Stunt biker Danny MacAskill has used lockdown to focus on even more extreme mountain biking, he revealed on the release of a new cycling adventure video.
The 35-year-old filmed his new feature Danny MacAskill – The Slabs online after coronavirus restrictions forced the cancellation of several projects in 2020.
It shows the biking professional scrambling to just below the summit of Sgurr Dubh Beag on the Isle of Skye with his bike strapped to his back, before riding down a 900-metre route.
Our new film “The Slabs” is online now!!https://t.co/a4YFFDyndK #theslabs #dubhslabs #isleofskye #Scotland #gopro #wearepeny #mountainbiking
— Danny MacAskill (@danny_macaskill) January 28, 2021
He told the PA news agency: “Like everybody, 2020 threw us all a big curveball.
“I had a big bunch of projects in the USA which had to be cancelled and I ended up staying in the Spey Valley, near Aviemore.
“For six months I was riding my mountain bike every day.
“I was just trying to make the most of it.”
His breakthrough video called Inspired Bicycles – April 2009 was released 11 years ago and includes stunts filmed at well known locations across Edinburgh.
Since then he has racked up well over 300 million views on various YouTube platforms.
The Ridge (October 2014), MacAskill’s last feature video also filmed on Skye, where he tackles the Inaccessible Pinnacle on the Cuillin Ridge, has been watched at least 74.5 million times on YouTube.
His latest production was filmed over a few days in Skye in September.
MacAskill added: “I was pretty nervous tackling a lot of the obstacles on the route.
“The most challenging part was definitely the final 200-metre slab vertical section, which on the first day was just not possible to ride. It was very exposed and had a very difficult runout.
“This made the grip, braking and balance very difficult.
“You literally feel gravity just pulling you down the rock and when the only thing stopping you is your brakes you really feel how steep it is.
“Luckily it all worked out and I managed to get off the slab onto the grass reasonably controlled.”
