We take a look at some of the bikes to grace the first Red Bull Hardline Australia <\/p>
Last weekend saw the first iteration of Red Bull Hardline Australia, with riders meeting in Maydena Bike Park, Tasmania, for one of the gnarliest downhill races on the calendar.<\/p>
This year was the first time the event had taken place away from its home country of Wales, where Dan Atherton set it up in 2014.<\/p>
Hardline attracts talent from the worldwide freeride and downhill community but, unlike other races, the event is invitation-only, with select riders battling it out for the prestigious win.<\/p>
In a continuation of firsts, we saw Gracey Hemstreet become the first woman to finish a Hardline course, and the first person to win the category since its inception.<\/p>
She posted a time of 3 hours, 56 minutes, ahead of Scottish shredder Louise Ferguson.<\/p>
The men\u2019s category was taken by Ronan Dunne, who pipped three-time Hardline champ Bernard Kerr by 1.876 seconds after a masterclass run.<\/p>
Thanks to its unique nature, Hardline usually produces some interesting setups as riders balance downhill technical ability with impact-absorbing suspension setups to tackle the enormous drops, jumps and compressions.<\/p>
Here are seven of the bikes that caught our eye, with both winning bikes detailed and analysed.<\/p>