Andreu Lacondeguy: first mountain biker ever to attempt a backflip on a snow big air ramp

Jan 9, 2008
by Tyler Maine  
Andreu Lacondeguy is the first one to land a backflip jumping a snow big air ramp on a mountain bike. Exactly a week before his 19th birthday, Kona-Teamrider Andreu made his way into mountain bike history. About 7.000 visitors of the Snowboard Big Air World Cup in Graz paid tribute to the courage of this uprising young Spanish athlete.

Jumping a huge sized snow ramp constructed for skiers & snowboarders is a risky attempt itself. Only a few mountain bikers did take this chance before. The snowy surface in combination with the high speed and the distance of the jump itself are the factors that make it a real stunt.Arrived at the location in Graz, the Spanish native didn’t fight the own excitement but the temperatures: "I didn’t expect that it would be that cold, I should have taken some more warm clothes with me." Attempting one straight jump on Friday, this challenge seemed to be no problem for Andreu at all.

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After the quarterfinals of the Snowboard Big Air World Cup on Saturday, Andreu Lacondeguy rolled into the steep bank and pulled his whole body backwards while loosing the ground under his tires. The whole crowd screaming and yelling, he pulled his bike in a nice smooth vertical rotation and did fly about 20 meters before landing perfectly safe. Only reducing the speed after touching the landing table made the bike a little bit bumpy. Long standing ovations followed, before the main contest was to proceed.

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Andreu’s statement after the jump: ”I was a little bit nervous on the start. I never rode snowboard jumps before and I was not really sure, if it would work out. I just did one practice jump yesterday because jumping that wide is really risky. Today I just flipped it and I landed it clean and perfect. That was the first event of the year for me and I did my biggest backflip ever. That is just amazing for me! Thanks to Red Bull for making this great experience possible.”

Big thanks also to Andreu’s other sponsors: Kona, O`Neal, Marzocchi und Adidas Eyewear.

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Andreu Lacondeguy once again did show his amazing talent and fearlessness that makes him to one of the superstars within the mountain bike sport. Be sure the summer will be exciting. The scene should look forward to see him conquering the airspace at the most important freeride events all over the world.

Pictures by Sebastian Romero

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Member since Mar 27, 2001
3,581 articles

72 Comments
  • 76 18
 Props on the 1st and all, but him and his bro really annoy me. I cant knock their riding cos it's straight up amazing, but every time you see a photo of them in a magazine the're pulling a really stupid face or acting all "yo". Read any MTB mag and you'll see what I mean though. Unjustified I know, so let the negative props roll in.
  • 17 5
 i think your right mate.
  • 21 7
 I agree with you. Amazing rider, but too much of a poser.
  • 39 4
 i know what you are saying but he is just 18 years old, and he's pulling stunts not ever done in this sport. i met him and congratulated him in whistler a coupla days after crankworx and he was quite polite when we spoke. 5 minutes later he was backflipping the bmx dirtjumps with no helmet or shirt- which has led me to detrermine that hes just a crazy fucking kid having a laugh at life. i think that to be in this sport at that level hes gotta be a little nuts, and if it means i get to see him pull all those crazy stunts, but then he makes goofy faces in magazines- i'm ok with it. fair trade off.
  • 5 3
 exactly obee1
  • 9 46
flag evancam (Jan 9, 2008 at 14:38) (Below Threshold)
 If you seriously saw him flipping without a helmet, he is truly a jackass and probably is not long for this world.
  • 13 4
 oh c'mon evancam, why does everyone gat all political on helmets? ... Are they a good idea? yes of course, but you shouldn't care when others don't wear one... I mean, when I was a kid we didn't even have bike helmets and nobody died. Andreau and those guys can backflip as well as you can go buy milk at the store, cut 'em some slack...
  • 15 1
 Whats wrong with pulling silly face? Im pulling one right now...
  • 8 1
 i would rather see someone like andreu who looks like they're geniunely having a good time just fucking around rather than a pro-rider who is all about business and taking it so seriously. it's good to see pro's who ride mainly because its fun rather than another paycheck its why i got into the sport
  • 3 1
 going pro ruins people....thats an awfully broad blanket statement...not true for everyone.
  • 1 1
 hes not pelin stupid faces above
  • 0 1
 pullin*
  • 0 0
 he acts like that on film in like nwd 8 and in the press but i remember paul bas was so cocky before and shit after they grow up in there twenties the calm down,like what evryone forgets is hes a teen,i look at kids in my school and its like holy shit.
  • 3 0
 lets all just be happy that ryan sheckler isnt a pro mountain biker.
he would moan 24/7
  • 33 15
 that dude is so uber cool
  • 41 8
 uber isnt cool though...
  • 7 2
 isnt that something out of ssx tricky? Razz
  • 3 1
 haha yes mate uuuber trick
  • 5 0
 wtf? uber means super
  • 2 0
 So if uber means "super" whats wrong with using the word????
  • 15 3
 i'm seriously speechless. that shit is fucking incredible. and i didn't know he's only 18! i know he's young but damn. way to go on his part. he's showing the world what we can do on bikes.
  • 11 2
 well done man.
  • 8 1
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFIWJ2wBKN8 here's a video..
pretty fu**in awsome, alltough i have to agree with citizenlee..
  • 4 1
 Unless you can ride like him then dont knock him. He is a stellar talent. So what if he acts a bit wacky, he is just a kid and is living his dream, props to him. All the people who criticise him for his personality would still rip on him if he was completely sombre and dull.
  • 8 1
 Andreu is the man to watch this year...
  • 6 1
 is there any video footage of it.
  • 3 0
 I WAS THERE AND IT WAS REALY AMAZING.
I filmed this crazy jump and everybody can see it on youtube:
uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LeItdo8RitE
  • 1 0
 thats just fucking dope huge backflip to begin with, the fact he did it on snow makes it that much more incredible as well.
  • 15 11
 7.000 visitors? That's some pretty exact measuring for something that can be done on your fingers Wink
  • 1 1
 snow is pretty variable,ive seen some fairly consistant traction in snow,it's huge,cool jump, but i think too much is being made out of it being on snow, snow can make a crash be less severe,what would you rather drag your body over dirt or snow?
  • 1 0
 i don`t know dirt is near the same as compact snow like he was riding on it would probobly be the same falling on dirt dirt is hard compact snow is hard.......he is not riding in powder.
  • 5 1
 props for him to step up the sport another notch!
  • 3 0
 All I gotta say is thats 'Awesome!' That is so amazing....
  • 2 0
 he's singularly....style....performance.....funny face for pics....kind in interviews and to fans.....he's my hero
  • 1 0
 the scotty cramner of mtb...very impressive,completely different kind of riding but somehow they have the same attitude...weird maybe they're both biking robots
  • 3 0
 he is an excellent rider but he needs a new bike sponsor and a haircut
  • 3 2
 I expect the part 'Big thanks also to Andreu's other sponsors: Kona, O`Neal, Marzocchi und Adidas Eyewear.' to be copied from other site. AFAIK und is a German word.
  • 1 1
 Well you can tell whoever wrote the post doesn't speak English as their first language. It's kinda Engrish but who cares Smile
  • 1 0
 i agree with what the other guys are saying. this guy is laughing in the face of death.
  • 1 0
 well done andreu, u are an awsome rideer,but i still agree with all the other comments well done
  • 2 1
 Andreu tu eres uno de los mejores!!! saludos a ti y a tu hermano Luis desde Panama. Ojala algun dia vengan por aca!
  • 3 0
 this guy is crazy!
  • 2 2
 hes gonna be a legend in this sport. his style is fucking amazing... hes big !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • 1 0
 Hmmm... official video footage?
  • 0 0
 keep on rockin...I like his style and how big he is going...

Recuerdos desde desde la nieve ;-)
  • 1 0
 he is a ledgend!!! congrats dude truely ausome!!
  • 1 0
 that guy is my f*cking idol
  • 1 0
 Andreu Lacondeguy is one of the best rider ever
  • 0 0
 andreu is a good rider and he have A LAS BOLAS EN SU SITIO JAJAJAJA, GOOD!!!!!
  • 1 1
 yehh im surprised hes only just turned 19 too, his name seems to be knocking around for many many years. well done dude.
  • 1 0
 Thats sick Big Grin
  • 0 0
 uaaaaa yeah men xd ride onnn
  • 1 0
 Setting Standards....
  • 2 2
 is that a girl or a guy.....
  • 1 1
 you know that dosen't suprise me
  • 1 0
 wow get a hair cut
  • 0 0
 hell yeah dude, join the metal mulisha
  • 0 0
 xtremehugehucker shut the F*ck up you dumb moron.
  • 1 1
 He is sooo skilled!
  • 0 1
 go andreu your superman backflips rock dude
  • 1 1
 lol
  • 0 0
 DAm that boys good! Smile
  • 1 1
 he's a DAREDEVIL !!!
  • 1 2
 sweet
  • 0 2
 he is a hero but his hair suck¡¡
  • 6 9
 Is there a vid of this?
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