Is it better to stay up late or get up early? That’s the quandary facing most of us this weekend, as Red Bull Hardline live race coverage begins on Saturday, at 3am GMT (2pm local time). So just to be clear, that’s early doors Saturday morning, or very late Friday night and well past pub closing time.

I’d argue it’s worth watching though, first because Red Bull Hardline Tasmania is one of the only downhill races you’ll be able to watch live and for free in 2025. If you’re detecting a hint of bitterness creeping in there it’s because the World Cup downhill has disappeared behind a £31 a month paywall, a disastrous decision but one we’re going to have to live with.

Enough of the tartness though, the main reason to watch Hardline Tasmania is that the racing is going to be competitive. And close. I say that because for the first time, we’re going to see a stacked field of entrants as the importance of the world’s toughest gravity series starts to bite.

There are 31 riders confirmed to start, which is a bigger field than you’d see at the World Cup finals, and a step up in numbers from last year’s race too. What’s more there’s proper strength in depth, with former World Cup winners, world champions and Hardline winners in the running. I’m talking about Rónán Dunne, Charlie Hatton, Bernard Kerr and Asa Vermette, just for starters.

We’re also super excited to see Jackson Goldstone back on the start list, after missing most of last season after crashing at Hardline Tasmania this time last year. And, maybe best of all, the legendary Sam Hill is on the roster for 2025, and it very much looks like he’s piloting a Specialized Demo. Rocks and dust… perfect for the greatest rider of his generation. Gee Atherton’s back on the hill too, which is something of a surprise given he wasn’t on the initial starting lineup.  

The women’s field is particularly strong at Hardline this year too, as far as I can work out there are currently eight women set to race on Saturday: Vaea Verbeeck, Cami Nogueira, Gracey Hemstreet, Erice Van Leuven, Lou Ferguson, Valentina Höll, Elise Empey, and Darcy Coutts.

The rest of the lineup looks like this…

• Rónán Dunne 🇮🇪
• Bernard Kerr 🇬🇧
• Gee Atherton 🇬🇧
• Connor Fearon 🇦🇺
• Laurie Greenland 🇬🇧
• Kaos Seagrave 🇬🇧
• Matteo Iniguez 🇫🇷
• Matt Jones 🇬🇧
• Jackson Goldstone 🇨🇦
• Roger Vieira 🇧🇷
• George Brannigan 🇳🇿
• Szymon Godziek 🇵🇱
• Josh Bryceland 🇬🇧
• Sebastian Holguin 🇨🇴
• Charlie Hatton 🇬🇧
• Asa Vermette 🇨🇦
• Hugo Frixtalon 🇫🇷
• Sam Hill 🇦🇺
• Tuhoto Ariki Pene 🇳🇿
• Brook MacDonald 🇳🇿
• Dan Booker 🇦🇺
• Theo Erlangsen 🇿🇦
• Troy Brosnan 🇦🇺

You can watch the race on Red Bull TV, or through the brand’s YouTube channel. The schedule looks like this, with all times local to Tasmania. As far as I’m aware though, practice won’t be shown live…

• Practice 9:30am – 12:00pm
• Racing 2:00pm – 4:30pm
• Awards Ceremony 5:00pm – 6:00pm