Wheelies and eight foot jumps were among the stunts that wowed Chennaiites at an event organized at the Express Avenue mall on Saturday. As visitors crowded around the customized ramps in the atrium, bikers Greg Illingworth of South Africa and Paul Ryan of the UK displayed a range of BMX (biking motocross) stunts.

“It was amazing to watch them do so much with bicycles,” said Piyush Chandra, a visitor. “I have only watched BMX bikers on television before,” he added. During the hourlong performance organized TI Cycles and sports event management company CRX sports, there were a lot of cheers and gasps from the audience. A few lucky youngsters got a chance to learn a few simple tricks from the bikers.

“As of now, very few people are involved in BMX cycling in India. There are a few in cities like Mumbai, Chandigarh, Manipur, Bangalore and Pune,” said Rohit Kuttappa, managing director of CRX sports. “We are trying to create a buzz around the sport to encourage more people to take it up,” he added.

One of the more daring stunts
involved lining up eight-nine children on the ground and jumping over them. “The children are very excited and are very happy they got picked to be part of the stunt,” said a parent who had brought a group of about six children to watch the performance, all of whom got to volunteer. “This is the first time we are doing this stunt with more than six children,” said Illingworth.

While some parents encouraged their children to volunteer for the stunts, there were concerns, too, about the risks involved. However, the organizers said safety regulations were followed. “We had two doctors and ambulances on call. The riders are professionals and won’t attempt stunts that can be hazardous to the kids,” said Kuttappa. “None of the children was coaxed into volunteering,” he added.