Red Bull Hardline 2025

A pinkbike member had commented on the MX/MTB video that they wish they could see split times with Ronan vs the dirt bikes. Sadly the full run Walker did was on the older track (despite being the same year) so it would have to go against Jackson's instead of Ronan's.

I used to do gopro split comparison videos on youtube until gopro copyright struck my channel and got them all removed. But let's have a bitta fun and upload some split vids 'unlisted' instead, eh?

Again, because Walker had to ride the older track... The only relevant comparison is from the 90s line down. So here is a simple split vid from that section. Keep in mind Walker did a 2:33 on the old track that JG did 2:20.5 on (Ronan's time on the new track was 2:23) (I will be making the Walker vs Goldstone split vid after this since I realized the Ronan comparison won't work):

the Jackson/Jonny video. 12.5 seconds... not sure where a dirt bike could make up time on the fastest MTB guys here, given how much the tight stuff slows em down. they cant go as fast as theyd like, arguably, on the 90s line. interesting to hear them easing off the throttle to clear 90s with roll speed and not throttling the lips like sx/mx.

but ya wish they showed a full unedited run on the new course. and then of course billys fast run from his split section was derailed by a crash! so... no useful comparisons to make from the new vid  

I probably missed it and it was probably obvious, but why is Juanfer Velez not racing Hardline Wales?

Complete speculation (I've both not looked at the Hardline start list close enough to remember who's on it and have heard nothing of this sort otherwise):

I'd bet he's staying out because he's doing really well in the DH World Cup; exceeding expectations even if the results haven't been as good as hoped.

He qualified first in Andorra and - self-admittedly - kind of buckled under the pressure. I think taking these 6 weeks off of racing to center themselves and push hard in training could start to solidify the runs into complete top-to-bottom performances rather than a few sections of brilliance and a few sections of untidiness undoing the rest of the good work. There's a lot at stake with teams and points for next year, I'm sure he (and his team) would prefer he focus on making sure they can keep racing next year rather than he go to a one-off event with a high likelihood of some sort of injury.

Also, he's started going by Juan Fernando Muñoz (Juanfer is a shortening I think they're still using) so even if he were on the list it's possible it slipped past your eyes.

Hmmm... He is on this list: https://www.redbull.com/int-en/events/red-bull-hardline-uk/red-bull-hardline-2025-uk-riders 

But not on the new, presumably updated, Pinkbike list... So yeah could just be a tactical race points thing. As that's literally what's being talked about right now on this B Practice podcast I'm listening to. Dak talking about those struggles, particularly for Frida (privateering). 

There isn’t an accurate list put out yet. Oli Clark is racing but not listed anywhere

Someone on the other site is saying he couldn't get his visa sorted in time. I know he's had visa issues before, I was hoping he'd be in a better position now he's on a bigger team, but if the information is correct that's a real shame.

This more along the lines of what I was thinking was the case. I saw he had posted a hard-line + sad face emoji on his Instagram stories. So I was thinking something strange might be up. I think he misses Snowshoe World Cup once because of not being able to get a visa? 

Yes, pretty sure I remember hearing that. Looking on Roots and Rain he's never raced a WC outside of Europe, I wonder if that's because of visa issues?

https://www.rootsandrain.com/rider150615/juanfer-velez/results/

Brayton's track walk. It was interesting to hear his views on "Gentleman's agreements". 

Happy to see him poke fun at Bernard every chance he gets 🙂 After all isn't that what the spirit of Hardline is about 

Almost annoyingly how talented and naturally gifted Asa is. The way he steezed the lily pad on probly his first, maybe second, go. ANNOYING. This kid is UNREAL.

transition's hardline first hits video

bernard's first hits video

Jones track walk is so good. Like, Ronan or Asa is probably going to win and I love the actual race, but Jones' track walk and practice content is so entertaining. Will definitely miss Jackson, but hopefully there will be a ton of good Jones, Ronan, Theo content coming out this week, like Tasmania. 
 

all that pre-season content from theo, matt, and ronan (and more) was so good. so perfect to basically have 3 levels interacting. theo can drop matt... but ronan can drop theo. it's so interesting to see those delineations to kinda comprehend the speed of pros. like local heroes drop me. matt jones could probly drop good local guys here. but then he gets dropped by someone... who gets dropped by someone else. "There are levels." 

Hannah and co's day two.  Ladies are looking dialed this year. 

Sounds like he got injured after the last World Cup so can't ride?

Jim Monro is out with concussion after getting hit by a rider who crashed off the course. 

Sounds like Kade is out too. 

Dropping like flies already and they've barely started!

Getting hit by a tumbling rider, but he's all good and you're the one who is then out is a wild scenario. Seems like he may have broken the fall for the other dude. Wonder who that was.

Feel bad for Kade but its Hardline so, hopefully whatever the injury is he's better off than what he's been through the last year. 

Is BK already feeling bullied and whining around, or is he finally just racing and keeping his mouth shut?

I don't think he can complain about being slow since the bones in his wrists are still knitting together. I mean the timeline of his comeback is insane (not in a good way) like the moment he got his casts off he decided to order two mobius braces and try to race. He's going to cause permanent damage and almost for sure going to get arthritis. He needs to just take a break.

What has been going on with Kade the last year? 

Unpopular opinion incoming - this feels like a 2 horsed race and that's it. With the wc season being so many races and many of the hardline contenders pulling out this years Hardline Wales feels...not amazing. I appreciate the content and how it's pushing the sport, but  the majority of the people here are just not really able to compete for the top step. There's only 2 riders that look like they're going to be able to win, Ronan and Asa. Rest are here for the show. This makes viewing experience on race day pretty lackluster. Non of the top top women are here too - Gracey/Tahnee/Jess all sitting out. I understand the reason - it's a long season, and if you're in shot of the overall, there's too much risk to do this one-off event. This brings a question - how can they bring in more top riders? Is the timing bad because it's in the 6 week rest block where the wc racers need some rest? Asking this question since Tasmania, while a close race between Jackson and Asa, wasn't really close for anyone else except maybe Ronan who crashed out. If Redbull is marketing this event as a RACE, which they are, then they need some top competitors to make it a close race. The pre-race content of going through the features/trackwalk/etc is pretty good, and it should build up to race day, not feel like the flop it is now. /rant end