Mark Monea, the longtime mechanic for freestyle motocross superstar Cam Sinclair, has kick-started his own career in a profound way by becoming the first FMX rider to land a 360 front flip. An ESPN video crew was on hand (see below) as Monea nailed the seemingly impossible trick at Sinclair's FMX park near Melbourne, Australia.


Part of what makes Monea's feat remarkable is that not many experienced FMX riders will attempt even a basic front flip because they're too difficult. Kicker ramps used in jumps point skyward for a near-vertical launch that's better suited for flipping backward, so to persuade a motorcycle to flip forward en route to the landing ramp is requires a perfectly timed forward push upon liftoff, and just the right amount of brake and throttle control.

Negotiating in a 360-degree spin during the forward flip? Well, that just doesn't seem plausible.

Monea, 27, a veteran motocross racer who's just getting into freestyle riding, first learned the basic front flip on a BMX bicycle, then on a motorized mini-bike -- both with the benefit of a foam-filled pit for soft landings. But when he tried it on a full-sized motorcycle, the motorcycle seemed to spin the 360 on its own.

"I was more confused than pumped when I did the first one into the foam pit," Monea says in the video. "When I'm on the bike, it feels like a dead-straight front flip, but when I look at the footage it seems to flatten out and do all types of weird things."

He nailed the trick on his first try without the foam pit, on a dirt landing ramp. It was cause for jubilation and relief because FMX crash landings often carry heavy consequences. Interestingly, Monea has not even learned a basic back flip, which is an integral part of every top FMX rider's repertoire.

Will fans get to see Monea in the FMX best-trick competition at this summer's X Games? Stay tuned.