Five Takeaways From Red Bull Hardline Tasmania

As the dust settles on the latest installment and first spin-off of Red Bull Hardline, I thought it would be good to take a moment to share a handful of takeaways I had from the big show. But first, enjoy this sweet clip from the event.

1. Red Bull is coming for the UCI's monopoly on professional downhill racing

The UCI has been losing support among fans and racers considerably in the last few years and creating obscure spin-off "world championships" doesn't seem to be solving their issue. Neither does putting racing behind a twenty-something dollar paywall while, on the other hand, Red Bull offers streams for free. 

And it's not just the logistics, Red Bull is creating and facilitating far more interesting courses that expand the scope of downhill racing while keeping it challenging and engaging to watch. 

The World Cups are awesome and always will be the heart of downhill racing, and as fans, we just want to see the UCI invest in new and exciting courses and breaking new ground in terms of the kind of tracks they create for these events.

2. Rob Warner needs to be announcing more races

I am not alone when I say that it was cathartic to hear Rob Warner losing his mind in the booth during this race. Though this course is very different from a typical World Cup track, it just felt right to have Rob talking us through the race. 

The UCI needs to figure out how to get Rob to narrate World Cups again, I think they would be surprised at the impact it would have on recapturing the viewers they have lost since he left.

3. Jackson Goldstone's injury shows that it is going to be tough to sell sponsors on races like this for their athletes as long as the UCI is the main moneymaker for teams

I'll preface this section by saying that I am not a sponsor or a race team so I am purely speculating here, but here we go. I think it is fair to say that when athletes are picked up and put on teams to race the World Cups and their team's measure of success is based on how well they do in those races, it isn't a good look when they get hurt doing other events and that impacts their race season. 

I know injuries are inevitable and I do not know the kind of deal Jackson Goldstone has with Santa Cruz, my point here is not that he messed up by crashing because he didn't, accidents happen, my point is that I think it will be some time before we see the level of competition in Hardline that we do in World Cups because the big racers have far too much on the line for their regular seasons to risk it on Hardline. 

That being said, I truly do long for the day when creative and off the wall courses like Hardline and the 1199 in Whistler get to see the level of elite competition that they deserve.

4. Gracey Hemstreet, Lou Ferguson, and all the other women there prove that the freeride world needs to be ready for women to compete whether the institutions want to or not. 

Women are here and freeride, or rather the mountain bike world as a whole, better make room. All the ladies who were at Hardline and at Desert Days within the last year have proved that they are ready for the main stage. 

Events like Crankworx are embracing that and setting a great example, but equality won't be complete until they are able to get the same exposure and comparable prize money in all the freeride events on the calendar.

Really what it comes down to is not just saying, "Well, they're able to compete in most things," it's going to be events and companies truly investing in them so that riding bikes professionally can be a viable career option like it is for a large chunk of the men who compete in the same events.

5. Hardline is sick and it's arguably the most fun event(s) on the yearly calendar

Hardline is just plain sick. The original event is awesome and this new Tasmanian spin-off was also awesome. It is a week of incredible clips, a rowdy crowd, great sportsmanship, and a true embodiment of what this sport is.

Related: How To Watch Red Bull Hardline Tasmania

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