BONKERS… Australian Ryan Williams is first to land triple front flip on BMX.

PRESS RELEASE

R WILLY LANDS WORLD FIRST BMX TRIPLE FRONTFLIP

Nitro Circus rewrites the record books once again in actions sports: Multi talented Australian Ryan Williams is the first man in the world
to land a triple front flip on a BMX. The record, achieved at “Pastranaland” Maryland USA, is a famous landmark owned by Nitro Circus legend himself, Travis Pastrana.

The BMX triple front flip is yet another in a long line of tricks that fans and pros alike talk about like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, there’s a sense that someone is eventually going to get their, but the who, how , and when are all debatable, and it’s just a myth until someone actually does. It’s also one of those tricks that has a danger factor high enough that even accomplished athletes pass on making an attempt. Despite that, another athlete was right there with R Willy the whole way, also attempting the triple frontflp. Andrew “mini” Ahumada, another decorated Nitro member, came very close to being the first, but in the end it was Williams who rode away with the record.

As R-Willy puts it, “The hardest thing about the triple front flip was not only the impact of the landing but making sure the technique was done perfectly every time. It’s one thing to stuff up to a bag jump, but stuffing up to a landing could be life or death”. He estimates it took around 20 bag jumps before making the attempt. Once the bag was gone, it took only six tries to stick it, more than he expected, of course…

“Before I dropped in on my sixth try, I knew what I had to do, and I knew to expect a hard landing no matter how perfect my speed was. So I said, “ This one’s for Roner! Then dropped.” That hard landing is one of the most difficult elements of the trick, he says. But the rest sounds just as complicated.

“There are three main points of this trick that are critical: the initiation, the tuck, and the landing. The first and most important part of the triple frontflip is the initiation. I try to roll forward early and hit my head on the lip, which flicks me into the frontflip. The next part of the trick is the tuck, which speeds up my rotation the closer the bike is tucked into me. I know where I am during the triple frontflip by counting the landing each time it comes round as well as feeling the G-forces of the rotation to judge how fast I’m spinning. The first time I see the ground, it’s just to know my first flip is done, the second time is the most critical — it’s where I determine where I am landing and how early I need to open out of the triple frontflip. The final point of this trick is where all the points add up to one final conclusion: the landing. The landing was the hardest point of this trick — no matter how hard I hung on I just kept exploding. But on the sixth try, the one for Roner, something gave me the strength to hang on and roll away.”

Want to watch the crew perform live and maybe even see a World First happen right before your eyes? The team are set to visit Europe at the beginning of 2016.