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Frenchman Tom Pages has opened the ski season in Avoriaz in style. The freestyle motocross champion jumped off a 170-meter cliff and combined a double front flip with a parachute jump… Then just get back on his bike and continue riding. Unseen!
Vincent Van Genechten
The 36-year-old Pages has been pushing boundaries in freestyle motocross for years and so is used to quite a bit air time. But never of this caliber. In the French ski resort of Avoriaz, he steered his modified motorbike at exactly 80 kilometers per hour over a seven-meter high ramp of a 170-meter high cliff. He combined the jump of no less than 55 meters with a double front flip and reached a speed of 150 kilometers per hour in free fall – still on his motorcycle. Then he first opened the parachute of his motorcycle via a special button on the saddle, followed by his own parachute. He landed safely next to his motorcycle 30 seconds later, kicked it into gear and drove off into the sunset.
“The hardest thing was something you can’t see in the video: taking into account the wind,” said the Frenchman. “I really couldn’t and shouldn’t leave anything to chance. The last five days before the jump were all about safety and mental preparation. Total control is a must. Every detail had been thought of. I had been working on this concept for years and was assisted by real pros such as skydivers Fred Fugen and Stéphane Zunino. This is so much more than a cool trick. This is creating. Working out an idea and taking on the challenge, both physically and mentally.”
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