In 2005 two young brothers, Charles and Tom Pagès, riders in the French Motocross championship, moved from Nantes, Brittany to Hossegor, south-west France, Europe’s biggest surf spot - not to ride the waves, but to cultivate their passion for freestyle motocross. Manu Troux, the Pagès brothers fmx idol, lived In Hossegor. Manu was definitely the most famous french freestyle motocross rider in the world at that time, and he was the first European fmx rider to go to the USA to ride fmx events. A deep friendship was formed over the years between the Pagès brothers and Manu Troux, as they practiced together in the fmx park at home and travelled the world riding fmx events. When Manu stopped riding fmx professionally in 2007, his manager, Sebastien Billault, began to follow the two Pagès brothers, and was part of their first great successes. In 2008 the Pagès brothers participated in their first Red Bull X-Fighters event, stamping their names among the top riders in the world. Bercy, France, in 2010 was the last fmx event at the end of a long career for Manu Troux, but also threatened to be the last event for Charles, because he had a horrific crash trying a frontflip, which led to a major recovery that took two years. 2012 was supposed to be the end of the world for the Mayans, but for the Pagès brothers it was the beginning of their new world. Tom was second overall at the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour and Charles had started to jump ramps again. We spent three full days at the Pagès home, hanging out from breakfast until the evening.
Your name is linked to the Red Bull X-Fighters..what is X-Fighters for you?
For me the Red Bull X-Fighters are the most important contests in my life and I’m so proud to be a part of them. My first X-Fighters was in 2008 in Mexico, and I remember riding with the big names in fmx like Robbie Maddison, Jeremy Stenberg and Jeremy Lusk. I was really impressed and so proud to be there with them. I finished in 6th position. Then I went to Fort Worth, Texas, where I remember the course was huge. I was a little bit scared about it because everything was so big, I felt a lot of pressure, and a lot of stress. In 2008 I didn’t go to all the X-Fighters events and it was hard competing with the big stars of fmx. Sometimes during the qualifying I would finish second or third, but during the main events I always made some little mistakes. That year I did the doublegrab backflip before anyone else. In 2009 I signed with Red Bull and then I was part of the entire X-Fighters World Tour. The first event was in Mexico again and I finished in 5th position. It was good all season but not the best for me. In 2010-2011 I didn’t ride the Red Bull X-Fighters tour because I decided not to do any backflips. I made my come back in 2012.
How was last year riding in the Red Bull X-Fighters world Tour?
Last year for me was a super important one, because I wanted to ride my bike without the pressure and stress, and just be able to focus on having fun. My season started like last time but I was more focused on my love for riding and not only on winning. I made some videos with my friend Michel Never, who filmed everytime I rode. I went to the foampit everyday to practice for Best Trick at X-Games - that was my goal. I got the invite just one week before X-Fighters Glen Helen, USA, and I was happy not only to be part of the event, but to ride with my friends on a big course like that. I finished in second position. I was surprised about the result, as were all my friends, and the media.
“I was so scared and in my helmet I said - Tom I’ll never do this trick again”
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