Maddo the motorcycle courier

Is there anything he can't do? Maddo has been seen spearing through traffic in what his lawyers (and insurers) would probably term an "ill advised adventure" in Brazil.

Australian Freestyle MX legend Robbie 'Maddo' Maddison was in Sao Paulo this week, ahead of the second round of the 2011 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour, joining the quarter of a million motorcycle couriers in their daily pilgrimage to deliver letters, packages and documents.

Called motoboys, the 250,000 odd couriers in Sao Paulo are also known for their devil-may-care attitude to road rules, regularly having close calls with other motorists and generally enjoying/scaring themselves while on the job.

So what was Maddo doing in the South American megacity, amongst the chaos, the crime, the slums and salubrious city skyline of Sao Paolo? Making a TV documentary it seems.

The 29-year old extreme sports champion teamed up with Karlos Maxwell, a long time motoboy, and after a day spent weaving his way through the traffic, Maddison was in awe of what the locals face every day.

"What these guys do with their indefinable bikes in this traffic is just indescribable. Karlos does things with pure intuition and it's the same for me with FMX," Maddison said. Only thing is, Maddo doesn't have thousands of cars trying to kill him while he performs his work duties.

"The way Karlos seemed to be able to instinctively anticipate what the cars were going to do and was always ready with the right reaction reminded me a lot about what I’ve internalised on my bike," explained Maddison, who says he feels safer on his Yamaha YZ450F getting airborne in front the Sphinx in Egypt, or jumping 85 metres across the Corinth canal in Greece.

The second round of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour takes place in the Brazilian capital Brasilia, and the season finale will take place in Australia. See the calendar below for more details.

01 Dany Torres ESP KTM SX250 (100 points)
02 Andre Villa NOR Yam YZ250 (80 points)
03 Nate Adams USA Hon CR450 (65 points)
04 Blake Williams AUS KTM SX350 (55 points)
05 Levi Sherwoood NZL Yam YZ250 (45 points)
06 Eigo Sato JAP Yam YZ250 (35 points)
07 Robbie Maddison AUS Yam YZ250 (30 points)
08 Adam Jones USA Yam YZ250 (25 points)
09 Taka Higashino JAP Yam YZ250 (20 points)
10 Rob Adelberg AUS Yam YZ250 (15 points)
11 Lance Coury USA Hon CR250 (10 points)
12 Jackson Strong AUS KTM SX250 (5 points)

Brazil May 28
Italy June 25
Spain July 15
Poland August 6
Australia September 17

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