Red Bull Hardline 2023 – dates announced for the world's gnarliest downhill race

Rider does a whip over a jump at red bull hardline
(Image credit: Paul Brett)

Back for 2023, the Red Bull Hardline downhill race will take place on the 15th & 16th of July 2023 with tickets going on sale today at midday (BST) today.

This is the ninth edition of what most consider to be the most progressive and technically demanding downhill mountain bike race of the year. Taking place in Wales’ Dyfi Valley, the course is designed and built by Dan Atherton to test riders to their limit. 

Hardline 2022 took place last September and was a spectacular edition. It was 18-year-old Jackson Goldstone who took the win and became the race's youngest winner. Last year's race was also particularly notable, marking Gee Atherton's return to racing after a horrific crash as well as the competition's first female rider to ever compete at Hardline. Jess Blewitt unfortunately crashed and was unable to ride finals but was voted Rider The Week.

Rider doing a huge jump at Red Bull hardline

The new jumps added last year brought a new level of difficulty (Image credit: Paul Brett)

Last year saw the addition of some huge new features to Hardline which added a new level of difficulty to an already intimidating track. There are no updates yet on whether we will see any new features for 2023 Hardline, although we are sure Dan Atherton will be working hard to give riders the most challenging and spectacular track to race on.

Red Bull Hardline is working with Trash Free Trails to reduce the effect that mountain bike races have on the local environment. Spectators are encouraged to bring water bottles and take any rubbish home with them, as well as train marshalls to collect litter left along the course in order to make Hardline a Gold Standard Trash Free Trails event. There will also be a collection of old riding kit that will be donated to a local youth cycling project.

Stay tuned as we will bring you all the latest information on the event, track, and rider list as soon as it becomes available.

For more information on Red Bull Hardline including ticket availability head over to redbull.co.uk/hardline.

Graham Cottingham
Senior reviews writer, Bike Perfect

Graham Cottingham joined the BikePerfect team as our senior tech writer in 2020. With over 20 years of riding experience, he has dabbled in downhill, enduro, and gravel racing. Not afraid of a challenge, Graham has embraced bikepacking over the last few years and likes nothing more than strapping some bags to his bike and covering big miles to explore Scotland's wildernesses. When he isn’t shredding the gnar in the Tweed Valley, sleeping in bushes, or tinkering with bikes, he is writing tech reviews for BikePerfect.

Rides: Cotic SolarisMax, Stooge MK4, 24 Bicycles Le Toy 3, Surly Steamroller

Height: 177cm

Weight: 71kg