Source: Montreal Supercross

Last July, the organizers of the Montréal Supercross announced the coming of the young French rider Thomas Pagès - with Montréal freestyle fans hoping for a grand finale between Pagès and Québec veteran Benoît Milot.


Unfortunately, Ben will miss this rendezvous following a severe ankle fracture suffered while training for the planned Montréal meet at "Milot Land", his private training ground. The Yamachiche, Québec, resident will be sporting a cast for several weeks prior to undertaking physiotherapy treatments. However, Milot will still be present at the Olympic Stadium this Saturday, September 20, where he will be acting as a judge for the freestyle event.

Last year, the 23-year-old Pagès became the first rider in the world to execute a Double Seat Grab Flip, the most dangerous combination of flips. Born in the southwest of France, the Biarritz resident started competing in BMX before moving to motocross. The 2008 season has been the busiest of his young professional career. He successfully competed in the Moto X WC last April in San Diego and was part of a group of top international flyers competing in the Red Bull Fighter championship.

The first weekend of August, he performed a Double Grab Flip Look Back with his Suzuki to capture fifth place in the Best Trick program at the Los Angeles X-Games. Following the last event on September 6 in Warsaw, Poland, he was classified seventh overall in the final standings.

Even with Milot missing the event, Pagès will still face strong opposition from 25-year-old Suzuki rider Justin Johansen and 24-year-old Julian D'Usseau, who rides a Yamaha. The legendary "Mad" Mike Jones from Pennsylvania will be joining the two Californians. Following an accident in 2006, the 38-year-old missed the Olympic Stadium event the last three years. Jones is regarded as one of the creators of the freestyle craze that dates back to the early eighties, and he still has several fans in the Montréal area.

As for Johansen, he competed at the Montreal Supercross at the turn of the century where he achieved his first-ever Back Flip. Some of the fans will probably also remember him for having posed the Big Question to his future bride in front of the crowd. D'Usseau will be making his first visit to Montréal.

Canadian fans will cheer for Paul Smith, a 41-year-old Suzuki flyer from Nova Scotia and 25-year-old Jeff Fehr from BC who rides a Honda. Fehr won the Montréal event in 2005, and former motocross rider Smith, despite his age, runs on a regular basis the freestyle circuit in the southeast of the United States.


Photo Credit : Philippe Champoux - Auto123.com