Luc Ackermann
© Night of the Jumps
I said to myself , “ Now I ’ m gonna do it on dirt .” So I went to Gerhard Mayr ’ s place to make sure I was using a good set up . I did a couple more in the foam pit and then after maybe 10 said , okay , now we put the set up to dirt .
It was really , really scary for me to do it first time on dirt - because you know if you ’ re gonna crash , you really gonna get in trouble . It was a really crazy situation .
How do you handle the mental side of it ?
It ’ s always hard going for a trick that ’ s a big risk because you know if you crash the season is over . The thing is , if you don ’ t risk anything , you ’ re not gonna win - and that ’ s why I decided to go for a double backflip .
It ’ s always hard to decide if you go for it or not , because if you have a good run , you can go for it and you can win . But on the other hand , if you crash on the double backflip it ’ s over . I really like the risk and I really like the feeling of pulling off the trick - and that ’ s what makes me feel alive .
What is the most critical part of the trick ?
I think the most important part of the trick is the right pull ; you have to have the right pull on the ramp , the right speed and the right body position .
If you don ’ t pull at the right moment , you ’ re gonna under rotate or over rotate . The body position is really specific for this trick because if you open yourself up in the trick , you ’ re gonna slow the rotation down . But , if you ’ re really small and if you stay back on the bike , the rotation gets faster and that ’ s just the main part of the trick .
Does it require a special ramp ?
Right now I do the double backflip on a standard super kicker . Which is a little bit higher than standard . Right now I built the same one as Josh Sheehan and Levi Sherwood - I have it at home but I haven ’ t had the chance to ride it .
It ’ s a standard super kicker on ten and a half metres . I just tried it because I had no other ramp and that ’ s why I use it .
How much of an inspiration was seeing Travis Pastrana stomp it in ’ 06 ?
Yeah , I remember watching Travis ’ double backflip around the point I was starting to dream about doing it myself . He ’ s always been kind of an idol of mine , so I wanted to do it as he did it .
Travis Pastrana has always been a great inspiration , and great for the sport . A few years ago , when I was signed by Red Bull , he presented me with my helmet - and it was such a great feeling because he ’ s one of the biggest guys in the sport . I think that ’ s one of the main points when I decided to work on the double backflip .
So what ’ s next ? Are you already thinking about combos for the double ?
For sure , I ’ m already thinking about doing double backflip combos and I ’ ve already done some ! But I ’ m not sure when I ’ m gonna do them to dirt because it ’ s a lot of work .
If something goes wrong in a double backflip , it ’ s not gonna end well , so I ’ m gonna work hard this summer to make them perfect in the foam pit and then I ’ ll think about which ones I ’ m gonna do to dirt .
What are your goals for this season at NIGHT of the JUMPs ?
My goals for this season are definitely to win the title , but it ’ s gonna be super hard . I want to reach the podium in overall , for sure . I think that ’ s my main goal .
Do you think that the double backflip is now the best chance to get on top of the podium ?
I think it ’ s a good chance to go on the podium with a double backflip . But at the NIGHT of the JUMPs it ’ s not all about the double backflip , it ’ s about having a perfect run with a good double-up .
The double backflip is a good opportunity to score points , and I think if I have it in my run consistently - and have some good runs - I will make it to the podium .
Thanks man , good luck ! t
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