Interview with Hugo Frixtalon

Gaetan Clary: How did you feel at the start of last season (early October) and what state of mind were you in?

Hugo Frixtalon: I was pretty good in Leogang and the first two days in Maribor. These two weeks (Leogang and Maribor) were particularly hard physically and mentally. Mainly because of the weather conditions. I usually love conditions like that, but there does come a time sometimes in the cold and rain, when you just can't take it anymore. I was in pretty good shape during the first qualifying round of the week (5th at the last split before falling). On the Friday morning before the first final, I crashed heavily. I hit a tree really hard. From that moment, the fatigue really started to set in. On the Saturday morning of qualifying for race 2 in Maribor, frustrated from the day before for achieving the 20th fastest time, I tried to push to avoid doing the same thing again. I was also frustrated with my French Cup season where I hadn't been able to put anything concrete down in terms of places or consistency. I even found a way to fall into the gondola station by sliding on the paint while turning. I was smeared across the floor like **** in front of a marshal (laughs). So, Saturday morning in Maribor, I was in ‘win or hospital’ mode. We saw what happened next (laughs).

GC: Do you think this year's format was too busy for riders’ physical capabilities? (Four days of World Championships followed by two races in one week for each World Cup).

HF: Clearly, I think so. The conditions played a big part. Doing so many days full blast was physically demanding. Of course, that's not why I got hurt at all, far from it. Everyone was still quite exhausted physically. We saw more crashes than in a normal season.

GC: You've had a broken wrist for 3 months now, how is your recovery going? Have you been back on the bike?

HF: Slowly but surely! I started extreme activities 2 weeks ago (laughs). It was long enough, I really focused on the physical stuff during the month of December. I continue to go to the physiotherapist every day. The vibrations on the bike still bother me and I haven’t regained all my mobility back yet.

GC: I could see during this week with you that you never stopped moving… Motorbike, shaping, MTB... What is your life routine besides training

HF: That's right, I'm a bit hyperactive! I have a workout schedule throughout the week. Then I also adapt a bit depending on where I am and what I have to do... At the moment, I have a lot of trails to shape for a video project. So, I organised with Cédric (Ravanel, my trainer) to be able to take some time out of my training hours. Fortunately, I am lucky to have my friend Guillaume who helps me loads to shape my lines, which allows me to be more or less focused on training.

GC: You started out on two wheels on a motorbike. Can you tell us a little more about that?

HF: My dad put me on a motorbike when I was 6, I think. My grandfather too. I rode motocross until I was 12 and then I devoted my time to MTB. I was able to buy a motorbike 2 years ago. I do it when I have time, it's my bit of fun! In fact, it’s an excellent training method to work on endurance and especially concentration and it's great to keep doing a sport where you have a lot of room for improvement. It's different from DH where the level is so high that you don't really feel the difference as you progress, technically speaking.

GC: You are known for your video prowess despite your young age. How important is image in your life? Why are you invested in this area?

HF: I enjoy it as much as racing, I try to do 50/50 racing/video. So, it's a lot of work between that and training. I couldn't say why I'm so involved… Because I just like it. As soon as I have something in mind that I like, I do it thoroughly. I think I'm pretty creative, I think all the time about new ideas for videos, looking for spots, music...

GC: What are your influences in terms of bike videos? Or sections that stuck with you?

HF: Of course, like everyone else, Revel Co. I don't really have a rider who influences me in particular. I am inspired a bit by everyone, lots of sports and different things. I find that at the moment everything is getting a bit lost. There aren't as many banger edits like there used to be... Or maybe I got too critical... The best bike videos that come to mind: Unreal, Revel in the Chaos, the Trek JBL Video Series, Signal, Rad Company, the Step to the Top, Parallèle, Rythme…

GC: We can see that you are training a lot with Amaury (Pierron) this year who is also coming back from injury, do you think that will bring you something more for 2021?

HF: Yes, Amaury is not far from my place at the moment. It's always good for motivation to have good friends to ride and train with. I am normally a bit on my own so it's cool! Especially for smoking him at darts (laughs).

GC: What are your plans for 2021? Races? Results? Videos? Something else?

HF: I have quite a few video projects lined up for this year, but I can't talk about them now, they're still classified. We just started filming with you (Gaétan Clary) again for personal projects, so that's cool! After that, performance, take a maximum of top 10 spots in the World Cups, if there are any… Then, I have some other extra sports projects which are also classified for now (laughs)!