World BMX freestyle legend, Frenchman Matthias Dandois (35 years old) published his autobiography “Figure du bitume” at the end of his immense career. The nine-time flat BMX world champion looks back in this interview on his extraordinary journey.
Why did you decide to write this book?
A year and a half ago, I received a message from a Flammarion editor. At first, writing a book seemed crazy to me. And then I said to myself that it was a good time to do it, I’m stopping competing at the end of the year, I have lots of memories from the last 20 years.
At the beginning of the book, you talk about a few first times concentrated during a weekend in the United States…
This is the pivotal weekend in my sporting and adult life. When I returned to Paris, I obtained my baccalaureate. By winning a World Cup round and having passed the baccalaureate while having become a little more adult elsewhere (smile), I grew up suddenly.
You seem inseparable from your bike. What relationship do you have with this object?
This relationship has evolved throughout my career. When I was 13 or 14, I would get up at night to go look at him in the garage. Once I knew how to do tricks, it became a release. After 23 or 24 years old, I understood that it allowed me to do beautiful things, the bike became a dance partner. Today, to come full circle, it’s an object that hurts my back more and more (laughs).
The notion of work is particularly significant in your career…
I won competitions quite quickly in my youth, so I found satisfaction in the work. I wasn’t necessarily more talented than anyone else. I preferred the moment when I learned the figure more than the moment when I succeeded.
Alex Jumelin, world figure in flat BMX and Fise Montpellier, was your idol, he became your best friend. The relationship you have with him is magnificent…
Alex changed my life, I was a big fan when I was little. The first time I saw it, I was shaking. He was kind, he took me under his wing. And since he is 12 years older than me, my parents trusted him to take me everywhere. At first he was the Jedi and I was the Padawan until the Padawan outgrew the Jedi.
Fise Montpellier has changed your career and even your life.
I am a child of Fise Montpellier, I have been going there since 2004 when it was still in Grammont. I’ve won it seven times. I have experienced ups and downs, extraordinary moments of celebration, injuries… After Paris, Montpellier is the city in France where I have spent the most time.
Last May, you participated in your last Fise on the banks of the Lez with this legendary run to the music of Kyo, “Dernière danse”. How did you experience this moment?
First of all, having experienced it in front of my parents was extraordinary. I managed to qualify for the final and I had one of the craziest runs of my career thanks to the Montpellier crowd who supported me. I was overcome by emotions, there was such communion. It was a moment suspended in time.
