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Maddo's Mind Of Steel

Written by Goba Thursday, 15 April 2010 21:06

Most of you would have seen Robbie "Maddo" Maddisons leap over the Corinth Canal in Greece last week. It was gnarly right, but probably not quiet as gnarly as his world record long distance jump and his Arc De Triomphe in Las Vegas yeah? Sure the canal was bloody deep, but Maddo's jumped way longer than 285-feet before you might say. Well after talking to the Aussie extreme freestyler not long after he landed in Mexico City for the first round of Red Bull X-Fighters we got a whole different opinion on just how gnarly his recent Corinth Canal jump was. Maddo did say after the jump it was one of the hardest he'd done to date, and after you read this interview we believe you 'll understand why. Read on to see what Maddo had to say about it, how he rates himself for this weekend's X-Fighter round, and what's his vision for 2010.

Maddo, good to see you made it safely to Mexico City, how was the trip down: I Flew in with a bunch of guys, Nate Adams, Jim McNeil and a few others . We shipped our bikes down, where as Adam Jones brought all his parts with him, which turned out to be a nightmare as he had to pay tax on everything and we got held up at customs for ages. So we missed seeing the course and went straight to the press conference, and now I'm back at the hotel with Amy ready to crash out.

How's it feel to be at the first round of X-Fighters: I feel pretty content. Normally I'd be feeling more nervous by now, but I think having a good start to the year I'm not feeling any stress and not putting pressure on myself to get results for sponsors as I've achieved a lot already and given them some really good exposure through my recent jumps. I'm looking forward to a nice steady year ahead. Last year I came into the series really prepared and psyched to do well and won the first round, but then I started to lose my mojo and couldn't keep the momentum you need to win through to the last round. This year I plan to be the tortoise instead of the hare, build steadily and then finish off with a bang!

It has been a great year so far, you've married Amy, pulled off two successful jumps, especially the one in Greece, how'd you feel after that: With the jump in Greece I was just stoked everything went pretty smooth to be honest, although it was harder than I originally thought it would be. Some people said to me, "Oh it was pretty easy for you because it wasn't as big as the world record jump you did", and that would be true if it was in an open field, but this one the run in started in the pool area of the hotel next door to the set-up and only the previous day they drained all the water out of the pool, which left the surrounding grass area water-logged. So I started off on polished concrete, then on to grass – which wet my tyres, then on to carpet, then I hit concrete again and got major wheelspin. I then had to ride between two gardens on to a soccer field where I built up my speed, then make a left turn and jump over a fence, then land in the property where the ramp was at, then down their driveway on to a scaffold set-up and then finally hit the ramp. The thing that made it so scketchy was I didn't build enough speed to make the gap until right at the face of the ramp. All the other jumps I've done I could hit the speed I needed and then maintain it all the way off the ramp, plus I could do a fly-by past the ramp. So from the moment I took off at the Greece canal set-up it was so important for me to not lose traction so I could build enough speed, and with the wet conditions and changes in surface it was close to impossible. A few kilometres under or over taking off on the ramp meant I'd either case the landing, come up short and fall down the gorge, or over-jump as the landing was not big enough to allow for error. So for these reasons the jump was actually very technical and difficult and it scared the absolute crap out of me!

Maddo says this jump over the Corinth canal in Greece is the most technical he's ever done.
Photo: Jørg MItter/Red Bull Photofiles

Plus you had a lot more to lose on this jump with Amy being pregnant and the thought of being a father staring back at you: Yeah that's right, it was very satisfying to make the jump as I had so much at stake. I only found out a week before the jump I was going to be a Dad, and to go over there and know that I was not only risking my life, but also the well-being of Amy and a newborn baby was a pretty big deal. So yeah there was a lot at stake, and a lot of stuff going through my head that I had to work hard to block out before attempting the jump with full commitment.

Watching the footage of the jump it did look quite easy, but hearing you talk about it many people that would have seen it wouldn't have a clue what you actually went through: Yeah for sure. I tried to do some speed runs the day before, but what was happening is I'd build up as much speed as I could then I'd have to hit the anchors right before the ramp to slow down in time before going over the edge into the gorge. This made it hard to know how fast I'd be going off the ramp so we measured from the point where I braked to the bottom of the ramp and then went to another area with more room to work out how fast I'd be going by the time I hit the ramp. So testing my speed where I was braking I was at a maximum of 114kph and by the time I got to the mark that indicated the bottom of the ramp I was at 123kph, which put me at roughly 127kph at the top of the ramp and I was aiming for 130kph to comfortably make the distance. So the aim was for me to reach at least 114kph at the mark before the ramp during my speed checks at the Corinth Canal location as we figured that would get me over the gap safely, at worst case land on top, but when I did a few runs I couldn't consistently hit 114kph on the mark. One run I'd be 109kph, the next 110kph, then 112kph, and out of 15 runs I only hit 114kph twice. Then I started to get frustrated and one time I braked past the ramp and actually skidded into the fence close to the edge of the canal. If that fence wasn't there I would have been down the hole! It was a pretty intense deal, and I knew what I had to do to get it right after hitting 114kph and then 110kph on my next two goes. I rode back saying to myself, 'I'm going to jump it this time, I'm going to jump it!' Then during my run in I was trying to get as much speed as possible and I washed the front wheel out around the grassy left hand turn, which tripped me a out a bit because as I rode back to try again I was thinking, 'Is this a sign for me not to try it?' I really had to pull my head in, like to not listen to those thoughts. This time I rode a little slower across the grass then held it pinned towards the ramp and nailed it. My mechanic Buddy later told me he clocked me at 127kph with the radar as I came past, 130kph would have landed me in the perfect spot, which is why you can see on the video I kind of knuckled it a little bit, but to be honest I was stoked with the jump as leading up to it I was struggling to find enough speed to even make the distance and looked like ending up in the hole. Looking back I was thinking I'd be content flat-decking it as it was an uphill battle to find the speed from the moment we arrived. It was a lot harder than I originally thought.

Man that jump seems way more gnarly now: Well riding the 500 I constantly had to control the throttle in relation to the surface I was on. You couldn't just hold it pinned, it was all about throttle control to maximise the grip to enable me to build the speed I needed. I'd say it was probably the most technical jump I've done to date, and it had the highest consequences as far as what could have happened if it went bad. Like Vegas I knew if I held it pinned in third gear it would get me to the top, and coming down was all about throttle control, but this one was crazy!

What have you learned from the Corinth Canal jump: I got so much out of it, like facing that fear and moving through it was hard. It's like when you do your first Backflip you know you can do it but there's the fear talking to you and for some riders it's too much for them to work through in their heads and they back out. It's just so satisfying to work through it and be at peace with the fear, and just say, 'No, I'm going to do this!' And going for it knowing there's a risk but believing in yourself and the work you've put in to make it right, and never second-guessing it.

How can you take what you've learned from this experience into this weekend's opening round of X-Fighters: Yeah I think when it will come down to the crunch, like those stressful moments when I've got to perform, I think I'll be able to deal with it a lot easier. It's not like the canal jump where I had helicopters with cameraman hovering over head and knowing if I stuff up I could die. I'm a lot stronger mentally from it so I believe I'll be able to stay more focused in the moment and keep a clear head. Most mistakes with tricks happen when you second-guess yourself right before leaving the ramp so coming into this weekend I'm not fearful of any tricks I'm doing at the moment, and of course there's consequences if I screw them up, but the fear that those tricks hold is far more less than the Corinth Canal jump so to face that fear and then come to X-Fighters its almost like I'm going to Sunday school for the weekend.

In saying that what would you be happy to come away with this weekend: I think I'd be more than happy to find myself on the podium considering the level most of the riders are at right now. Like Dany Torres is doing Double Grab Backflips pretty easily right now, and he's also doing this Off-The-Side Supercan Backflip, but I still believe a good freestyle run includes good use of the course and a good mix of tricks, and if the judges remember this and reward the riders who don't do too much of one trick or hit less jumps I think I'll be in with a pretty good chance. I'd be stoked with a top three, even a top four or five wouldn't really be too bad, but in saying that I'm aiming to finish on the podium for the entire series. To be honest I'm coming into the series under prepared. I've only ridden like 10 hours of freestyle in 6-months and after this event I've left an open book to train with my trainer Ryan Hughes back home in the States, and practice some new tricks I've got up my sleeve, which will hopefully work out in my favour as the series goes on. I'm also working hard on strengthening my knees so I don't have to wear braces as they're stopping me from executing tricks like Shaolin Flips, Cordova Flips and a bunch of others. Plus I'm building a new foam pit, which is something I haven't used for four years now, so with that to learn new tricks and my fresh approach for 2010 I believe I'll become stronger and stronger as the season progresses.

Sounds like a good plan Maddo, thanks for your time so close to the event, good luck this weekend mate and for the season ahead: Yeah thanks, catch you guys again soon.