Sand : a new challenge for Tom Pagès

On the 8th and 9th January, the Gurp TT, a mythical sand race, was held in Grayan-et-l'Hôpital (Gironde, France). It was the 5th round of the CFS (French Sand Championship). It was the occasion for us to see Tom Pagès again, who we know for his X-Games gold medals and vertiginous jumps but less on the sand, but still. Interview with the king of freestyle, who never ceases to surprise us.

Why sand races?

Tom tells us: "I love to ride on sand, it’s cool, I like the flow that it can give you when you gain speed." To ride in sand, you need a good physical training, as we know, and for Tom, it’s complementary with freestyle. Whenever he has time, he rides in sand. This allows him to take a break in between the FMX seasons. We already saw him last year at Loon Plage for example.

And how was Grayan ?

The race was as difficult as he imagined. The weather conditions and the rain have rendered the route tricky. “The start of the race is always impressive with all the drivers going at full speed." His goal here is not to win but to try to have fun and enjoy. He tells us he’s participating with a relax attitude, and he’s respectful of the leaders. " I do not want to hinder the race. I immediately took a lap by the firsts and my goal is not to disturb them." Tom finishes 24th out of 550.

"If all goes according to plan, I will be at the Enduropale du Touquet".

And it wouldn’t be a first. Tom has already taken the start of the Touquet Enduropale 2 times before but without finishing. The reasons : a fuel shortage and a mechanical breakdown. The goal is to finish it this year. IPONE and Wonderbike have prepared a great bike for him. Until the end of February, he continues to train. "Grayan was a very important race for progression. You learn a lot during races, almost more than you do when training."

Photos : Antoine Truchet / iponemediahouse