Head over wheels stunt rider somersaults across open Tower Bridge

Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter
13.07.09

In a stunt to make Evel Knievel proud, an Australian jumped across an open Tower Bridge on a motorbike early today.

And that wasn't all.

Not content with flying through the air 100 feet over the Thames, Robbie Maddison even had time to perform a backflip as he went.

"The whole experience was awesome," said Mr Maddison, 27, who holds the world record for the longest motorbike jump.

"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.

Click here to see more pictures of the Tower Bridge stunt

"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."

It was the first time anybody has jumped from one span of Tower Bridge to the other. At 40mph, Mr Maddison took off and performed a "no-handed backflip" in mid-air over the 25ft gap.

His skills can next be seen in London on 22 August at Battersea Power Station in a world freestyle motorbike competition.

Robbie Maddison's backflip on Tower Bridge

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