Canada’s Jackson Goldstone became the youngest-ever winner of Red Bull Hardline on Sunday. The young Syndicate rider soared through the notoriously difficult Welsh track nearly seven seconds faster than the next closest competitor, taking his and Canada’s first wins at the event.
“I had a really good run and I linked everything I wanted to, with just one tiny mistake,” said Goldstone. “I’m so stoked, but it’s not the way I wanted to win. I’m really gutted for all the boys who went down.”
Goldstone referred to the crash of, among others, three-time Red Bull Hardline winner, Bernard Kerr. After a very hard crash in practice on the two massive jumps, Kerr’s downfall came near the start of Sunday’s race run. The Pivot Factory Team racer was one of several riders that went down in a wet section of the Welsh woods near the top of the course. Kerr would finish his run, but well out of the top finishing times.
Instead, Joe Smith and Taylor Vernon placed second and third. Ronan Dunne, another young racer, finished on the same second (2:27) as Vernon and Smith.
Gee Atherton, making a surprise return to racing after a year off due to injury from a scary crash, rounded out the extended podium in fifth. The 2018 Red Bull Hardline winner and two-time world champion announced he would return to racing, at arguably the season’s hardest course to ride, just two weeks before Sunday’s finals.
Jess Blewitt of New Zealand put in another notable result that does not show on the leaderboard. While a crash in practice that led to a broken collarbone kept the Kiwi from starting finals, she is still the first woman to attempt the notoriously difficult Hardline course.
Red Bull Hardline 2022 results
Jackson Goldstone (CAN) 2m 20.525s
Joe Smith (GBR) 2m 27.043s
Taylor Vernon (GBR) 2m 27.084s
Ronan Dunne (IRL) 2m 27.273s
Gee Atherton (GBR) 2m 28.356s
Sam Gale (GBR) 2m 28.902s
Jim Monro (GBR) 2m…
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