February 6, 2025 • 9 mins
Considered by some to be the toughest downhill mountain bike competition in the world, Red Bull Hardline Australia returns to the Maydena Bike Park this weekend. But how did this international event find itself in Tasmania? And what have the participants been doing to prepare?
In this episode of iHeart Tassie, Britt Aylen talks to Hobart mountain bike racer Dan Booker about what we can expect from this weekend’s event.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
I Heart Dazzy.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Considered by some to be the toughest downhill mountain bike
competition in the world, Red Bull Hardline Australia returns to
the Medina Bike Park this weekend. But how did this
international event find itself in Tasmania and what had the
participants been doing to prepare. I'm britt Aalen and in
this episode of By Heart Tazzy, I'll chat to Hobart
mountain bike racer Dan Booker about what we can expect
(00:26):
from this weekend's event.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
I Heart Dazzy.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
The Red Bull Hardline has been held in Wales since
twenty fourteen. The cult invitation only event attracts competitors from
across the globe and is widely regarded to be the
toughest downhill mountain bike course ever conceived. With tough terrain
and unpredictable weather, the track couples danger and intensity while
requiring extreme focus and skill from all riders. It borrows
(00:53):
elements from dirt jumping, BMX and motocross, incorporating huge jumps,
monster gaps and stike descents, and last year the international
competition expanded to Tasmania. History was made with the first
Red Full hardline event to be held outside of the UK,
and the Medina Bike Park became home to more historic feats,
(01:13):
with Canada's Gracie hem Street and Great Britain's Louisana Ferguson
becoming the first ever female competitors to take part in
a final. The course was designed to be just as
tricky as its Welsh counterpart, with founder Dan Atheton putting
together a highly technical track. The event a dream come
true for Hobart local Dan Booker. Dan grew up at
(01:34):
Mount Romney and says the terrain at his doorstep provided
the perfect introduction to the sport.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Well Luckily in Hobart we've got a lot of mountains,
so definitely had a good backyard to get into mountain biking.
I grew up on a bush block in Mount Romney
and my brother would ride motocross and I had a
pushbike at the time, so I would just ride his
motorbike tracks on my mountain biker and then got hooked
(02:01):
on and kept going.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
He began racing at a young age through the Tasmanian
State Downhill Series.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I got into just racing the Tasmanian State Downhill Series
when I was younger when I started. I think I
did my first race when I was about eight years old,
and I raced all the way through my teens up
until my early twenties, and then in my early twenties,
I just fell out of fell out of love with
the racing side of it a bit. Still loved mountain biking,
(02:29):
but just took a bit of time off racing. And
at the same time, I started working out at Medina
Bike Park and that was just the most perfect training
facility for me and I kind of yeah, I was
just riding, not really focusing on trying to get better
or anything. I was just enjoying it.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
It was then that Dan found himself capturing the attention
of mountain bike companies. Soon he was being offered paid opportunities,
and eventually racing and mountain biking became his full time job.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
As Yeah, it's been a pretty crazy journey since it's
turned into my job. Even beforehand, just traveling around, get
to go to so many beautiful places to buick, like
you're always up in the forest around this place. And
then yeah, since turning into a job, it's taken me
all over the world. Spent months through Canada and Europe
(03:21):
and even little islands off the coast of Porche, like
all over the world. So yeah, got to see some
pretty epic places and yeah meet some awesome people. So yeah,
super grateful for the opportunities it's given me.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Red Bull Hardline Australia is an invitational event as the
course is deemed too dangerous for amateur writers, and even then,
there's a testing week ahead of the official race that
allows riders to familiarize themselves and decide if they'll even compete.
As the years go on, jumps, gaps and sections get
harder and harder, requiring the writers to level up their
(03:57):
skill sets and more broadly, pushing the progression of the sport.
Dan was lucky enough to be invited to compete last
year and is excited to return again this weekend. He
says that growing up he never thought he'd see competitions
like this come to Tazzy.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
It'd always like in the old mountain bike magazines and stuff,
you'd see these big events happening, and they'd be happening
over in Whistler or author Europe. But to have Tazzy
on the map now and have it as a place
that these big event organizers and writers want to come
to ride is pretty special and yeah, having like a
(04:32):
home crowd support at a race like that, there's nothing
else of experience like. It's such an energizing experience.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Hardline founder Dan Atherton described Magdina as an awesome place
with everything needed to build a longer, faster course that
fits perfectly with the Red Bull Herdline ethos. He said
that a decade ago they never could have imagined that
Red Bull Hardline would reach the stage that it's at now,
and that it's been so inspiring to watch the progression
of the sport. In those early years, writers push themselves
(05:00):
out of their comfort zones to adapt from writing a
typical World Cup course, but recently the roles are reversed
and the onus is on the team to build a
track gnarly enough to showcase the writer's skills. As part
of that progression, they decided to take the event global,
with the first satellite event held last year. The course
was designed for the same trademark elements found in Wales,
(05:20):
with huge jumps to challenge riders both physically and mentally,
as well as highly technical linking sections that will demand
pinpoint accuracy delivered. Its speed, it was a massive success
and Red Bull Hardline Australia will continue to be hosted
here until at least twenty twenty six thanks to one
point four million dollars in funding from the Tasmanian government.
(05:42):
Coming up on iHeart Tazy, we'll find out what to
expect from this year's event. I Heard Dazy, I Heart Dazi.
The twenty twenty five Red Bull Hardline Australia event features
thirty four riders hand picked from across the world. They
include defending champion Islands Ron and Done and last year's
(06:05):
Writer of the Week Gracie hemp Street from Canada, as
well as Hobart local Dan Booker. He says the competition
is a bit different compared to your standard downhill race.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
The main difference thing is they put massive jumps and
drops and you ride off cliffs essentially in the downhill
race as well. So downhill mountain biking's already quite quite
an extreme sport, and then you add some of the
biggest jumps in the world and biggest drops in the
world into that course and have to race it as well.
It makes it. Yeah, there's nothing else like it.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Dan was lucky enough to take a ride on the
new track at the end of last year.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah, there's still a few new features. We haven't ridden yet,
but we did a The Red Bull crew came down
about a month ago now and we did a testing
day out there, so we got to ride. Yeah, we've
got to test out some of the new jumps and features.
So this year they've extended the course right down to
the base of the hill and they've added some new
(07:04):
jumps and drops in there. So I think there's about
a sixty foot drop and there's an eighty five foot
double in there, so getting close to jumping thirty meters,
which is a pretty crazy feeling. I think we're going
off the lip of the jump at over seventy k
an hour on a mountain bike, so it's pretty exciting.
The best thing about the hardline course in Tasia is
(07:25):
the dirt that we've got there. So sections of the
track are up in temperate rainforest and you get this
super loamy, sandy sort of soil, which is it kind
of feels like you're skiing in a way, so your
tires dig in really nice and you slide well. So
that's what's so good about that course, and then also
looks super beautiful up there as well.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Dan has been busy with a hectic training schedule in
the lead up to the race.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Yeah, pretty busy at the moment, So training training full time,
so six days a week at the moment. Lots of
time on the bike, getting used to the sort of
speeds you're riding at, so lots of fast laps and
then heats the time in the gym as well, So
trying to get strong enough to handle the big, big
impacts of the jumps and drops, and yeah, the stronger
(08:09):
you are, the sort of faster you can, the faster
you can hit the bumps, I suppose, so the faster
you can go. So just trying to get fit and
strong and healthy and yeah, get ready for it.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
The event kicks off this morning with the first practice
at nine point thirty and seating for the main race
taking place this afternoon.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
You'll see some riders doing some pretty crazy stuff, especially
towards the bottom of the hill. We've got some massive
jumps that we'll be going off, so that's pretty exciting
judging off last year. There's going to be a big
crowd at the bottom too, so that the atmosphere is
pretty epic, just people lining the sides of the truck
and d days and good food and beers, so it's yeah,
(08:47):
it's good fun. Yeah for everyone, even the spectators. Sometimes,
like at big events like that, it looks more fun
to almost watch than it does to compete, Like everyone's
just having such a good time and they look super excited.
So yeah, and you get you get a chance to
meet some of the fastest mountain bikers in the world,
go up to them, have a chat if everyone sort
of out in the open, so everyone's super approachable, which
(09:09):
is cool.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
And for those who can't make it to Medina, you
can watch the entire race on red Bull TV in
real time tomorrow. It's available on the Red Bull website
and their YouTube channel. And that's it for this week's
episode of iHeart Tazzy. We'll be back next Friday, but
until then, you can find our entire back catalog in
the iHeart Tazzy podcast feed. I'm Fritt Alan, Thanks for
(09:31):
listening My Heart Tazzy.
I Heart Dazzy.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Considered by some to be the toughest downhill mountain bike
competition in the world, Red Bull Hardline Australia returns to
the Medina Bike Park this weekend. But how did this
international event find itself in Tasmania and what had the
participants been doing to prepare. I'm britt Aalen and in
this episode of By Heart Tazzy, I'll chat to Hobart
mountain bike racer Dan Booker about what we can expect
(00:26):
from this weekend's event.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
I Heart Dazzy.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
The Red Bull Hardline has been held in Wales since
twenty fourteen. The cult invitation only event attracts competitors from
across the globe and is widely regarded to be the
toughest downhill mountain bike course ever conceived. With tough terrain
and unpredictable weather, the track couples danger and intensity while
requiring extreme focus and skill from all riders. It borrows
(00:53):
elements from dirt jumping, BMX and motocross, incorporating huge jumps,
monster gaps and stike descents, and last year the international
competition expanded to Tasmania. History was made with the first
Red Full hardline event to be held outside of the UK,
and the Medina Bike Park became home to more historic feats,
(01:13):
with Canada's Gracie hem Street and Great Britain's Louisana Ferguson
becoming the first ever female competitors to take part in
a final. The course was designed to be just as
tricky as its Welsh counterpart, with founder Dan Atheton putting
together a highly technical track. The event a dream come
true for Hobart local Dan Booker. Dan grew up at
(01:34):
Mount Romney and says the terrain at his doorstep provided
the perfect introduction to the sport.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Well Luckily in Hobart we've got a lot of mountains,
so definitely had a good backyard to get into mountain biking.
I grew up on a bush block in Mount Romney
and my brother would ride motocross and I had a
pushbike at the time, so I would just ride his
motorbike tracks on my mountain biker and then got hooked
(02:01):
on and kept going.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
He began racing at a young age through the Tasmanian
State Downhill Series.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I got into just racing the Tasmanian State Downhill Series
when I was younger when I started. I think I
did my first race when I was about eight years old,
and I raced all the way through my teens up
until my early twenties, and then in my early twenties,
I just fell out of fell out of love with
the racing side of it a bit. Still loved mountain biking,
(02:29):
but just took a bit of time off racing. And
at the same time, I started working out at Medina
Bike Park and that was just the most perfect training
facility for me and I kind of yeah, I was
just riding, not really focusing on trying to get better
or anything. I was just enjoying it.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
It was then that Dan found himself capturing the attention
of mountain bike companies. Soon he was being offered paid opportunities,
and eventually racing and mountain biking became his full time job.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
As Yeah, it's been a pretty crazy journey since it's
turned into my job. Even beforehand, just traveling around, get
to go to so many beautiful places to buick, like
you're always up in the forest around this place. And
then yeah, since turning into a job, it's taken me
all over the world. Spent months through Canada and Europe
(03:21):
and even little islands off the coast of Porche, like
all over the world. So yeah, got to see some
pretty epic places and yeah meet some awesome people. So yeah,
super grateful for the opportunities it's given me.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Red Bull Hardline Australia is an invitational event as the
course is deemed too dangerous for amateur writers, and even then,
there's a testing week ahead of the official race that
allows riders to familiarize themselves and decide if they'll even compete.
As the years go on, jumps, gaps and sections get
harder and harder, requiring the writers to level up their
(03:57):
skill sets and more broadly, pushing the progression of the sport.
Dan was lucky enough to be invited to compete last
year and is excited to return again this weekend. He
says that growing up he never thought he'd see competitions
like this come to Tazzy.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
It'd always like in the old mountain bike magazines and stuff,
you'd see these big events happening, and they'd be happening
over in Whistler or author Europe. But to have Tazzy
on the map now and have it as a place
that these big event organizers and writers want to come
to ride is pretty special and yeah, having like a
(04:32):
home crowd support at a race like that, there's nothing
else of experience like. It's such an energizing experience.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Hardline founder Dan Atherton described Magdina as an awesome place
with everything needed to build a longer, faster course that
fits perfectly with the Red Bull Herdline ethos. He said
that a decade ago they never could have imagined that
Red Bull Hardline would reach the stage that it's at now,
and that it's been so inspiring to watch the progression
of the sport. In those early years, writers push themselves
(05:00):
out of their comfort zones to adapt from writing a
typical World Cup course, but recently the roles are reversed
and the onus is on the team to build a
track gnarly enough to showcase the writer's skills. As part
of that progression, they decided to take the event global,
with the first satellite event held last year. The course
was designed for the same trademark elements found in Wales,
(05:20):
with huge jumps to challenge riders both physically and mentally,
as well as highly technical linking sections that will demand
pinpoint accuracy delivered. Its speed, it was a massive success
and Red Bull Hardline Australia will continue to be hosted
here until at least twenty twenty six thanks to one
point four million dollars in funding from the Tasmanian government.
(05:42):
Coming up on iHeart Tazy, we'll find out what to
expect from this year's event. I Heard Dazy, I Heart Dazi.
The twenty twenty five Red Bull Hardline Australia event features
thirty four riders hand picked from across the world. They
include defending champion Islands Ron and Done and last year's
(06:05):
Writer of the Week Gracie hemp Street from Canada, as
well as Hobart local Dan Booker. He says the competition
is a bit different compared to your standard downhill race.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
The main difference thing is they put massive jumps and
drops and you ride off cliffs essentially in the downhill
race as well. So downhill mountain biking's already quite quite
an extreme sport, and then you add some of the
biggest jumps in the world and biggest drops in the
world into that course and have to race it as well.
It makes it. Yeah, there's nothing else like it.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Dan was lucky enough to take a ride on the
new track at the end of last year.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah, there's still a few new features. We haven't ridden yet,
but we did a The Red Bull crew came down
about a month ago now and we did a testing
day out there, so we got to ride. Yeah, we've
got to test out some of the new jumps and features.
So this year they've extended the course right down to
the base of the hill and they've added some new
(07:04):
jumps and drops in there. So I think there's about
a sixty foot drop and there's an eighty five foot
double in there, so getting close to jumping thirty meters,
which is a pretty crazy feeling. I think we're going
off the lip of the jump at over seventy k
an hour on a mountain bike, so it's pretty exciting.
The best thing about the hardline course in Tasia is
(07:25):
the dirt that we've got there. So sections of the
track are up in temperate rainforest and you get this
super loamy, sandy sort of soil, which is it kind
of feels like you're skiing in a way, so your
tires dig in really nice and you slide well. So
that's what's so good about that course, and then also
looks super beautiful up there as well.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Dan has been busy with a hectic training schedule in
the lead up to the race.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Yeah, pretty busy at the moment, So training training full time,
so six days a week at the moment. Lots of
time on the bike, getting used to the sort of
speeds you're riding at, so lots of fast laps and
then heats the time in the gym as well, So
trying to get strong enough to handle the big, big
impacts of the jumps and drops, and yeah, the stronger
(08:09):
you are, the sort of faster you can, the faster
you can hit the bumps, I suppose, so the faster
you can go. So just trying to get fit and
strong and healthy and yeah, get ready for it.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
The event kicks off this morning with the first practice
at nine point thirty and seating for the main race
taking place this afternoon.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
You'll see some riders doing some pretty crazy stuff, especially
towards the bottom of the hill. We've got some massive
jumps that we'll be going off, so that's pretty exciting
judging off last year. There's going to be a big
crowd at the bottom too, so that the atmosphere is
pretty epic, just people lining the sides of the truck
and d days and good food and beers, so it's yeah,
(08:47):
it's good fun. Yeah for everyone, even the spectators. Sometimes,
like at big events like that, it looks more fun
to almost watch than it does to compete, Like everyone's
just having such a good time and they look super excited.
So yeah, and you get you get a chance to
meet some of the fastest mountain bikers in the world,
go up to them, have a chat if everyone sort
of out in the open, so everyone's super approachable, which
(09:09):
is cool.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
And for those who can't make it to Medina, you
can watch the entire race on red Bull TV in
real time tomorrow. It's available on the Red Bull website
and their YouTube channel. And that's it for this week's
episode of iHeart Tazzy. We'll be back next Friday, but
until then, you can find our entire back catalog in
the iHeart Tazzy podcast feed. I'm Fritt Alan, Thanks for
(09:31):
listening My Heart Tazzy.
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