The Rivergap
The bad news: the infamous River Gap, which made headlines last year, has been dismantled. "I think it should have stayed and become part of the race," says Gee Atherton, 2018 Hardline winner and competitor in this weekend's race. But title sponsor Red Bull had received too much negative feedback about the Rivergap the previous year. The reason: a video clip. The clip showed hardline riders trying out the River Gap during training. "This is a completely normal process," explains Gee Atherton, "with the difference that these test sessions have never been shown before. But, of course, hair-raising things happen and crashes occur until the stunts look like they can be jumped relatively safely." During the test jumps, Jim Monroe jumped off in the air in the middle of the Rivergap and sailed through the air without his bike. Jim Monroe was uninjured, but the resulting "Way too bad!" hitstorm was so intense that the organisers decided to dismantle the Rivergap altogether.
The course
So the Rivergap is out! This means that this year's course is basically the same as last year's track with a few small changes. For example, a B-line has been set up next to the biggest jumps on the track so that the jumps can be ridden around. The aim is to be able to divert the riders in the final in the event of wind so that the race can still take place. This B-Line is not a bypass option, a so-called chickenway. The rule for the Hardline is that all obstacles must be ridden or jumped. At the Tasmania hardline in spring, there was a lot of commotion because riders deviated from the main line. To counteract this, the track in Wales was bordered with flutter tape at the critical points.
Markings from above: 1 start or as hardline rider Adam Brayton puts it: "the scariest start tower in the world" 2 the horror drop into a fairly flat landing. Brage Vestavik crashed on the debut of the rock drop, Jess Blewitt broke his ankle on impact. 3 The shoot: steep rock descent with multiple drops. 4 Step-Down 5. off the wall with the risk of falling 6 Dirty Ferns: rough through the greenery 7 the 90-foot double jumps with B-line 8 the most technically difficult descent and approach to the road gap (55 feet = 17 metres down, 55 feet out), then nasty through the forest and 9 to the massive final jumps to reach 10 the finish.
Hot to watch!
The Hardline brings together racers, freeracers, rampage riders, festival series riders, Cerro Abajo racers and, of course, World Cup racers. There are new faces every year. Spectacular: the participation of death-defying women. In spring at the Red Bull Hardline Tasmania, there was an official women's classification for the first time. In Wales, women previously only took part in the training, there was no official ranking. It has not yet been decided how this will be handled this year. Surprise: Hardline queen Gracey Hemstreet is not taking part and Tahnee Seagrave's injury risk also seems too high. Presumably hardline favourite Jackson Goldstone doesn't want to mess up his winning run in the World Cup either and is playing it safe: no Hardline Wales for the golden boy. We know that his team manager Steve Peat was already against Jacko taking part in the race in Tasmania.
Eye-catcher: You have to watch these guys!
- Triple winner Bernard Kerr. BK is hotter than ever. After his "defeat", only 4th place, in Tasmania, BK wants to prove that he is the undisputed king of the hardline.
- Asa Vermette. The US youngster is taking part in the race in Wales for the first time. In Tasmania, he showed that he has what it takes to win with a 2nd place behind Jackson Goldstone. During training in Wales, he ticked off the stunts like it was all great fun.
- Ronan Dunne. The Irishman has been unlucky in the World Cup of late, but won the Hardline in Wales last year with aplomb. The hotshot wants to defend his title for everything in the world.
- Matt Jones. The YouTube celebrity scores with his entertainment value. His hardline clips are very funny and full of British self-irony. His goal: to reach the finish line alive. For that reason alone, you can't help but root for Matt.
The start list for the Red Bull Hardline Wales 2025
- Louise Ferguson
- Vaea Verbeeck
- Cami Nogueira
- Hannah Bergemann
- Asa Vermette
- Bernard Kerr
- Rónán Dunne
- Gee Atherton
- Kade Edwards
- Laurie Greenland
- Matteo Iniguez
- Matt Jones
- Sebastian Holguin
- Charlie Hatton
- Jerónimo Páez
- Brendan Fairclough
- George Brannigan
- Theo Erlangsen
- Tuhoto-Ariki Pene
- Kaos Seagrave
- Brook MacDonald
- Dan Booker
- Joe Smith
- Felipe Agurto
- Josh Bryceland
- Jim Monro
- Adam Brayton
- Jono Jones
- Roger Vieira
- Thibault Laly
The Magnificent Seven: Winner
- Ronan Dunne (2024)
- Jackson Goldstone (2022)
- Bernard Kerr (2021)
- Bernard Kerr (2019)
- Gee Atherton (2018)
- Craig Evans (2017)
- Bernard Kerr (2016)
- Ruaridh Cunningham (2015)
- Danny Hart (2014)
This might also interest you
+ The Hardline would also be fun on this bike
+ All about the Hardline Wales: Inside with Tommy G
+ Three bikes for rough terrain in a comparison test
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
