We then entered Gilles's garage, deep under the house. I must admit I did notice immediately that the shelf behind his work bench carried only garden tools and of course Scottish number boards. Maybe knowing little about the mechanicals and concentrating on the riding was the holy grail of becoming a great rider ! Perhaps I had cracked it .....or maybe not :). In any case we had a laugh about him having no tools. Gilles had the final laugh however when he presented his Apico Trial gauge. From one World champ to another.
When you are World Champion, its time to let others work on your bike and that's exactly what Gilles does. His Sherco is maintained by the Sherco Enduro factory nearby. He says he has a great relationship with them. I'd agree. He seems to be doing very well out of them :).
What was the name of your motorcycle club?
Le furious montagne.
Does it still exist now?
No it is gone. It means the furious people from the mountains haha
So who actually first noticed you and are identified you as being a good rider and who help to give you a break with sponsorship?
What I remember is that the first opportunity I had to ride an SWM was with Charles Coutard. He spoke to me about the factory and told me that they were looking for a young rider for the 125 bike that they had, but before then I was just by myself.
So was it actually Charles Coutard who introduced you to SWM?
Yes yes, he saw me riding and you know I was a young rider in France and I was one of the best young riders in the local trials club. Charles would always keep an eye on the trials competitions and he knew what was going on and he was riding. Well he found out about me and he said you know SWM are looking for a young rider and so he introduced me. He said that I have to go to Milan and try the bike, so my dad drove me there and we met with Pietro Kucklican at the time and I tried the bike and it all went from there.
Le furious montagne.
Does it still exist now?
No it is gone. It means the furious people from the mountains haha
So who actually first noticed you and are identified you as being a good rider and who help to give you a break with sponsorship?
What I remember is that the first opportunity I had to ride an SWM was with Charles Coutard. He spoke to me about the factory and told me that they were looking for a young rider for the 125 bike that they had, but before then I was just by myself.
So was it actually Charles Coutard who introduced you to SWM?
Yes yes, he saw me riding and you know I was a young rider in France and I was one of the best young riders in the local trials club. Charles would always keep an eye on the trials competitions and he knew what was going on and he was riding. Well he found out about me and he said you know SWM are looking for a young rider and so he introduced me. He said that I have to go to Milan and try the bike, so my dad drove me there and we met with Pietro Kucklican at the time and I tried the bike and it all went from there.
Time to go riding with Gilles