Red Bull Hardline 2018
Issue 56 / Fri 19th Oct, 2018
Clive Forth heads to the UK’s toughest mountain bike race to watch Gee Atherton stand on the top step of the podium at an event that has so far eluded him!
When the tough get going the tough sit it out and wait for the rain to pass.
That statement is a testament to just how difficult this unique track is and how much respect the riders have for it. The 2018 Red Bull Hardline was already lining up to be a hotly contested and wild event; the course had been perfectly groomed by head trail designer Dan Atherton and his team of helpers with a new bench cut section leading riders “Out of the Woods’ into a monster timber ladder drop. The already massive doubles in the field had been extended, and Thursday's practice saw Brendan Fairclough back flipping the oversized step up jump high up on the mountain.
Then the rain came….
The riders high soon dropped to a massive low as the Welsh weather gods cried their eyes out all day Friday, the sense of just wanting to get on with it and stay in that special mindset that is required to ride terrain like this was overwhelming. By early afternoon it was becoming clear that practice would be pointless and dangerous, it was evident by the vibe in the riders’ hangout area that there is an element of intimidation and a huge amount of respect for this track.
From my years of riding, racing and coaching, I already know that no one feature looks the same through two sets of eyeballs, for what one person finds intimidating and ‘scary’ another just flows on through. On the flip side, something that may seem innocuous to one person can become a huge mental hang-up for another. So what is it about this track that leaves the worlds best on edge and keeps their egos in check?
It was time to get some track talk before I brave the elements and do a track walk.
The Riders
RedBull Hardline is an invitational with a limited entry list, made up from seasoned World Cup racers and riders who are on the up in their World Cup careers. This year's line up looked like this.
- Adam Brayton, UK.
- Alexandre Fayolle, FRA.
- Bas Van Steenbergen, CAN.
- Bernard Kerr, UK.
- Brage Vestavik, NOR.
- Brendan Fairclough, UK.
- Charlie Hatton, UK.
- Craig Evans, UK.
- Dan Atherton, UK.
- Dave McMillan, UK.
- Erik Irmisch, GER.
- Florent Payet, FRA.
- Gaëtan Vigé, FRA.
- Gee Atherton, UK.
- Greg Williamson, UK.
- Henry Fitzgerald, UK.
- Jérôme Caroli, SUI.
- Joe Smith, UK.
- Kade Edwards, GBR.
- Kaos Seagrave, UK.
- Keegan Wright, NZ.
- Killian Callaghan, IRL.
- Laurie Greenland, UK.
- Matt Walker, NZ.
- Oscar Härnström, SWE.
- Phil Atwill, UK.
- Reece Wilson, UK.
- Thomas Estaque, FRA.
Riders take on the course in a qualifying run, and the ten fastest proceed to the final race run, with limited practice this year it was going to make Hardline THE hardest line for some. The course had already claimed victims, and the abbreviated start list for the qualification would see some seasoned riders on the sideline and some fresh talent battling it out for that coveted title.
I hooked up with Adam Brayton (Hope Tech) to get the low down on his season so far and the course that awaited. Adam is well known as a rider who likes to let it all hang out and go big, he had an off at the World Championships in Lenzerheide just a couple of weeks previous and was already on the back foot when it came to taking on RedBull Hardline.
It was great to catch with Adam and hear about his views of his season, the course and life outside bikes. Before he sustained and then aggravated his injury, I had Adam on my short list for a podium spot. Another rider on that list was previous winner and all round top bloke Bernard Kerr from Pivot Cycles. Here’s what Bernard had to say about his year of racing and the prospect of riding Hardline.
It was clear that no matter how committed we are to bikes and the sport it was vital for riders to have a life outside bikes, something slightly leftfield to nerd over and indulge ourselves. With many familiar faces and old friends kicking around I got an excellent insight into this unique event and track. Brendan Fairclough (Scott - Velosolutions) seemed in good spirits and was all up for riding in whatever conditions, like many of the riders who strive for perfect race runs he too was not best pleased with his season, just slightly off the pace this year and finding it hard to get the set up he wanted.
Gee Atherton (Atherton Racing/Trek) seemed his usual cool calm collected self while brother Dan opted out from riding this year's event to get on the hill and keep the track running sweet. Something unique about Hardline is the atmosphere between the riders, everyone is in the same boat, and there are no large team pit areas for the riders to hide. They all help one another up on the course, and it seems that the ‘guard’ they put up at a World Cup is dropped.
The Track Walk
With the day nearing its end the clouds finally started to part, I jumped in the back of a Land Rover with another rider from back in the day, Mr Voice of RedBull World Cup coverage Rob Warner. Joining Rob this year on the mic and for a hair-raising ride in the Landie, none other than Mr World Champ and multiple World Cup winner Greg Minnaar from the Santa Cruz Syndicate.
The track walk with Rob and Greg revealed the detail the cameras just can't pick up, the sneaky and millimetre precise line options that are available, the hidden gnar that’s there to snag and stop you or knock you off line, and of course just the sheer scale of the features. One thing that really stood out to me was that change in scenery and terrain. Riders are faced with sections that sit immediately on top of one another that simply don’t belong together.
Straight out of the start gate is an amazingly steep, narrow, rutted line, which passes bedrock sections covered in lichen. The odd jagged rock is littered here and there to further add to the challenge of making it clean and smooth down to the first wooded section.
As the riders take an awkward right into the trees following a large rock slab the light disappears and the eyes, find it hard to adjust, even at walking pace. The dank, dark woods are littered with roots, and the gradient steepens as the first real sizeable natural feature comes into sight.
A dirty, rocky edge hides the drop below, the right-hander after the plummet just seems near impossible to make, and the drop itself is hugely intimidating. Hiding under the drop, the bedrock protrudes forcing the riders to huck further down the insanely steep gradient towards the corner. If they clean this, it's on to the fast rough exit to the woods and the ginormous Cannon Gap.
The Cannon gives the riders a boost of speed, and in the dry, a feather of the brake helps control the speed into the first man-made ramp, a massive steel quarter kicks the riders over the Step Up and into the single track leading down to Dirty Ferns. This natural technical rock strewn line has sniper rocks and stumps everywhere. The upper body is tested to the limit as the riders hammer the tight berms and rattle through the rocks and roots. This is where time can be made or lost.
The Step Down, another huge feature, takes the riders into a monster left-hand berm before immediately popping over another enormous step up jump. A few slick berms and into an off-camber woods section where it's hard to carry speed, this is needed not just for a fast run but to clear the step up hip jumps that pass over the old dry stone wall (Off The Wall section) as the trail cuts in and out of the tree line. With blind landing zones and takeoffs that have to be taken while on the turn, this section continues to prove itself difficult for the worlds best, making Waterfall Edge a popular spectator point.
The track then relents, and bike park flow trail berms give a welcome rest, this, however, is short-lived (especially at speed). The trail pops out of the trees, and the riders are faced with an overwhelmingly exposed and steep section. The line is narrow, the rocks sharp and slippery and the drop to the side not worth thinking about. With boulders at handlebar height and nowhere to go, this alpine-style section of trail will max out anyone's gnar-o-meter. As if surviving that section was not enough, the rocks give way to smooth boardwalk that leads the eye to, well…. nowhere! This is The Road Gap.
To give an idea just how big this thing is, Greg (that’s World Cup DH Champ and legend Greg Minnaar) decided to not have a go at it on Thursday's practice where he jumped on the bike to get a riders eye perspective. Rob clung to the woodwork for dear life as we inched closer to the edge, the landing does not appear until the last second, and it’s steep.
To add more difficulty, the riders immediately hammer into the massive right-hand berm on its exit. We safely climbed down and around the road gap to follow the track through the 'On and Off’ jump then down more rock gnar. The difficulty here is the dirt dragging onto the rocks making it hard to get any grip, the hucks that follow are on the camber, very large and with no more than a bike length in the landing zones.
The new wood section lines the riders up for another massive gap jump as they fire ‘Out of the Woods’ and into the finish arena field. A small (45ft or so) gap helps to keep the flow as they set up for a massive 65ft gap at the Final Fly-Off, it's all so ‘in ya face’ and just has to be seen to be believed and fully appreciated.
The Finals
Running in reverse order with the fastest going last the crowds lined the track in anticipation, slips and slide-outs saw a few finishers avoiding the Final Fly Off with the dreaded ‘muddy glove’. A condition that is not conducive to sending massive gaps! With such demanding conditions, it was young Charlie Hatton from the Atherton Racing/Trek team that picked up the pace and put in a blistering run of 3m 18.92s knocking fellow Brit Joe Smith from the hot seat.
The bar raised, Bernard Kerr left the start gate in an attempt to take another title. Bernard was sure he could shave several seconds off his qualification time and was on pace through the upper sections of the course. With so many chances to lose and gain time, it could go one of two ways as he entered Off The Wall.
The huge crowd in the finish field looked up to see a small silhouette appear below the cliff face as Bernard made his way to The Road Gap, now up on Hatton by a few seconds it was clear that Kerr was on a flyer. He exited the woods soared over the Final Fly Off and skidded across the line smashing Hatton’s time by 6.6 seconds.
The bar well and truly raised and a very hungry Atherton sat in a start gate high upon the mountain, it was set to be nail-biting to the very end. The crowds had poured down off the mountain, and the atmosphere in the finish field was electric. Having sat with Gee in the morning drinking a brew while he prepped his tear-off system for his Oakley goggles I knew just how much he wanted this title, a win that had eluded him every year since the event began.
Atherton is on the course and the clock ticking, with Kerr having posted a time nearly four seconds faster than Atherton’s qualification time this was going to have to be an all-out assault on the toughest downhill track in the toughest conditions. Split one… He's up by 1.7 seconds! The crowd roars and everyone's glued to the clock split two…
Atherton is a man on a mission, he’s up again, Kerr shakes his head in disbelief knowing he laid down a very, very solid run. The gap has grown to 3.1 seconds but it's not over yet, with so many technical sections still to come and key areas where carrying speed is essential that 3.1 seconds can go out the window in a literal blink of an eye.
Once again the crowd wait for that microscopic silhouette to appear below the cliff face as Gee makes his way towards The Road Gap and split three. Kerr’s moral compass must be in conflict as the crowd wait for the clock and the commentator to scream out the time, ATHERTON IS UP AGAIN! He’s now put 5.2 seconds into Kerr.
Just some crazy mud covered off camber gnarly rocks and a few massive gaps to clear, and history could be made, no punctures, no slide outs, no smashed mechs, this is it. Gee is Out of the Woods, and the crowd erupts as he sails through the air clearing the final jumps with ease to steal the win by a very impressive 5.57 seconds.
The Atherton family invade the finish area with a host of journalists to congratulate Gee, a monumental moment in mountain bike history. That was RedBull Hardline 2018.
Final Results:
- Gee Atherton - 03:06:73
- Bernard Kerr - 03:12:30
- Charlie Hatton - 03:18:92
Videos
By Clive Forth
Clive Forth is a rider who has been there, done that, got the t-shirt and cleaned his bike with it. He has grown with the UK scene and technological developments for the last 30 years and has competed at all levels in all disciplines riding for some prestigious brands along the way. Always looking for that extra edge with endless passion and drive he is geared up to bring you the inside line on all aspects of mountain biking skills and technique.
