Photo courtesy of Bartek Wolinski – Red Bull Content Pool
Dawid Godziek Achieved a “Freeze Frame” Effect and Performed an Unprecedented Flat Drop Backflip to a Flat Landing.
Dawid Godziek, the 2024 Slopestyle World Champion, has achieved a historic milestone in mountain biking: riding his bike on a moving train.
In a world-first feat, created in collaboration with Prada Linea Rossa, Godziek navigated an unprecedented mountain bike course built on a speeding train.
He skillfully traversed 10 carriages at a speed of 23 km/h while performing some of the sport’s most electrifying tricks – all captured in a spectacular “freeze frame” effect.
Photo courtesy of Bartek Wolinski – Red Bull Content Pool
The 80/20 Snapshot:
- Historic Achievement: Dawid Godziek becomes the first-ever rider to complete a mountain bike course on a moving train, reaching speeds of 23 km/h.
Photo courtesy of Bartek Wolinski – Red Bull Content Pool
- Technical Mastery: The course, which spans ten train carriages and features eight jumps, was designed to test precision and balance in motion.
Photo courtesy of Bartek Wolinski – Red Bull Content Pool
- Visual Spectacle: Achieved a “freeze frame” effect by synchronizing riding speed with the moving train, creating a visually stunning result.
Photo courtesy of Bartek Wolinski – Red Bull Content Pool
- Champion Tricks: Godziek performed a double tailwhip, frontflip, and the world’s first flat drop backflip to flat landing from stairs on the final carriage.
Photo courtesy of Bartek Wolinski – Red Bull Content Pool
- Supportive Collaboration: Produced in partnership with Prada Linea Rossa, this project highlights a mix of engineering and athletic excellence, supported by Grupa Azoty Koltar and PKP Polish State Railways.
Photo courtesy of Bartek Wolinski – Red Bull Content Pool
- Szymon Godziek’s Input: Szymon, Dawid’s brother and MTB champion, praised the project’s ambition and Dawid’s relentless pursuit of pushing boundaries.
Deep Dive:
– The vision was clear – build the world’s first MTB track on a moving train. Turning this ambitious idea into reality, the Polish rider conquered the challenging course. With a 2.7-meter-wide track, potential wind gusts, and limited reference points, the technical demands were immense, but Godziek’s champion-level skills made the seemingly impossible, possible.
– “At first, I practised riding on the track while the train was parked. Once I felt confident, we set the train in motion and gradually increased the speed. 23 kilometers per hour was the right moving speed to match my riding speed to create the feeling of riding in one position. That impression of a frozen background is very strange. Navigating this course smoothly was much more challenging than it looked,” said Godziek.
– To perfect this pioneering achievement, the rider made 15 attempts, ultimately realizing the intended “freeze frame” video effect that leaves viewers in awe.
– “We are dealing with the principle of Galilean relativity here. When a train moves in one direction at a constant speed, and Dawid riding in the opposite direction maintains a similar speed, a camera positioned on the side keeps the rider in a static frame the entire time. It’s a bit like in old-school computer games where the background scrolls, and the player always stays in the central part of the screen,” explained Dawid Myśliwiec, the creator of popular science videos.
– Godziek did not just ride the train – he dominated it. His run included spectacular tricks such as a double tailwhip, frontflip, and the world’s first-ever flat drop backflip to flat landing from stairs on the final carriage. Accompanying him on the shoot was his older brother, Szymon, an accomplished freestyle MTB rider and Red Bull Rampage podium finisher.
– “Dawid is now at his peak performance level. In 2024 he stood atop the podium at the FMB World Tour in Cairns, Innsbruck, and Whistler. I am glad he still has the passion for doing unconventional things and pushing the boundaries, not only in official competitions. Red Bull Bike Express is a crazy and technically challenging project. I hope the video can inspire people to get into mountain biking,” commented Szymon.
– The Red Bull Bike Express course was an engineering marvel, built on 10 train cars provided by Grupa Azoty Koltar. It featured 8 jumps, a roller, and a stair drop, all navigated on Godziek’s custom Specialized bike equipped with Continental tires.
– Filming took place in Upper Silesia with support from PKP Polish State Railways S.A., marking the first Polish sports project produced in collaboration with Prada Linea Rossa: the champion was equipped with clothes that allowed freedom of movement, bringing together comfort and high-performance function, in an ongoing partnership with Red Bull that supports demanding challenges and the athletes who dare to take them on.
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