Final Results: Hardline 2019

Sep 15, 2019
by Ed Spratt  
Bernard Kerr keeping it low and stylist to win qualifying

The results are in from finals at Red Bull Hardline and some tricky conditions made it tough for everyone to put down a clean run.

Watch the replay here.

Top Five Riders:

1st. Bernard Kerr: 2:52.109
2nd. Gee Atherton: 2:55.338
3rd. Joe Smith: 2:57.886
4th. Brage Vestavik: 2:59.828
5th. Alexandre Fayolle: 3:00.509



Full Results:

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Posted In:
Racing and Events DH Racing Results Red Bull Hardline


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98 Comments
  • 135 4
 I was amused by how Rachel kept describing Bernard Kerr as "a confident guy." I somehow imagine years of Kerr sidling up with a "Hey Rach, how about we..." and being met with "Not a chance, Bernard."
  • 13 0
 True stories.
  • 33 0
 "Let me stoppie you there Bernie."
  • 109 26
 If I had 3 wishes they would be Dan Atherton to design all World Cup downhill courses Use the Hardline course or another by Dan instead of Fort Bill My wife to let me have another bike. Just want to say good job Dan and co. This is the sort of representation I want for my sport, not the shit that the UCI do.
  • 52 6
 Real talk, I know it's blasphemy or whatever but I'm kinda tired of seeing Fort Bill. Don't get me wrong, the UK should absolutely have a WC race but I feel like there's gotta be somewhere else suitable. And yeah, if Dan designed it that would be sick.
  • 15 0
 So I guess the last wish is the least likely?
  • 10 5
 @bkm303: street race downtown london
  • 9 14
flag ride-801 (Sep 15, 2019 at 9:25) (Below Threshold)
 This is absolutely the direction World Cup DH should go
  • 82 7
 @bkm303: @gasmunky: Have you guys been to Fort Bill?

1) Where else in the UK has the infrastructure to hold a WC? The hill, the ski lift and the town to support such a huge event?

2) Fort Bill is actually really gnarly in real life. It looks easy because the pros are so good and almost everybody has ridden it lots of times - but that doesn't mean it's not a good track.

Third point would be even though Hardline is sick there's no womens field, junior field or masters field because the track is too difficult. Not exactly progressive for the sport. The injury risk is also super high. It's great as a spectacle but I can see why UCI tracks are not like this.
  • 12 0
 @ride-801: Emmm I don't think so. In Hardline the riders are overexposed, and a few years ago I read that some of them really dislike these kind of tracks. Plus, women and juniors would be even more affected.
  • 7 0
 @makripper: Zero hills in London !
  • 2 0
 @tom666: Maybe Dan could build a new track next to the current track. or Dyfi bike park once it's been developed a bit more ???
  • 8 20
flag Quantzer (Sep 15, 2019 at 11:37) (Below Threshold)
 @tom666: i would dissagree with third point. They are supposed to be the wildest of our sport. There's no point in loosening the criteria just because someone has to be in it. You are good enough you are good enough, you aren't you don't race.
  • 7 6
 You need to ask your wife for permission to buy a bike?!?! My wife couldn't care less!
  • 4 11
flag Bomadics (Sep 15, 2019 at 12:48) (Below Threshold)
 The real "wildest" of DH are the Rampage and Fest boys, World Cup riders can sometimes be held back. Steve Smith was invited to Rampage many times, but his sponsors would not let him ride that event. The risk to reward on Hardline is not there for some riders.
  • 34 5
 @Bomadics: The wildest line at Rampage last year was brendog, the rest was a manicured slope style line.
  • 6 4
 @tom666: I'm not saying it's not gnarly. But it's pretty much the only track that's on the circuit every year with no significant visible changes. And I might be off base here but I never felt like it's set up for great live TV viewing... feels like riders are always crashing/losing time off camera while we watch an empty woods section and wait for someone to show up.

I have no idea what the DH infrastructure is like in the UK but I figure in a country that produces such a massive stream of WC caliber riders there's gotta be more than one legit DH track. They've held WC DH races without lifts in the past if that's the issue... Or just build something new at Ft Bill.
  • 3 2
 @tom666: It doesn't matter how great the track is, some variety would be nice. Let it be in the UK, not issues with that, but just like Leogang gets over used, so do Fort William, and Les Gets for that matter.

Schladming would be nice, Champery would be nice, though for the UK I don't know what other place would be suitable as it currently stands.
  • 5 6
 @tom666: You no doubt have a fair point. But I cant be bothered watching ‘boring’ same old riding when I could be riding myself. Where as today was actually good to watch because
A) it was gnarly
B) they had their ‘poo’ together with the cameras.
At the end of the day the Scots might win a referendum one day so they need some form of income Wink
  • 1 1
 @MysticMCyclist: Ally Pally have hosted BMX and Slopestyle events as well as the Soapbox race so you could easily build an urban DH on that hill, plus most of North London is super hilly but mostly Swiss Cottage and parts like that where there is far too much money for anything like that to get the green light. I don't really like urban DH so I hope they don't, but climb Ally Pally and then tell me there are zero hills in London Wink
  • 1 0
 Notting Hill LOL .
Highest ground in London 134 m above sea level , not really a hill .@Radley-Shreddington:
  • 1 0
 @flyingfox49: When has Alexandra Palace been moved to Notting Hill? If Red Bull have built BMX courses and Slopestyle courses on it, they could easily do urban DH.
  • 2 0
 @Radley-Shreddington: An urban world cup downhill race in London would make a mockery of the sport. there is not enough vertical. I agree with the original post and would like to see UCI prioritise interesting, difficult and fresh tracks. This could easily happen in the UK in addition to Fort Bill. As someone else pointed out above, WC rounds have been held without chair lifts many times before. Llangollen has a steep gnarly track with good uplift road and field space at the bottom for pits.
  • 2 0
 Ha ha Notting Hill (sarcasm)
Hampstead Heath highest point .Did you see the vertical drop needed to do a 3 minute race on Hardline , never in a million years .@Radley-Shreddington:
  • 2 0
 Too short , Top to bottom under 2.30 mins .
Bike park wales has much more length and better unlift access Even Revs would be more feasible. @haighd2:
  • 1 0
 @MysticMCyclist: exactly
  • 1 1
 @haighd2: Urban DH already makes a mockery of the sport. I thought I was very clear that I do not back UDH one bit?
  • 1 1
 Hardline is built as a pr show for the sponsor. It's not meant to be a racetrack. Why do you think they font invite most of the top riders
  • 2 0
 @Radley-Shreddington: Your saying you dont like it but it would be possible in London I'm saying yes its not the best form of mtb but the main reason it would'nt work in London is in fact the lack of hills.
  • 1 0
 @flyingfox49: Losinj was won in 2:20 so whats the problem.
  • 1 0
 That’s why it’ll never go back there .Llans not a WC track , far from it @haighd2:
  • 4 0
 @bkm303: There are lots of good downhill tracks in the UK, you're right, but literally none of them have the infrastructure for a world cup.
The track is a really small part of what it takes to host such a big event.

I think you nailed it - a new track at Fort Bill is what is needed to freshen things up. The venue is great, it's just that we see the same track a lot.

The recording of the event could be better for sure, but that isn't the venue's fault and that goes for most of the WC events.

Also lol at the guy talking about urban downhill in London. London is an incredibly flat city.
  • 50 1
 Rach's commentary was great. She was really insightful and brought a fresh perspective which is connected with the current riders. Well done.
  • 35 3
 Best coverage of any race this year! Hand the controls to all DH racing over to the Athertons and we’ll see some real courses. Props to RedBull for all the great action too!
  • 3 0
 Every second of the track broadcast, utterly brilliant coverage!!!
  • 2 4
 @steviestokes: of course it was. It was designed and built as a pr stunt by the sponsor. That's why the entry is so controlled. Imagine the winner o the podium. With a different drinks branding on their helmet
  • 3 0
 @CM999: Danny hart won it first year, he’s a monster rider
  • 2 0
 @CM999: Fairclough is sponsored by Monster, according to their website, so it's apparently not a completely closed event.
  • 32 0
 Yes Brage! Top dog
  • 26 5
 Awesome! Stoked for everyone this year. Brage really stepped up, I was not expecting that. Joe got robbed. I think Gee wanted it too much and was tense. The cool customer was Bernard! Those backflips too, wow! Really good event this year!
  • 32 7
 I don't care about the times, Kaos won this year.
  • 71 4
 How does someone get robbed in a timed event?
  • 9 0
 @lognar: its free real state
  • 7 0
 @scott-townes: My palms were burning watching him slide down that rock.
  • 17 0
 @lognar: His tire robbed him!
  • 24 6
 Take note trail builders and event organisers The two best tracks of the year were Snow Shoe and Hardline. It would seem chaotic technical bits stuffed between step ups, jumps and janky drops is a winning formula. .
  • 14 5
 Snowshoe had a significant amount of pedalling. I liked the French tracks better.
  • 12 8
 How many of the courses did you ride this year?
  • 4 5
 Every track with this much grooming is met with endless whining of being too “bike park-y”... yet here is a bunch of comments praising the Hardline course.
  • 3 0
 @robwhynot: there's plenty of gnar here, the large jumps just overshadow the tech as far as coverage goes
  • 4 9
flag Preachey (Sep 15, 2019 at 12:50) (Below Threshold)
 @Laymo: Les Gets isn't fit to be called a DH course
  • 3 0
 You forgot about Maribor and Andora...
  • 15 0
 HOLY TOLEDO! What a show. Great result for Kerr, shame Joe got a puncture but at least he managed to finish on the podium. Honourable mentions to Brage, Brendog and Chaos. Also nice that everyone got down safe.
  • 15 0
 Sweet race, also coverage of the track was super good!
  • 5 0
 I was lucky enough to be there, awesome race. Big thanks to all the riders (and Rach & Dan & Warner) who were super cool with my 6yr old mini ripper who wanted your signatures, thanks for taking the time to talk to him even if he was a bit star struck and didn't talk back to you much!!!
  • 8 2
 Yeah Matt ! 10th ...2 Pivots top ten ! Great job Dream Team !
  • 7 0
 BRAAAAGGGGEEEEE
  • 6 0
 Vestavik's run was so smooth.
  • 5 1
 When you and your brother make the segment and your neighbor gets the Kom????
  • 4 0
 The coverage for this was fantastic! So much track on display! And great commentary from Rachel Big Grin
  • 3 0
 Hire Dan for 2020 uci!
Y’all need to take notes from the genius Dan Atherton
  • 4 0
 What an incredible race we need more like that ;-)
  • 4 4
 Crazy that Laurie was over 10 secs back, considering he won a WC this season over the Frenchies and Troy. And then the opposite for Gee, not very competitive during this WC season but nearly won here again. Is it just the jumps or what?
  • 22 0
 i think the motivation to win is very widespread between riders at this event. Its just very different compared to a WC race. Gee obviously wanted to win, while Greenland wanted to have a good time, throwing in some one-footers. You can always argue weither Hardline is a proper race or more some kind of a redbull show. I think its both and i really enjoyed it this time. Its not so heavily overproduced like rampage or other RB events.
  • 3 1
 @chainzuck: there's also a phat paycheck
  • 5 0
 Laurie was just out for a pedal.
  • 1 0
 Laurie is not willing to take any risk. More freeride-oriented downhillers like Gee are generally better at avoiding injury so they can really race here. You could really notice by Laurie's reaction that he just wanted to prove to himself that he can get down this without problems, in style and in confidence.
  • 3 1
 Great camera coverage , other than that little chute where Kade Edwards slid out. Would have been cool to have a better view .
  • 3 0
 youtu.be/f6KRBf1v0i0

Highlights from this weekend
  • 1 1
 Those were the highlights?
  • 2 0
 Joe Smith ! Multi talent ! It’s about time he is back on a podium
Respect Kerr after that injury . Well done
  • 1 3
 WHAT. A. RACE ! All final runs mattered so much for the last few races - super stoked for Bernard - was rooting for him to win all run through - nothing personal Gee, I just want to see you comeback and putting great runs again !

p.s. - rick, dude...... always the same questions..... switch them....... [insert random stuff] means to you........ rachel..... must have been hard to keep the dispair after bernard take it away - understandable, though...........
  • 3 1
 Way to go having the results visible from the front page without clicking
  • 1 0
 Matt Jones was the real MVP for this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRg_rhoyN9E&t=196s
  • 1 0
 super track, super event, Hardline is my fave for next level DH each year
  • 1 0
 This sport just get better and better.
  • 1 0
 What a race!
  • 1 2
 Good race, just wish it was early in the season so it would get more attention.
  • 1 0
 Cletched just watching.
  • 1 2
 is this an invite only event? I would love to see the full line up of riders from WCDH
  • 1 1
 Red bull event , maybe they choose the line up , if your sponsors are monster or anybody not affiliated to Redbull you might get over looked ??
  • 1 1
 Why did the comments about Greg and Loic have been suppressed ?
  • 1 0
 This is still a question... And for the record, they were not my comments. I'm just really curious of what happened. Or well, is there a censorship rule here I'm not aware of?
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