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Gracey Hemstreet makes mountain bike history at Red Bull Hardline Australia
Canadian Gracey Hemstreet became the first-ever woman to complete a full run at Red Bull Hardline in Tasmania, racing into the history books at the world's toughest mountain bike downhill race.
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At just 19 years old, Gracey Hemstreet made mountain biking history at the first-ever Red Bull Hardline Australia event this weekend. The Canadian youngster hit the headlines after becoming the first-ever woman to complete a full run of the notorious Red Bull Hardline, a race that's become a legend for its ruthless, limit-testing downhill challenges.
For the first time, the event moved away from its home in Wales to host a second race at Maydena Bike Park, in Tasmania. It was there that Hemstreet etched her name into the annals of history, showcasing her skills to navigate the high-speed course's monstrous jumps, drops and technical sections from top to bottom. The 2022 junior downhill world champ even received the coveted Rider of the Week award for her ground-breaking exploits.
Hemstreet had an incredible week in Australia, which speaks volumes about her mental fortitude and ability to handle the high speeds and massive features that littered the course. During the week's practice sessions, her rear wheel was destroyed on landing a big step-up jump, leading to a heavy crash. Nonetheless, she recovered to complete the course and line up for the qualifying runs, where she became one of the first two women to ever qualify for the finals of a Red Bull Hardline, alongside Scottish rider Louise Ferguson.
Gracey Hemstreet sends it to make Red Bull Hardline history
© Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool
This downhill is the best moment of my life
Big names like Tahnée Seagrave, Harriet Burbidge-Smith, Hannah Bergemann and Cami Nogueira also participated in practice session and qualifications, but only Hemstreet and Ferguson managed to complete the entire course and reach finals.
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Leading the charge in the finals, the Canadian executed a flawless run, tackling the 10m-plus drops and landing smoothly over the cavernous 23m gap jump at the finish line. Her finishing time of 3m 56.586s stood as the fastest women's time of the day, but more importantly a historic moment in women's mountain biking history.
"This victory means a lot to me," Hemstreet declared at the finish line. "This downhill is the best moment of my life. I played it safe, but the last jump with the wind was insane. I had a blast going down this track."
Hemstreet ticked off the course's biggest features through the week
© Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool
Checking out the final jumps with Tahnée Seagrave
© Dan Griffiths/Red Bull Content Pool
Sending the huge road gap
© Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool
Home to make history after landing the huge finish jump in style
© Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool
After it's debut in Australia, Red Bull Hardline is set to return to its Welsh roots on June 1–2 for a monumental 10th-anniversary event and Hemstreet will have the opportunity to shine once more.
"We’ve seen so much progress by enabling female athletes to ride," reminded Tahnée Seagrave recently. "We're approaching it in the right way, working towards supporting the progression at an attainable speed, so that more girls can eventually get to tackle the course."
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