A CYCLING spectacular is returning to the Dyfi Valley once again.

This weekend the Red Bull Hardline event, now in its fifth year, will take place in Dinas Mawddwy with mountain bikers soaring, spinning and speeding their way through Welsh woodlands.

Billed as the world’s toughest downhill race, the cycling extravaganza will take place on Saturday and will attract 29 riders from across the globe.

There are 13 British riders included in the field. Last year’s winner, Craig Evans, will be racing alongside 2016 winner Bernard Kerr in what is set to be an epic showdown.

Adam Brayton also returns with unfinished business. In 2017 he qualified fastest, but the weather conditions and long technical course were too much to handle causing him to crash out in the final section on the last run of the day.

Gee Atherton will also be returning this year following a fantastic World Cup season where he finished ninth overall after the final in La Bresse, where he qualified fastest in the rain.

The intense course, built by Dan Atherton, combines tricky technical downhill features with huge freeride-­style jumps.

Red Bull Hardline tests even the most progressive of riders, with tight wooded sections, the iconic Road Gap jump with a trajectory of 55 feet, and some new epic jumps that will really test the riders at speed as they enter the final section of the course.

The final fly-off, which is the biggest jump ever at Red Bull Hardline, will see riders travel 65 feet – the equivalent of four double-decker buses – as they speed towards the finish line.

Mr Atherton said: “In previous years at Red Bull Hardline a big focus has been on the Road Gap and Step Up and so this year we wanted to change things up to build excitement all the way down.

“The final field is an amazing natural amphitheatre and so it made sense to use that more.

“We’ve tried to keep the high-speed feel of the old finish, but we’ve built three massive jumps all in a line that should give spectators a real feel of how fast the riders are actually going.”

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