Earlier in the event, Sinclair watched Thomas Pagès stretchered off to the medical hut after becoming the first man to attempt a frontflip in competition only to lose control of his bike and hit the ground hard.

The 24-year-old from Melbourne then kept his cool despite the 41-degree heat and landed two double backflips in the main event.

Sinclair didn’t get away with it completely, and the man from Down Under had to be helped off his bike after both tricks as the hard landing from a height of 10 metres had resulted in serious bruising of the Australian’s bones.

“There has never been a double backflip in competition before. I don’t really care about the fact I was eliminated in the semis – I’m just happy I’m more or less healthy!”

At least he leaves Texas in better shape than his countryman Robbie Maddison who dislocated a shoulder after landing heavily before then popping it back in himself. “I couldn’t stop. The fans were just phenomenal and I really wanted to show one more trick.”

Sinclair’s withdrawal meant defending champion Mat Rebeaud progressed to the final – after eliminating championship leader Eigo Sato, beaten finalist in both previous rounds – in the semi.

But the Swiss lost to Nate Adams who was magnanimous in victory: “Red Bull X-Fighters is the very top of FMX. There is nothing like winning against such world-class athletes.”

Eigo Sato now leads the overall standing of the international FMX tour with 215 points, closely followed by Mat Rebeaud (210 points) and Robbie Maddison (145 points).