Eliot Nochez has made a spectacular video with “The stunt is back/bike”. In the three-minuter the ADVANCE Acro team pilot has mountain biker Kilian Bron along as tandem passenger. What’s special about this? During the flight Kilian is sitting on his bike! After a short while Eliot sets him down, whereupon an exciting race between paraglider and mountain bike develops. In the interview Eliot explains how he got the idea and what were the difficulties.
ADVANCE: Eliot, how much time did you need to prepare for “The stunt is back/bike” shooting?
I’d had the idea for a long time. I kept on considering whether it was possible, and what would have to be done. When the shooting arrangements firmed up we had three days to practice the first jump, and later, the Kilian pickup. As well as that we had one day to check out the shooting location in some detail and then two days shooting. Cutting and editing the video then needed a week.
Where did you do the shooting?
That was in La Clusaz in France, a ski area in the Aravis Mountains in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alps Region.
How big was the crew you needed?
Very small. There were Kilian and myself, two cameramen, a drone pilot and one transport man. That was it.
How did you get the idea of carrying a mountain bike and its rider under a paraglider?
This came from last winter. I did the first stunt with skier Pierre Guyot. In the video Pierre was my tandem passenger and I launched him over the ski piste. Then I met Kilian at the “Montagne en Scène” festival, where he showed a film. Afterwards he asked me whether it was also possible for me to take him up and unclip him. So we tried it. It was far from easy, but it did work. From there the idea became the film.
What was the biggest challenge for the stunt?
The biggest challenge was not to break any necks in the process (laughter). Seriously: in the scene where I pick Kilian up again I had to fly incredibly accurately. It was about me catching him safely, and then flying away with him. Everything to be done in flight, while he pedalled along. I didn’t want to fake anything. But it was also difficult to release him correctly at the beginning. He was supposed to land on his wheels and ride away smoothly. This scene was very dangerous actually, because the height had to be exactly perfect. These were the two big challenges.
Did anything go wrong during the shooting?
Go wrong? No. But I’m very perfectionistic and kept all our possible options in mind, as a priority. The weather and timing generally did us no favours, but we are very happy with the present result.
What was the most difficult thing about the stunt for you as the paraglider pilot, from the flying point of view?
That would certainly be the right coordination. We are mixing two types of sport here. You have to know exactly how the other one works, have to match speeds with each other and, above all, have a hundred percent confidence. For example, had I released him from too great a height this would have finished him off, for sure. At this point I would like, once again, to thank Kilian for his trust.
Which wing did you fly for the filming?
There were different ones. I would have liked to do it all with one, but that was not possible. It was a BIBETA 6 for the tandem scenes and an Omikron acro wing for the racing.
Many thanks for the interview, Eliot. We look forward to your next project.
The Equipment
The Team
Eliot Nochez
Eliot has been flying a paraglider for about 16 years; since 2016 in the ADVANCE Acro team. The three times French Champion and 2015 World Cup winner does not only take on the challenges of acro, but devotes much time to getting his ideas on film.
Kilian Bron
Kilian is team leader for the French Mountainbike and BMX manufacturer “Sunn” and is known for his spectacular downhills worldwide. The endurance maestro prefers to explore the paths seldom travelled in spectacular landscapes, like the sandstone formations in Namibia or the world’s highest dunes at the Cerro Blanco in Peru.