Sunday night saw Maddison become the first rider in history to take on Tower Bridge on an FMX bike. The Australian used the famous London landmark as a take-off and landing ramp as he cleared the gap above the Thames after the bridge had been opened to let ships through. With an approach speed of approximately 40 mph, Maddison took off from the north side of the bridge, performing a Backflip nearly 100 feet above the Thames, before completing a hard but safe landing in front of the south tower of one of the world’s most famous sights.

Maddison: “I have been thinking about this jump for years. Over the last few months we’ve taken a really close look at each area of Tower Bridge. This time we were only on it for a few minutes, so everything had to be exactly right first time – we only had one chance to do it. It was an incredible feeling to fly between the two towers and over the Thames.”

The spectacular stunt in the British capital is the latest on the Australian’s incredible CV that includes jumping the equivalent of an American football pitch (106.9 metres) in 2008, or ringing in the New Year in 2009 with a huge 25.5-metre step-up jump onto the roof of the Arc de Triomphe Hotel in Las Vegas.

Maddison: “The whole experience was awesome. Since the jumps in Las Vegas I’ve 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 in Battersea Power Station.