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Hattie Harnden Makes History in Les Gets on Reynolds BL 309 DH
Aug 24, 2026
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Built to Finish. Built to Win.
At the highest level of downhill racing, getting to the bottom is never guaranteed. Getting there fastest is something else entirely.
At Les Gets, Hattie Harnden did exactly that, delivering a landmark victory for AON Racing and adding yet another discipline to an already extraordinary palmarès. Beneath her throughout it all were Reynolds Blacklabel 309 DH wheels, doing what they have done run after run, race after race: getting Hattie to the finish while giving her the performance, control and speed necessary to get there faster than anyone else.
But this one was bigger than another World Cup victory.
Hattie’s winning run marked the first belt-drive victory in elite World Cup downhill history, putting the AON Racing team’s radical drivetrain concept on the top step of the sport. And there was quite literally a belted purse waiting at the finish: Gates had offered a $100,000 prize for the first rider to win a World Cup downhill aboard its belt-drive system. Hattie delivered.
Finishing Is Only the Beginning
Downhill is brutally hard on wheels. Rocks, roots, compressions, high-speed impacts and imperfect landings are not exceptional circumstances. They are simply part of the job.
That makes durability a performance characteristic in its own right.
You cannot win a race you do not finish.
But Reynolds believes a downhill wheel should do considerably more than survive. The Blacklabel 309 DH is engineered around the complete performance equation: exceptional structural integrity, efficient power transfer, lateral precision and carefully engineered compliance that allows the wheel to track difficult terrain, maintain traction and give the rider the control necessary to carry speed. Because indestructible is impressive. Indestructible and incredibly fast is something altogether different.
Strong enough to finish. Fast enough to win.
You cannot win a race you do not finish.
But Reynolds believes a downhill wheel should do considerably more than survive. The Blacklabel 309 DH is engineered around the complete performance equation: exceptional structural integrity, efficient power transfer, lateral precision and carefully engineered compliance that allows the wheel to track difficult terrain, maintain traction and give the rider the control necessary to carry speed. Because indestructible is impressive. Indestructible and incredibly fast is something altogether different.
Strong enough to finish. Fast enough to win.
Run After Run. Season After Season.
Perhaps the most remarkable endorsement of the BL309 DH comes not from a laboratory, but from the AON Racing pits.
The team has spoken openly about the extraordinary longevity of its Reynolds wheels. Sets have accumulated training camps, practice runs and World Cup race weekends with remarkably little intervention. Some rims have remained in service not simply for multiple races, but across seasons. That matters in a discipline where destroyed wheels and frantic pit work are commonplace. Every wheel that remains true, reliable and ready for another run means less maintenance, fewer variables and greater confidence for rider and mechanic alike.
It also means that durability does not have to be purchased at the expense of performance. Reynolds engineers compliance into the wheel to help generate traction and control, while maintaining the precision and efficient power transfer necessary for World Cup speed. It is repeatable performance in its most tangible form, and Reynolds backs that confidence with a Lifetime Rim Guarantee.
The team has spoken openly about the extraordinary longevity of its Reynolds wheels. Sets have accumulated training camps, practice runs and World Cup race weekends with remarkably little intervention. Some rims have remained in service not simply for multiple races, but across seasons. That matters in a discipline where destroyed wheels and frantic pit work are commonplace. Every wheel that remains true, reliable and ready for another run means less maintenance, fewer variables and greater confidence for rider and mechanic alike.
It also means that durability does not have to be purchased at the expense of performance. Reynolds engineers compliance into the wheel to help generate traction and control, while maintaining the precision and efficient power transfer necessary for World Cup speed. It is repeatable performance in its most tangible form, and Reynolds backs that confidence with a Lifetime Rim Guarantee.
A Rider Without a Category
There is another remarkable dimension to Hattie’s Les Gets victory.
At this point, defining Hattie Harnden by a single mountain bike discipline has become almost impossible. Across her career she has proven capable of winning at the highest level across an extraordinary breadth of racing, from enduro and downhill to XC and cyclocross competition.
Different bikes. Different courses. Different demands. The same extraordinary ability to understand terrain, find speed and compete at the front.
Les Gets adds another remarkable chapter to that story and strengthens the case for Hattie as one of the most complete mountain bike racers of her generation.
Les Gets adds another remarkable chapter to that story and strengthens the case for Hattie as one of the most complete mountain bike racers of her generation.
Performance That Lasts
Hattie’s historic victory represents the ultimate expression of what Reynolds means by high-integrity performance.
Not a wheel designed to be spectacular for one run.
A wheel designed to be spectacular for every run.
The same precision. The same control. The same speed. Ride after ride, race after race and, in some remarkable cases, season after season.
On a weekend when Hattie made history, claimed a $100,000 belted purse and once again demonstrated the astonishing breadth of her talent, Reynolds was underneath her all the way to the top step. Unbeatable skill. Unbreakable rims. Unparalleled palmarès. Hattie Harnden. AON Racing. Reynolds Blacklabel 309 DH. Built to finish. Built to win.
On a weekend when Hattie made history, claimed a $100,000 belted purse and once again demonstrated the astonishing breadth of her talent, Reynolds was underneath her all the way to the top step. Unbeatable skill. Unbreakable rims. Unparalleled palmarès. Hattie Harnden. AON Racing. Reynolds Blacklabel 309 DH. Built to finish. Built to win.
