Motorcyclist backflips over Tower Bridge
Updated on 13 July 2009
Daredevil motocross rider Robbie Maddison soars nearly 100 feet in a no-handed backflip over the London landmark.
The 27-year-old Australian took to the air at 2.55am and became the first rider in history to jump the bridge on motorbike.
The motorcyclist used the London landmark as a take-off and landing ramp as he cleared the gap above the Thames after the iconic bridge had been raised.
With an approach speed of approximately 40mph, Maddison took off from the north side of the bridge, performed a no-handed backflip, and held his landing in front of the south tower.
Maddison has already made the world's longest ever motorbike jump (106.9m), and the highest ever vertical "step up" (25.9m) at the replica Arc de Triomphe in Las Vegas on new year's eve 2008.
The Australian said: "The whole experience was awesome.
"Since the jumps in Las Vegas I have been set on doing something special here in London so the Red Bull team and I have been secretly scoping out Tower Bridge for months.
"We had a matter of minutes on the bridge and had to time everything to the second, there were so many factors to get right, but we pulled it off.
"People say I'm crazy, but I just want to push the boundaries of my sport and my body to the limit and I love taking on these huge challenges.
"It was an incredible feeling to fly between the two towers and over the Thames."
Maddison will return to London on 22 August to take part in the final stop of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2009 at Battersea power station.
