It took three months worth of “pretty big crashes” before Australian motocross rider Jackson Strong decided to ramp up his training by going to circus school.
The 19-year-old is chasing his second gold medal for best trick at next week’s X Games in Los Angeles, after winning last year with the competition’s first-ever motorcycle front-flip to dirt.
But this time, Strong insists, the trick will be even more impressive.
“It’s totally different to what I did last year, but I don’t want to give too much away,” he told AAP.
“It’s still totally under wraps, although it’s only a week until the world finds out.”
The teenager has been riding dirt bikes since he was five at his family’s farm at Lockhart, in NSW’s Riverina.
He went on to become the youngest rider to join the Crusty Demons at 13 and has since broken the age record for a handful of stunts including back-flipping a full-size motorcycle.
However, for the past six months his focus has been on planning and practicing this new trick, called The Jack, which he’ll perform for the first time in public on June 29.
“It took about three months before I actually landed it properly and, since then, I’ve been trying to work out how to make it cleaner,” he said.
One of those ways included a trip to Queensland for a series of training sessions at a local circus school, which Strong says gave him a much-needed burst of confidence.
“Spinning is a key part of (the trick), so I guess that helped out with learning to move,” Strong said.
“I think it’s just good for my overall riding and the techniques with what I’m doing.”
Strong is expecting tough competition this year, with many of his rivals having also stepped up their efforts to win the $50,000 prize.
If successful, he will become the first Australian to win back-to-back gold in freestyle motocross at the X Games.
“It’s going to be very tough to back up my 2011 result, I know that there are quite a few riders who have been putting in the work to develop their own new tricks for X Games,” he said.
“I’ll be heading to the US this week to train for the final few days before the competition and can’t wait to get underway.”
A group of Strong’s friends will also fly to Los Angeles to cheer him on at the Staples Centre for the Moto X Best Trick showdown.