Bernard Kerr took the win in front of a sell-out crowd at the sixth edition of the Red Bull Hardline event, held in the hills of Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales.

Recognised as the toughest downhill event in the racing calendar, the podium was completed by fellow British riders Gee Atherton, second, and Joe Smith, third, in front of a sell-out crowd.

“I knew it was going to be a tough day, with the weather and other things, and I was trying to carve new lines, but I pushed on," commented a delighted Kerr."I just really wanted to win this. I broke my hand a few weeks ago, so I missed half the season. It feels really good after missing races, I knew I was going quick this year."

Saturday’s qualifying took place on a near-perfect track, in bright sunshine, and the track was fast and dry.

Kerr dominated qualifying with a time of 2 minutes and 50 second,s with the defending champion Gee Atherton not far behind in second place, with a time of 2 minutes and 52 seconds.

The remaining top five qualification spots were taken by Charlie Hatton, Joe Smith and Brendan Fairclough. Fairclough put in a very confident and aggressive run executing a perfect flip on the Step-Up without losing any time through the section.

The weather for the final was misty and gloomy, and a totally different challenge for the riders to take on, with poor visibility in the top section of the track, all the way to The Cannon.

After the third rider dropped in, the wind picked up adding an extra element to the course.

The track remained mainly dry, but as finals progressed some of the rocks still posed a slippery obstacle to overcome, which caused some riders to come off in the open technical sections - including former World junior Champion Kade Edwards, Charlie Hatton and Kaos Seagrave.

Seagrave nailed two backflips out on course, including at Waterfalls Edge, which has one of the narrowest landings on the course. He then went on to take another tumble before walking his bike down the Road Gap and the remainder of the course.

Joe Smith’s incredible run saw him go into the lead, with just three riders left to drop in, but it wasn’t to be his year. A rear tyre puncture forced him to go round the final jump, losing a vital three seconds.

Gee Atherton, last year’s winner then went into the lead, with a fast but messy run, by 2.5 seconds with just one more rider to drop in.

Last to ride was the fastest qualifier and 2016 winner Bernard Kerr. He attacked the course, with clean lines making up speed on the open sections, where other riders crashed.

He raced into the final section, making time on Atherton. Kerr crossed the line and became the first rider in Red Bull Hardline history to claim the title twice.

“I’m pleased with second," said runner-up Atherton. "It was so hard out there today, and difficult just to stay upright. I’m gutted to not retain my title, but at the same time, I’m stoked for Bernard."He deserves it. He’s been to every one of these events, he suits these conditions and he rode well to win today.”