Tom Pagès, a true icon of freestyle motocross, continues to push back the frontiers of the impossible. After making his mark with innovative tricks in international competitions such as the X-Games, the Frenchman has once again distinguished himself with an unprecedented feat: paragliding on a motorcycle!
The "Ride & Fly" challenge, Tom Pagès's Everest
In 2020, Pagès had already impressed with a double Front Flip (a motocross trick translated as two front somersaults) from the cliffs of Avoriaz, landing by parachute. But this challenge was clearly not enough to satisfy the pilot's adrenalin. In his latest stunt, dubbed "Ride & Fly", which follows on from the "Flight Mode" challenge, he launched himself from the Portes du Soleil mountains between France and Switzerland. Tightly gripping the handlebars at 80 km/h, he glided through the air using a specially designed paraglider.
If Everest is in the air for some (Youtuber Inoxtag has been in the news recently for his remarkable performance), the quest for the extreme doesn't stop there. This "Roule et Vole" project, born of discussions with speedflying expert Valentin Delluc, took over two years of meticulous preparation. The combination of a motorcycle and a glider capable of keeping it in the air represented a real technical challenge. The result? An incredible feat in which Pagès even reached peak speeds of 100 km/h in mid-air. However, the adventure was not all plain sailing...
Two years of preparation and a few doubts overcome
During the first trials, the man from Nantes confides that he was terrified at heights of over 500 meters, juggling unstable weather conditions and obstacles such as cliffs and trees. "The sails are ultra-unstable, and with a motorcycle, it's even worse," he admits in an interview with L'Equipe. In the face of difficulty - because if you don't, it's no fun - the pilot succeeded in accomplishing this feat after several attempts, his fourth attempt being crowned with success!
The spectacular stunt was filmed and compiled into a short video, shot in several locations across the Alps. However, Pagès makes no secret of the fact that the project cost him a great deal of energy and stress. Between unpredictable weather conditions, technical difficulties and the need to postpone filming (originally scheduled for October 2023), the adventure tested the determination of the freestyler who claimed he only lived for these moments. "I'm going to think twice before embarking on a new project", he admits, even if "far-fetched" ideas keep running through his mind. After this latest feat, it seems that Tom Pagès still has some crazy challenges ahead of him, but caution is now the order of the day in the face of risk
Photo credits: Dom Daher/Red Bull Content Pool
