June 30 (REUTER): Kiwi motocross rider lands world first FMX bike no-hander double backflip.
Levi Sherwood may be known as the ‘Rubber Kid’ but the Kiwi motocross rider has stretched the realms of possibility with the first landed FMX no-hander double backflip.
The 25-year-old pulled off the feat at his riding compound in Palmerston North, in New Zealand, a trick he first attempted simply because he was bored.
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Levi Sherwood performs a double back flip no hander into the bag at his FMX training track in Palmerston North, New Zealand on May 15, 2017 // Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool // P-20170630-00163 // Usage for editorial use only // Please go to www.redbullcontentpool.com for further information. //[/caption]
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Levi Sherwood performs a double back flip no hander at his FMX training track in Palmerston North, New Zealand on May 15, 2017 // Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool // P-20170630-00163 // Usage for editorial use only // Please go to www.redbullcontentpool.com for further information. //[/caption]
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Levi Sherwood is seen at his FMX training track in Palmerston North, New Zealand on May 15, 2017 // Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool // For more content, pictures and videos like this please go to www.redbullcontentpool.com[/caption]
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Levi Sherwood ready to practice a double backflip at his FMX compound in Sanson, New Zealand on May 15, 2017 // Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool // For more content, pictures and videos like this please go to www.redbullcontentpool.com[/caption]
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Levi Sherwood poses for a portrait at his FMX compound in Sanson, New Zealand on May 15, 2017 // Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool // For more content, pictures and videos like this please go to www.redbullcontentpool.com[/caption]
Now the question is whether he plans to put his new creation into his competition repertoire at next week’s Red Bull X-Fighters in Madrid.
Of being the first to land the no-hands double backflip, Sherwood said: “It’s a big day for me, I’ve landed a trick that no one in the world has ever landed.
“Three months ago I started practising a double backflip, which was really out of my comfort zone, then I got bored with that and I really wanted to push myself to a no hander double backflip.
“It took me a while to get both hands to release off the bars but, once they came off, it was easy from there.”
Sherwood, who has been practising at home with a specialised airbag to gain confidence with his range of tricks, is in good competition from having sealed the FMX competition at the recent Nitro World Games with a double backflip.
And he knows he will need to pull some tricks out the bag – potentially without his hands – to celebrate further glory in Madrid.
“The last couple of years at Red Bull X-Fighters I’ve been a bit off the pace,” he said, “so I am really going to be pushing hard to get on the podium this year.
“If I go there with new tricks I have recently landed, and execute them the same way I execute all of my other tricks, I will be in with a good chance.