Fact: Dirt bike riders lose speed in the air. And so, jumping has to be learned and can only be effective if the rider knows the right tricks, because riders who can get the bike really flat to the ground save vital seconds, landing and accelerating away quicker than their higher flying competitors. A technique that experienced riders particularly like to utilise is called 'scrubbing'.

'Scrubbing' refers to the process in which the motocross rider makes his machine tilit sideways during flight. From a distance, it looks like the motocrosser is trying to push the bike away from himself. 'Scrubbing' works best when the rider keeps his bike as flat as possible and gets down really low over the track with his machine.

This has the effect of significantly reducing the rider's flight path and the MX star hardly gains any altitude at all. In order to apply the technique, the rider moves his upper body towards the handlebars before the jump, making sure that he takes a relaxed stance on the footrests. And then, as he is about to clear the table jump, he transmits the momentum of moving towards the handlebars to the bike, snapping the handlebars to one side. A nice side effect: 'Scrubbing' is very effective and also looks stylish, which is why so many riders like to perform this trick anyway.