As it turns out, however, this is not always the case: all weekend long, Red Square will be overrun by motorbikes, as part of a freestyle motocross competition taking place right next to the walls of the Kremlin.

This is the first time an international event of this sort is happening in Russia – no wonder the spectacular event leaves onlookers open-mouthed: audacious riders are doing somersaults as high as 10 meters up in the air, and somehow manage to stay on.

Under the simple rules, each player gets just 90 seconds, after which he is given a certain number of points: the harder the trick, the better the result.

It took organizers 10 days and 250 trucks of sand to build the course.

“Red Square is a historic place with lots of sights, so we couldn’t damage the bricks,” course designer Dane Herron told RT. “That’s why we put plastic down first and only then sand, so that it did not touch the bricks.”

The jumps on the course are very steep, but bikers say the injuries just make them more eager to continue.

“I broke my shoulder and spent 9 months in bed,” freestyle motocross rider Nate Adams told RT. “But after that I just had more energy, I was hungrier for the sport than I’ve even been.”

Red Bull X-Fighters in RT Galleries