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Watch: Rémy Métailler’s wild foot-out save in Whistler

Freerider shares his near-miss and an important reminder

Rémy Métailler save Photo by: Rémy Métailler

There isn’t much that scares Rémy Métailler. The French freerider, who has callsed B.C.’s Sea-to-Sky corridor home for years now, regularly stares down features most mortals, and many pro riders, would never consider possible. But being really good doesn’t mean things can’t go wrong.

Métailler shared two angles of a very-near-miss on a big drop outside Whistler. The rock cliff to wood landing is an old  Richie Schley drop that Yoann Barelli recently led a rebuild of.

The Propain rider’s foot unclips just as he is about to launch off a rock, thread between two trees, towards a very steep wooden landing. While he somehow rides away from this slip, it could easily have ended much worse.

Métailler shared the video with an important reminder.

I feel so lucky to have walked away from that,” Métailler shared along with the video. “I made so many mistakes that day and even though I was aware of it, I didn’t back off or adapt.”

The mistakes started well before he slipped his pedal, Métailler shared. The French freerider had already ridden the drop several times, despite starting the day not feeling comfortable on his bike or confident on the feature. He’d gone for another take hoping to get a better angle.

“I should have just given up, but I could not stand the thought that I could have done better, so I went again, with less confidence,” he says, adding “This incident was such an important reminder. It was really scary and I needed it. When I am having an off day and the conditions are not right, it’s ok step away.”

Most of us aren’t riding features anywhere near that size, but we can all learn from Métailler’s near-miss.

It’s a great reminder for all of us that if you’re not feeling comfortable, it’s better to come back another day. That’s true whether  you’re a pro rider, trying to hit your first drop, or just attempt a feature – no matter what size it is.