A 5-star casting to inaugurate a unique place in Europe. In mid-September, more than 30 pro riders including Anthony Jeanjean (chance for an Olympic medal in BMX), Kieran Reilly (BMX freestyle world champion), Tomas Lemoine (freestyle mountain bike specialist) and Joe Atkinson (multiple winner of the Cup of the world of freestyle roller skating) discovered the 15 hectares of the Fise Farm. A new high-level training center validated by the world’s best.
“There is everything to prepare perfectly as a professional. […] We responded to a vital need, especially one year before the Games. »
Matthias Dandois, 9 world titles in BMX flat
“It’s a place I would have dreamed of as a kid, an American spot,” assures Matthias Dandois, 9 times BMX world champion and co-founder of Fise Farm, 20 km south of Reims. There is everything to prepare perfectly as a pro. In France, we had this excuse, a true one, when we said that we couldn’t perform: there isn’t enough infrastructure. The ramps in France were too small, the means of sport in France are not as big as those of Anglo-Saxon sport. We responded to a vital need, especially one year before the Games. »
In addition to its international level skateparks and tracks (including BMX park and race, Olympic disciplines), and its old renovated farmhouse at Clos des Vignettes, the Fise Farm also includes a start-up incubator, a restaurant, meeting rooms seminars, a dojo, a fitness room and another treatment room. Cycling as a common point before, why not, opening up to other sports.
The ambitious project, costed around 5.5 million euros, with 100% private investment, draws in particular on the recognized expertise of Fise (the International Festival of Extreme Sports, more than 500,000 people in 5 days in Montpellier each year) and the Hurricane company, one of the world references in the construction of infrastructure and the organization of events around action sports. Hervé André-Benoît, the boss of Fise, talks about “a Fise all year round in Val-de-Livre”.
“It’s a crazy tool for the new generation. Ultimately, it will also be a place to scout young talents. »
Matthias Dandois, co-founder of Fise Farm
A “European Woodward”
“As much as possible, we involve athletes, professionals, to get their feedback and their expertise,” explains Vincent Chrzanowski, co-founder of Fise Farm and director of Hurricane Tracks, originally from the Champagne region. We place an important figure from the field in each discipline to sign the track. For example, the new BMX park which will arrive at the end of January was designed by Pascal Morasse, the designer of the one for the Tokyo Olympics. For the cross-country trails, we are in partnership with Jordan Sarrou (2020 world champion). » European champion Kieran Reilly compared the center to a “European Woodward”, a laudatory nod to the benchmark in terms of (private) training center for action sports in the United States.
From September 2024, Fise Farm will be open to the public, tourists and amateurs, including training camps for young people, supervised by professionals. “The problem with action sports is the lack of structure and supervision,” points out Dandois. With the Olympics and the integration of our sports into the FFC, there are now coaching certificates. The children will be able to be supervised, the parents will be calm at the idea of leaving their children whereas I, for example, had to train in the street. There will be real interaction between pros and amateurs. It’s a crazy tool for the new generation. Ultimately, it will also be a place to scout young talents. »
At the start of 2024, several national BMX freestyle park teams plan to place their bikes there just before the Paris Olympics, including the English, the Americans and the Australians, with several of the big favorites for future Olympic medals. Proof of the success of Fise Farm.
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