Stellenbosch, South Africa, April 20, 2023 – Darkfest, the invite-only freeride mountain bike festival, has once again shattered records as UK rider Tom Isted landed the longest dirt-to-dirt backflip in the world, measuring a whopping 120 feet (37 meters). The sixth year of the event saw the most fearless freeriders take on the biggest dirt jumps in the world, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on a mountain bike.
The Darkfest dirt jumps are some of the largest ever built, with overall rolling speeds in excess of 75 km/h, airing gaps over 100 feet, and heights of over 25 feet. With perfect weather conditions behind him, Tom took off and backflipped his way into the history books, breaking not only the record for the longest backflip ever landed but also the longest dirt-to-dirt jump ever landed on a mountain bike.
“I couldn’t be any happier right now,” said Tom. “It was windy, but luckily I timed it perfectly so I had a tailwind off the jump and managed to travel 120 feet, absolutely smashing the old record set by Cam Zinc of 100 feet!”
Tom’s mega 120-foot jump wasn’t his only record of the week. The previous day, he and fellow UK rider Sam Hodgson broke the previous record for the longest backflip in a train. Tom landed 106 feet, and Sam landed 104 feet.
“Conditions were perfect, so we dropped in one behind the other, both breaking the previous record!” said Tom.
Darkfest is an event run by the riders for the riders, and it is a week-long jam-format event with rider-voted prizes at the end of the week for all the best moments. The event continues to offer women and men freeriders the opportunity to test themselves on a course that is considered one of the best in the world.
Sam Reynolds, the creator and protagonist of Darkfest, said, “Another record at Darkfest! The world’s longest dirt-to-dirt jump on a mountain bike! This is why we build the jumps, and to see the guys pushing each other to go bigger is just an unbelievable feeling!”
Thanks to the dedication of the riders to go as big as possible and the team on the ground, millions of fans around the world can engage with incredible social content. Stay tuned for all the best highlights dropping from Darkfest and Monster Energy throughout the week, as well as plenty more coverage from around the world.
Following Isted’s record-breaking feat, Zink took to Instagram to express his frustration over the misspelling of his name and the description of his previous record as “absolutely smashed.” “First off congrats, but ‘absolutely smashing’ my record and spelling my name wrong? C’mon, have some class,” Zink wrote in his post.
Zink also pointed out that the Guinness World Record for the longest dirt-to-dirt straight air is 119 feet and 9 inches, which he currently holds. “Regardless, huge congrats to Tom Isted and Bienvenido Aguado for flipping that monster!” he added.
Over 400 fans commented on Zink’s post, with opinions divided on whether Zink was being too aggressive in his response or whether he was justified in his frustration. Despite the controversy, Isted’s world record-breaking backflip remains an impressive feat in the world of extreme sports.
