Matthias Dandois, 9 times flatland BMX world champion, publishes his memoirs. He doesn’t forget FISE. “Montpellier has given me back a hundredfold all the enthusiasm for BMX that I have shown here since adolescence.”
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Matthias Dandois fell into BMX by chance, while watching television. One Wednesday lunchtime, he skips the show “C’est mon chose”, on France 3 presented by Evelyne Thomas. “On set that day, there was Sébastien Bonnot, aka Woody, a flat BMX pro. In front of the screen, I watched him give a demonstration, spinning his bike in all directions, jumping over several people lying on the ground.”
A few years later and nine world champion titles in flatland BMX, a discipline which consists of performing balanced figures on a bike, Matthias Dandois, 35, is a true icon of his sport, ambassador during the last Olympic Games. ” My greatest success is falling in love as a teenager with a niche practice, a little-known art which has quietly captured the hearts of tens of thousands of young people.”
Over the course of his career, he invented around fifty figures. A success through hard work. “No BMX fairy has leaned over my cradle and administered doses of talent to me with a magic wand. I worked hard. I could stay on my bike for hours and refuse to get off until I had achieved the trick I had in mind“.
Matthias Dandois will stop competing at the end of the year. And he said goodbye to FISE in Montpellier last May. “Without the FISE, without the great atmosphere of these spring meetings in Montpellier in which I had the chance to participate no less than eighteen times, the little bike would undoubtedly not be where it is today. today“.
Cover of the book by Matthias Dandois. • © Flammarion
Matthias Dandois is offering a signing session on Friday November 8 at the FNAC in Montpellier from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
What relationship do you have with FISE?
I did my first FISE in 2004, it was again at the Espace Grammont and I really grew up with this competition. Without FISE, I would not be here today. This is also why Montpellier is so important in action sports in the world and without FISE, BMX would not have been at the Olympics and would not have become what it has become today.
Were the organizers of the Paris Olympics inspired by FISE?
Yes, the idea of creating an urban park that brought together all our cultures was inspired by FISE and Montpellier and it’s great that the IOC had the intelligence to copy what was already working.
I have such a crazy history with this city
2014 at FISE is an important date for you. For what ?
Before the qualifications, Stage 2 followed me to do a report, I had been partying the day before, I jumped the steps towards the Comédie and I fell badly. I broke my ankle and it was really a shock, a blessing for my career. Since that day, I took charge of myself and became a true high-level athlete. Once again, Montpellier is an integral part of my history.
We ultimately learn very little from victories. Without this injury, I would have continued to party without taking sport seriously.
2024: the last one at FISE and lots of emotions?
I had so much success here and it was important to me to do one last great edition. During the final, it was like an American film with the audience who really pushed me and I pushed myself to the limit. I couldn’t have imagined such an ending even in my wildest dreams.
And at the end of the event, the organizers broadcast a video on the big screen…
I have such a crazy history with this city, seeing the best moments since I was a kid and all the important athletes from the scene commenting on this recap video, it was truly extraordinary. I’m not someone who shows my emotions a lot but here I couldn’t help but shed my little tear.
