Robbie Maddison Performs Exciting Motorcycle Jumps In Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS - As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald: "Most Aussies celebrate New Year's Eve with a backyard barbecue and one too many beers.

Robbie Maddison said hello to 2009 by climbing on
Robbie Maddison beat the world record for motorcycle jumps on New Years Eve.  his Yamaha motocross bike, speeding down the Las Vegas strip outside the Paris Casino at 90kmh, launching up a giant ramp and flying 37 metres in the air and landing on top of a replica of France's iconic monument, the Arc de Triomphe.

The stunt was equivalent to jumping on a 10-storey apartment building.

After landing safely, the 27-year-old showman from the Kiama in NSW performed one last death-defying stunt, dropping off the Arc de Triomphe and free-falling to a landing ramp below.

It was a flawless stunt watched by tens of million TV and internet viewers around the world.

"It's definitely a milestone in my life to overcome the fear I had," a jubilant Maddison, whose left hand was dripping with blood after the freefall impact, said.

"The hand kills. I think I broke it."

Maddison has become a fixture in Las Vegas on the biggest party night of the year after performing a world record jump last New Year's Eve by clearing 98 metres, the length of a gridiron football field, at an event televised live by ESPN at Vegas' Rio Casino.