The “world’s toughest downhill mountain bike race” is due to return to the Dyfi Valley.
Red Bull Hardline is returning to the Dyfi Valley on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 July, with the seventh edition of the event promising a course that is “bigger and more technical than anything ever seen in previous years”.
After a hiatus last year, due to Covid-19, Hardline is returning with a race course, designed by Dan Atherton to be “faster, bigger and more extreme than ever before”.
Nestled in the Mid Wales mountains, at the Dyfi Bike Park, the course ensures riders will have to “defy some of the largest jumps and slab rolls seen in downhill mountain biking, including an extension of the gap on the mammoth step up jump for this year, making it faster than ever before and leading directly into a new 65-foot step down feature.
Dan said: “Over the years Red Bull Hardline has gained a huge reputation both with spectators and riders. It’s more than just a race; it’s a statement of a rider’s commitment to pushing the sport, and this year is no exception.
“The course is the most intense it’s ever been with some new features that I honestly think push the limits of what is possible. With a huge amount of rider input to the course and an amazing rider list this year’s Hardline is going to go off.
“There’s some incredible riders already lining up, including a massive British contingent so I’m excited to get going and announce some names next week.”
Siblings Dan, Rachel and Gee Atherton are world-leading mountain biking professionals who launched their bike brand, Atherton Bikes, in 2019. In July 2019, Dan opened the Dyfi Bike Park in Esgair Forest, in Pantperthog near Machynlleth. After Dan moved to the Dyfi Valley in 2013, in search of a location for what would become the Dyfi Bike Park, the first Red Bull Hardline was held, in secret, in 2014, with nine of the world’s best riders sessioning a track with more features per metre than any race before.
Later the same year, digging began on the future Dyfi Bike Park.
Due to current Welsh Government Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s Hardline will not be open to spectators.
However, Red Bull Hardline will be streamed free and live on Red Bull TV across the weekend, with organisers promising “incredible access and insight into the race”.
For this year’s event, Red Bull is collaborating with Trash Free Trails, a community-focused, non-profit organisation with a mission to protect our trails and the wild places they take us.
In the first collaboration from a planned long-term partnership, Red Bull Hardline 2021 will be the first major event to pilot the TFT Approved scheme, an independent self-certification toolkit that aims to empower and enable organisers to deliver events to the highest possible standards in terms of sustainability.
For more information visit and join the conversation @RedBullUK with the hashtag #RedBullHardline.