RACING

⚡️ Hardline Tasmania Was ELECTRIC

Are you not entertained?!

That’s the question Jackson Goldstone asked when he stretched out his arms to bask in the glory of winning Hardline Tasmania 2025.

Putting down a time of 3:17.096, Goldstone dominated the course that caused him to crash last year and miss a year of racing. It was a storybook redemption arc for the young Canadian who’s been chomping at the bit to reassert his dominance.

There’s so much to unpack for Hardline Tasmania 2025 and in classic RECON fashion, we’re breaking it down for you nice and easy.

⏰ Every Millisecond Counts

Hardline Tasmania 2025 was a different beast compared to the inaugural 2024 race. While the curated pool of superstar riders was similar to last year, the level of racing got cranked up to 11.

Hardline races are usually about the fastest athlete on the main line, but this year strategy was everything. In general the track allowed more creativity because of fewer trackside poles, with Troy Brosnan, Connor Fearon and Jackson Goldstone all figuring out a quicker inside line in their finals run.

🎰 Goldstone’s Gamble

Speaking of inside lines, Jackson Goldstone made a last-minute decision which may go down in the MTB history books.

After watching Troy Brosnan take an inside line over a berm and earn a major time saving, a new strategy clicked in Jackson’s mind just before embarking on his finals run.

Jackson instantly remembered spotting a tire mark over the same berm when reviewing GoPro footage. At that moment he knew if he wanted to win, he had to try a line he hadn’t practiced all week.

🇺🇸 Asa Was Right There!

After setting the fastest run in qualifying, 18-year-old American superstar Asa Vermette finished just 0.233 seconds behind his Canadian counterpart in finals.

His loss proves how important line choices were, as its estimated he lost a second by not cutting the same berm as Jackson.

Still, the American delivered a scintillating performance that had us all on the edge of our seat. Asa started the race in 6th after an early mistake but eventually flew back to 2nd place. Fans were blown away by how much time Asa made up in the race’s final leg as he blistered towards the finish line.

It begs the question. Would Asa have won if he had taken the same line as the previous riders?

We may never know, but Asa will have plenty of chances to get back at Jackson as their superhuman battles morph into a full-blown rivalry.

👧 Gracey Hemstreet Makes History

Canada really had its greatest exports on display at Maydena.

Gracey Hemstreet rocked the Hardline course as if it was her local jump line at Coast Gravity Bike Park, securing her first REAL Hardline victory since Red Bull officially added a women’s category this year.

Unfortunately though, Gracey was the only female to complete a finals run.

Erice Van Leuven crashed, Louise Ferguson didn’t manage to ride the whole course before seeding, and the fast world cup ladies Vali Höll, Tahnee Seagrave and Nina Hoffmann decided the risk wasn’t worth the reward.

This leaves some question marks around women’s participation at Hardline. The massive 90 footers in Wales and the huge gaps in Taz are a challenge, but we hope more ladies are inspired by Gracey to attempt runs in future events.

🤕 Maydena’s Victims

It would be impossible to cover Hardline Tasmania 2025 and not dive into its crashes.

A major shock to all fans was the race day announcement that defending champ Ronan Dunne wouldn’t be participating in finals.

Pushing for more in his final practice run, Ronan got caught up in a berm before being launched off his bike and thrown backwards into a giant rock. Fans were pleased to hear he walked away with no serious injuries after he posted the now very viral clip to his Instagram, which has now amassed over 48M views.

But the injuries don’t stop there.

Szymon Godziek crashed in practice and Elise Empey face planted off a huge drop. Kaos Seagrave, Erice van Leuven and Edgar Briole came up short on the notorious creek gap, where you need a minimum of 74 km/h of speed.

Erice broke her wrist, neck, and back plus some internal injuries. Displaying her toughness, she got up after her crash and went to the medical vehicle thinking she only injured her wrist. We wish her a speedy recovery!

🤳 Matt Jones The Showman

While he was last among men for his lap time, fan favorite Matt Jones wowed us all with a finals run ending backflip that he had teased during practice. His progression on the track shone hard and proves his versatility on the mountain bike.

Even though they’re not in contention for victory, it’s kind of a tradition that some freeride athletes get invited to Hardline.

But Edgar Briole, Szymon Godziek and Kaos Seagrave all crashed during practice. With Jones left as the only freerider in finals, it makes us wonder if freeriders are a dying species at Hardline?

🏁 Top 5 Results Hardline Tasmania 2025:

Men:

1st. Jackson Goldstone: 3:17.096
2nd. Asa Vermette: 3:17.329 // +0.233
3rd. Troy Brosnan: 3:19.479 // +2.383
4th. Bernard Kerr: 3:20.505 // +3.409
5th. Connor Fearon: 3:21.007 // +3.911

Women:

1st. Gracey Hemstreet: 4:06.465

🙋‍♂️ RECON’s Take

We argued in a recent video that Red Bull Hardline is positioning itself as the supercross of mountain biking. With big air spectacle mixed with technical racing, hypey media coverage, free streaming, and a goated rider list, Hardline could be the device pro MTB needs to grow its audience. While Red Bull needs to think through limited female participation and a high injury rate, a rumor regarding a potential Hardline Canada is getting fans excited about legitimate competition to the UCI’s racing monopoly.