The Tower of London’s iconic lifting road bridge was open for passing ships yesterday morning but that did not stop an Australian motorcyclist crossing the Thames in style.

Robbie Maddison, a stunt rider, raced up one side of the raised bridge and flew through the air 100ft above the water. He performed a no-handed backflip before landing safely on the south side of the bridge.

The 27-year-old became the first person to leap the 25ft gap between spans at 2.55am yesterday. “The whole experience was awesome,” he said.

“We had a matter of minutes on the bridge and had to time everything to the second — there were so many factors to get right, but we pulled it off.

Times Archive 1952 Bus jumps gap on Tower Bridge

The bus came unnoticed on to the bridge as it was just about to move

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“It was an incredible feeling to fly between the two towers and over the Thames.”

Maddison said he had been planning a stunt in London since his last feat — leaping off a ramp on to a life-size replica of the Arc de Triomphe in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve last year.

“People say I’m crazy, but I just want to push the boundaries of my sport and my body to the limit and I love taking on these huge challenges,” he said.

Maddison, who also holds the record for the world’s longest ever motorbike jump of 350.7ft (106.9m), will perform at Battersea Power Station on August 22 as part of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2009.

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