CODE NAME: CONDOR
Stunt-bike champ Matt Hoffman
Freestyle bicycle rider
Matt Hoffman is considered the greatest vert rider ever.
Matt has been riding
the ramps for over 15 years. He won every vert world championship from
1987 to 1995. He also won the vert championship at the 1995 and 1996 X
Games.
"I just love to ride
my bike," says the 26-year-old from Oklahoma City. "I wish I could ride
all day."
Vert is short for vertical,
as in up, up, and away! Vert competitors fly off a halfpipe and pull outrageous
tricks in the air. The higher, the better in bike vert.
Matt is known for catching
major air. He once blasted 25 feet into the sky!
When you're as good
as Matt is, you collect a lot of nicknames. Here are four of them:
-
The Condor. This
is Matt's best-known nickname. His friends named him after the condor because
the giant bird soars effortlessly through the air!
-
The King of Vert:
What else would you call a guy who has won nine world championships and
two X-Games titles?
-
Madd Matt. Matt
was given this nickname because he is always doing outrageous new tricks.
Matt recently did a "900." To pull this trick off, Matt flies a scary 10
feet over the halfpipe. Then he spins 900 degrees in the air -- that's
2 1/2 times! -- before landing.
-
The Michael Jordan
of Vert Riding: Matt is flattered that some fans like to compare him
to MJ. Matt has nothing but soaring praise for Air Jordan. "He's so great
that I could never compare myself to him," he says. Long live Air Hoffman!
The Condor has crash-landed
many times. He has broken his collar bone, a wrist, and a foot. He has
had more stitches than he can remember. He hopes another nickname, The
King of Crash, doesn't catch on!
Matt says kids should
always wear safety gear when they ride. "When you go out to ride, don't
forget your helmet," he says. "And don't forget to have fun!"
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