Tom Pagès, who was the surprise star of the 2012 season and in the battle for the World Tour title right up to the finals, came to the competitive scene in 2007 as a new upcoming youngster with a mindset and determination to take the FMX to the next level. Within just a couple of years in the FMX circus, the talented Frenchman had worked his way from his own backyard up to fight against the best FMX riders in the world before he then vanished from the Red Bull X-Fighters Tour in 2009.

Pagès was the first rider ever to stick a double grab flip to dirt and this is just one of the tricks he has in his box. The stylish rider has a rich arsenal of tricks, which made it very challenging for the other riders to beat him, but following the accidents of some of his close friends and injuries of his own he decided to take a break from riding the big contests and instead focus more on freeriding and movie shooting.
Yet the Red Bull X-Fighters Glen Helen invitation was quite simply an offer the Yamaha rider could not turn down and American fans saw a completely different Tom than the Frenchman they last saw in 2009 in Texas. Thomas did not show any upside down trick, but he brought the other tricks to a new level of stylishness. He rocked Glen Helen with the “Volt“ and a few other tricks only a handful of the best riders can perform nowadays.

His 2nd place in Glen Helen, a fantastic performance in Madrid, his victory in Germany and the closest final ever in Sydney proved that it’s possible to win without a backflip if you have shine with other extraordinary tricks like "Special Flip", "Volt" & "Flair". Let´s see what the crowd-favourite developed over the winter break training with his brother Charles, who is finally back on the bike after a long rehab period. Experts say Tom will train upside-down tricks to be ready to pull them, if they will be needed in a tough battle.

The battle between the current champion Levi Sherwood & Pages did not end in Sydney.
The event just brought it to the next level of a new era.