Hutt Valley’s Erice van Leuven went head-to-head with the downhill courses in Tassi—and paid the price. The 18-year-old rising star crashed hard at Red Bull Hardline in Tasmania over the weekend, walking away with a broken neck, back, and wrist, plus internal injuries after coming up short on an 85-foot jump near the finish.
In a social media update, she acknowledged the gravity of her injuries but noted she was lucky to still be walking. A lung issue means she’ll have to wait before flying home to New Zealand, but her spirits remain high.
Van Leuven, a two-time junior downhill world champion, was one of just eight women invited to tackle Hardline—a race designed to push even the best riders to their absolute edge. The course is stacked with 45-foot drops, gap jumps the length of a cricket pitch, and speeds north of 70 km/h just to make the landings.
Before the event, she had been putting in serious work with Norco Race Division at a training camp in Queenstown, adjusting to the sheer scale of Hardline’s features.
“It’s a downhill race, but with monster jumps,” she told media before the race. “I love big jumps, but I’ve never ridden anything like this. I’ve hit 50-footers before, but 85 feet? That’s next level.”
Unlike typical downhill courses that balance jumps with technical terrain, Hardline is a pure test of speed and nerve. The jumps aren’t built to send riders soaring—they’re low, flat takeoffs designed for sheer velocity. And van Leuven, known for her aggressive riding style, was getting comfortable fast.
During practice, she was right there with her Norco teammate Gracey Hemstreet, who went on to take her second Hardline win. Footage showed van Leuven pushing herself, whooping with excitement as she followed Hemstreet.
Then it went wrong.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DF18-_JSzJ7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Post-crash, van Leuven shared images of herself in a neck and torso brace, her wrist in a cast, and taking cautious steps—a sight almost hard to believe given the scale of the impact.
Red Bull Hardline isn’t about participation. It’s designed to find the outermost limits of elite riders. This time, those limits hit back hard. But given van Leuven’s track record, it’s a safe bet she won’t stay grounded for long.
courtsery YouTube
