Ronan Dunne hasn't let the grass grow under his feet since his incredible 2024 season, when his results included victory at the UCI Downhill World Cup in Poland as well as Red Bull Hardline in both Tasmania and Wales.
Rather than spending his time in Ireland, with no lifts to take riders from the bottom to top of runs, Dunne took himself off to Queenstown in New Zealand and has been training hard in the sunshine.
This weekend he goes for an unprecedented third Red Bull Hardline win, racing once again in Tasmania, and says he is ready for action, especially with the better preparation he has had this winter with factor racing team Mondraker.
“This time last year, my bike had just shown up – so I’m already ahead (in preparation) of last year,” he said. “With this off-season, we’ve been changing it around with the amount of riding – it hasn’t really been an off season.
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"This is the most riding I’ve ever done during the winter. By January 15th, I had 300 runs done in the off-season. I’ve been in Queenstown for a month now and I can see why most of the pros are going over there.
Dunne continued: "You’ve got so many gondolas, pretty insane tracks, good gyms as well. The weather is good and the day is long. At home, it gets dark at like 4pm. We’ve had our fourth storm of the year already.
"Especially in Ireland, we don’t have ski lifts so you can’t do as many runs. The riding you get done in a day here is like three weeks in Ireland. It’s nice to be in the sun as well.”
Though he really broke through last year and became a top tier international rider, he insists he's the same person away from racing, though is perhaps more focused on his craft, and definitely better prepared.
“Personality wise I’m still the same, if not worse! Racing wise I think I’ve completely changed… with the factory team, being sponsored by Red Bull, when it comes to racing I’ve been taking it a lot more serious.
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“I’m still trying to keep my wild side, but racing wise, I’m just dialled in a bit more. The runs are a lot faster. I still crash – but when you crash, you get back on the bike and get the job done.”
“With the factory team having team camps, a proper bike set up – it all makes a difference really. It was quite a shock how much of a difference it all made.”
“Having proper equipment (makes a big difference), the team are always making changes to the bike. Then when you have the Red Bull helmet, you feel like you belong here… I’m meant to go fast, so I go fast. It makes you push for it, so that helps.”
Dunne said a new jump on the course in Tasmania is "insane" and described as "crazy" a series of jumps at the end of the run.
"The speed is so crazy. It has to be one of the fastest bits of track that I’ve rode. The middle is a complete jungle, compared to the top which is a lot rockier. There is a sand section too – a lot of technical stuff… it’s got the whole lot really.”
This weekend, Dunne said Canadian rider Jackson Goldstone, who has been away for a year after a torn ACL and MCL, would be a tough competitor, especially as he won three years ago.
“He’s looking pretty good. We’ve been in Queenstown for a bit together, and he’s definitely going the same speed he was (pre-injury). It would be cool to get some rivalries going, I think it’s good for the sport.”
“We’re getting a lot more World Cup riders in it now. Troy (Brosnan) is in it, and Troy won the last World Cup. Asa (Vermette, Junior DW World Champion) is in it now too. There’s a lot more racers – that’s what we want, that’s what I want.
“I would definitely like to do three for three. (It’s never been done before), so I will definitely be going for it.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing how fast the other boys are going to go. Are they going to use it as a test event or go all out for it? Not everyone is going to show theirs cards, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough really.”
