing. But that's the same for all these riders. He's much faster than Brayton was through there. A first indication of exactly how quick he's going. He's coming up. Again though, almost squashing that. And he's up by 1.49. He knows the bike in. It's a massive run from Bernard Kerr here. 1.49 seconds to burn now. Interesting to hear him say the technical parts of the course were his problem, not the jumps. Straight lined off that big rock drop though. So is Bernard Kerr on a winning run here? Well that bike certainly looks like it is. Skipping through that rock section. From this angle you can't see just how many bumps and roots they're dealing with. It's littered with tree stumps. Third here last year, Bernard Kerr. And he's fighting it on the way out there. And he's extended. I don't believe it. 4.23 up now. This is a massive run from Bernard Kerr. Carrying that form over from a week ago at the World Championships. Rory Cunningham will be shifting in his seat in the finish area. Is he going to give up? Well, let's not forget Bernard Kerr rode the wall over these jumps a little bit earlier. But look how comfortable he is in the air. Picks that bike up under him. No problems this time. Just like Brayton. He was high through those waterfall edge jumps. Plenty of pop. So Kerr should have this. Barring any mistakes. But it's difficult. He's pushing hard on these turns as well. Now Brayton was definitely quick through here. As was Cunningham. The crowd can hear it. They know he's on a good run here. Off this big step down. Styles it off there. So comfortable. This is almost an event made for this man. Brings a bit of skill from every discipline of bikes. Yeah, he was a man who couldn't pedal. He sorted that out. He got fit. And he's getting results. And this might be the biggest one to date. A win here at Hardline. He was deputy at the World Championships last week for G. Atherton. Can he come here now? He's carrying some speed down through that last tunnel. Tunnel of trees there. Here he comes in across the line. It's Bernadke. Going to go 1016 Red Bull Hardline with an incredible run. Only four riders left to drop though. Craig Evans is next. No massive results on the downhill side of things. But he attended Loosefest. Arguably the loosest example of mountain biking in the world. Big 30-metre gaps. He's going to be at home on this course, Rob. He is, absolutely. And it was a great qualifier from Craig Evans there in fourth place. The former industrial window cleaner. Wide-mind heights like this. Oh, gets the front wheel down on the backside. Nothing wrong with that. He was really humble when I spoke to him about this. He really didn't expect much. And I think he probably surprised himself with the fourth place in qualifying. Didn't slow down much either for that big drop there. So Evans is looking good here. Bike slips sliding around. Hasn't seen him at so many downhill races this year, actually. Getting on to the Josh Bryceland. His mate's programme of basically riding his bike all day long, every day, having fun. And in good company as well. Josh, the 2014 overall World Cup winner. Well, he came here last year and blew up his PCL on the step-up. So he was desperate for a bit of redemption. Certainly on qualifying alone, he's got that. But right now, he's in the hot seat to haul in Dan Atherton's time of 2 minutes and 33 seconds. He's looking good. So far, it does look good. Yeah, he was pretty quick through the open. Couple of pedal strokes in there from Craig Evans as well. Full of style. Little tap on the top of there. Didn't slow him down. Manual down the back of that. Don't know if he meant to do that, but if he did, fair play. His teammate, Adam Brayton. Of course, the number one qualifier. The last man we'll see here this afternoon. Not pushing quite as hard through these burns. Using that just to take a bit of a rest maybe. Going round the big rock. Good so far though. Here is the difficult part. Yes, Craig. Absolutely nailed it. That was beautiful. Yeah, it was. Really good from him. What's the split time? I'm going to tell us he's up by 1.45 then. Wow. Over a second and a half nearly to play with. So Craig Evans is on a run. Well, he was just so smooth through that section before the road gap. Can he hold on to it through here? Oh, my goodness. Well, rides the front wheel there. Riders remember they're pretty tired when they get to the bottom here. Rolled the dice. Somehow came up with snake eyes and rode out of that. That was phenomenal. That was about as close as Chaos Seagrave came to taste in the Welsh dirt. But I think he didn't lose him any time. It actually looks now like it's fired him up. He looks like he's going even faster since that. Lets the back wheel hang out as he powers down to the finish line. And Craig Evans, the time is at 2.31.29. He goes fastest here in Snowdonia. Well, 2.44 up on anyone. So Gee Atherton yet to win an event that the Athertons started. They've been riding on this hill for over 10 years. One of the very first practice tracks they had. And it would be massive for one of the Athertons to take that Red Bull Hardline title. And it's an aggressive start from Gee Atherton right out of the gate. He didn't get as wide as Bernard on that first left hander. But you could see him pedaling out of that right hander. Trying to catch up that pace that he lost on the first straight. Flat tires and injury have always seemed to blight Atherton here. Going deep off the drop, which was smoother than previous riders. And a sign of how much speed he's carrying, I would say. The first split is coming up. Atherton desperate to win his own event. 1.7 into the green net. So Atherton pulling out so much time at the top of the track. Incredible. And again going big over that step up. Robbie pedaled down to the cannon. He was carrying speed. He knows he's going to push hard to win this. A broken wrist this year in Val di Sole. Definitely hindered him. Annoyed that he didn't get picked for the British team for the World Championships. The first time ever. He struck back with a second place at those finals in Le Bres. And he's good here in the open. Atherton showing us what he's made of. Look at this. Robbie's pedaling out of every corner. We haven't seen that yet. Attacking everywhere. Either he knows he's lost a bit of time or he's pushing really hard. Two times a world champion this man. And green again. Over three seconds now for Atherton then. Is this the day that he's waited for? His fifth attempt at taking a win here at Hardline. Over 100 World Cup starts. Over 50 World Cup podiums to his name. Clean over there. Looking good. He's a bit like you, Greg. He's a man who knows how to rise for the big day. Oh, definitely. I mean, he's a threat on any track. And, you know, after coming back from injury and seeing him in Le Bres, he was pushing hard for that win there. 33 years old now. One of the most committed downhill racers of all time. He's hit the ground harder than anyone I can think of and he always gets back up. Takes the line to the rider's right. Oh, and a little dab there. And another. Oh, and a big mistake now. Both feet off. He's got to clip in before he goes off this road now. He's going to have to recover and regroup now going into this last section for sure. You'd think he would have lost a little bit of time there than G. Atherton. Big drop still to come. Hold it tight there. Still a bit hesitant. So, you know, might have shaken him up a bit. Not getting onto that drop really smoothly. A little stall there as well. Made sure he was nice and straight before that drop. No room for error on that part of the track. What's the next split going to tell us? Oh, and it's over five seconds. So, despite getting in a bit of a muddle at the top of the road gap, Atherton's pace is phenomenal. Just this finish line straight to go now then. Is it going to be success for Atherton? Finally here in Red Bull Hardline. Just this big jump to go. He's sent it. Atherton down the line. Atherton smashes Snowdonia. 3.06 the time. He takes the win for the first time by over five seconds. Atherton is your 2018 Red Bull Hardline winner. Can this man deny G. Atherton back-to-back wins here at Red Bull Hardline then? The winner here in 2016. In fact, he's never been outside the top three since 2015. An incredible track record. This is the one that counts today, though. Oh! He hit that first turn so hard. They're all getting wild up there. They really are. That's what it needs, I think. Bent a pedal right at the top of the track yesterday on that drop in qualifying. Bernard's riding so confidently. You know, he's a confident guy. He's got the chat. And that kind of comes across in his riding. He is really confident. Yeah, he's a fun guy to be around, Bernard Kerr. You can see he's attacking. When he's on his bike, though, he lets that do the talking. So G's time. And he's up by over a second in the first split. Long way to go in this race run, though. But it's green for Kerr at the top. Second. The last two years here. This is where it gets. Oh, and he's pushing. A little mistake there, perhaps. Corrected it, though. Bang back online now. That was fast. It was really fast. Really fast, yeah. Oh, and again. G had that mistake in this section and lost a lot of time there to Joe. So Bernard's looking good coming into this section where he made a lot of time yesterday doing that little gap that he was doing. Which is just coming up now. Just picks it up again over there. I mean, it looks like nothing. But there's so much on the track there. Loads of rocks. Well, until yesterday, until today, Bernard was the only one who'd done it. 2.2 up now. So it's looking good for Bernard Kerr. He's looking really comfortable. Really in control. Coming back from that broken hand. He was coming back from injury, actually, when he won here in 2016. He only got back on a bike for the World Championships then. Comes back with incredible form like nothing has happened. Like most of these guys and you, Rach. You've been through a few as well yourself. I think after an injury, the excitement of getting back on your bike is too much to resist if you just go for it. So the next big sting then in this track coming up. This is where he could get caught out. And he goes over to the rider's right. Right off that peak of that big rock there. And it was perfect. Really nice through there. And you can see the confidence you're talking about in his riding there. Yeah, he's putting his bike where he wants it to go. We heard a few of his deep breaths there in those corners, I think. So he's really trying to keep himself grounded, trying to keep himself in control. Got to keep your head in the game at this point. That was good. Really smooth from Bernard. Perfect off there. Stops that landing. Is he carrying as much speed across this camber? Yes, 2.8. Nearly three seconds then. Just this big, long finish line straight to come then for Bernard Kerr. Not much can go wrong now, you could say. You're a brave person saying that. You're right, Bernard Kerr. One jump away for the second time. Carries double hard. To win Red Bull Hardline twice. Bernard Kerr takes Red Bull Hardline 2019. Ka-ching for Bernard. Super confident, super fast. The defending Red Bull Hardline champion from 2019, the last time we were here. Bernard Kerr. Can he do it again? We're going to find out over the next two and a half minutes. He's been bleeding confidence this week. I'm expecting some really, really wild moments here. He's going to be hanging out. This is where he crashed hard in practice two days ago. He's 2.26 up and safely through there. Two times a winner here at Red Bull Hardline, this man. Last time it was by over three seconds for Bernard Kerr. Is he going to be green, Laurie Greenland's time? He's up by 0.6 there, Bernard Kerr. So, a great top section for the man from Guildford in Surrey. Getting that back brake there. Basically, when the riders are back braking, they're controlling the angle of the bike. Getting that front wheel down to the ground. Using the velocity of the tyre. He's been doing it all weekend. He does it stylish. He's carrying so much pace down here. Making it look easy. Don't be fooled by that. Hasn't finished outside the top three of this event since 2015. Yeah, picked it up through there. 0.6 now. He's on a lovely gain in here. Just gaining little tenths, hundreds here and there. Oh, and squashes that. Holds it tight off the landing. So, Kerr not being flashed. We know he can be. Squashes that perfectly, this man. Bernard is one of those crazy riders that's probably riding no body armour this week. Just a shirt and a helmet on. Just feeling the flow. This event almost made for him. With the big jumps. Arguably, no mountain biker better than this man with the wheels off the ground. None of the racers, really. One of the biggest whips out there. Fifth of the World Championships. Twice in his career. Over that big rock on the right there. Nails it. Looks so casual through there. Absolutely. Listen, the race cannot be won there, but it could definitely be lost. Just get through there and start charging where it's a little bit easier. Oh, he's coming in hot. Hard on the brakes as he lands there. I think he might have got unclipped there, actually. Sitting down, he put his foot back on. Not a great place to unclip across that road. Absolutely not. Everything looks to be back on board now for Bernard. Set-up to set-up. Lovely. Cuts across the front of that face. Lands as softly as he can. Needs to carry speed down it. Greenland, 216. Here we go. It's tight, it's tight. It is. Not much to play with. A headwind's enough to make the difference here. And Greenland was fast on the bike, so is Bernard Kerr going to want his third Red Bull Hard Light win? Just a finish line. Here we go, he's going to spread. It's a 234 to beat. And he does it. Bernard Kerr wins the hardest race of them all for his one third time. Bernard Kerr is the 2021 Red Bull Hard Light champion. And I am very, very excited to see what this man can do. The junior overall World Cup winner. A world champion in the junior category last year. Didn't work out for him this season, actually. This year, crashing at the top. But one of the riders coming up from the juniors that there's more noise about than most. You know what I mean? He is a phenomenal talent. He raced all the junior World Cups this year in Andorra. His time that won that category was faster than the men elite. And this is the first time we're seeing him go up head to head against some of the world's best elite riders today. Just seeing him on his bike, you can tell how comfortable he is. That's right. Riding. And in qualifying, came down earlier when it was a little wetter. So let's see what Jackson Goldstone then, from Squamish in Canada, can do here this afternoon. He's put that rut back nicely in the turn. Yeah, he's the big dark horse here. Faster there and up by half a second. A split number one then for Goldstone. And like he said, he's light. He's quite a small guy. He's so young, isn't he? But he's carrying great speed and not getting stuck in those holes. Look at the pacing of that left. The first time here at Red Bull Hard Light. The first man up by nearly a second. And the first rider to do a full run of this course on Friday night. Yeah. Whips hard off there. Perfect. Every jump, he just styled it up yesterday. That's incredible. I thought he was crashing. He was doing a whip in qualifying. And you just see how he rides. He's literally grown up on a bike. Riding for the Santa Cruz Syndicate. Steve Peat's here as well this weekend. Works closely with Jackson. The grandfather. Look at the pacing through there. Surely he's going to extend it again. Three seconds into the green now then. It's massive run from Jackson Goldstone. But remember that Joe Smith leading at the moment is five seconds. Off that fastest qualifier. Leading off that first big double. Massive. Surely he'll just gain time with that. The pace is hot. Gapped into that burn. That was unreal. Absolutely beautiful. But you can see it's getting looser and looser. But look how quick he's blinking these turns. Attacking. I feel like this is his ideal track. Big, massive jumps. He's so comfortable on those big jumps. That was fast. And I feel like sometimes being short, like being small, your bike's smaller. And your bike fits in the turns and stuff better. Like a big guy like you or Steve, your bike couldn't be halfway around that by now. No, that's right. A little dab there. Coming up towards the last split now. And look at the pace. I haven't seen anyone going near that hard. He bounced off the top of that. He's five and a half seconds up then. So this is massive from Jackson Goldstone. Just his last straight to go. And his first time ever at Hardline. It's unbelievable. He's learning it all first time. Of course, it looks like it's tailor-made for this man to show us. These sublime skills, Goldstone. He's going to go fastest by a massive margin. Goldstone across the line. Look at the time. 2.20.5. Six and a half seconds up. And that is the fastest time of the weekend here. Goldstone delivers a Red Bull Hardline. What a run. Okay, well. Okay, Ronan. Deep breaths. Ronan Dunn, fastest qualifier. The winner of Red Bull Hardline Tasmania. The winner of the last downhill World Cup race in Poland. The man on everybody's lips at the moment. First time on a factory ride this year. And he is delivering. Red Bull helmet delivered to him on Thursday night. Can Dunn pull it up one more time here? It's a fast top section. Firing it there as well. The pace these top guys ride. Oh, my God. This is so fast. Oh, my God. So fast. He's up by 1.3. How's he done that up top? That is madness. That is absolutely madness. I can't believe it. And he's riding so clean and just so precisely, Tani. Doesn't look like he needs a wheel roll. He's just so comfortable in being loose and fast like that. Here he comes. 1.5 there into the second split on track for Ronan Dunn. Getting on the anchors down there. Oh, I'm not sure if that inside's faster, though. He's got a little bit of time to play with. A little bit. Next split coming up soon. Dunn threading a needle through here. Goes deep up there. Didn't lose any momentum, though. 1.07 for Kerr, and he's up again. Still there. 1.5 up. Oh, it's almost the same, the gap. He did all the damage in that first sector, and Kerr is about there with him at the moment. Like we said, I feel like Bernard just pushed it a little bit too hard there, so he's got a lot of time to play with. So Ronan deep over that second 90, cleanly over that rock on the exit there. He's carrying good speed through these turns as well. Phenomenal stuff from the Irishman from County Wicklow. Just 21 years old, this man. On the production bike in Tasmania, on the prototype. Mondraker here, and he said it's way, way better. I think he had a little bit of an issue through there there, Ron. Let's see, didn't have much time to play with, did he? 1.5 it was, so what's it going to be now? Coming down towards this last split for Ronan Dunn. Wow. Let's see. And he's up by 1.6 now, so extended another 10. Oh, Ronan's there, he's nearly done it. Last couple of turns now for Ronan then. Last turn here, he comes in, sprinter on this last straight. He's been phenomenal here all week. A new superpower. Comes to the line in 2024. Unbelievable, down the mountain, takes the win. Ronan has done it again. Incredible stuff.