Originally from France and now based in Montreal, Kevin Fabregue is a professional freestyle BMX athlete and ambassador at the Bromont National Cycling Center. A regular at the CNCB to train and share his passion, Kevin is one of those athletes who push the boundaries of their discipline while helping to grow the community.<\/p>\n
In this interview, he looks back on his early days in the world of cycling, explains what still motivates him to ride day after day, and shares his vision of a sport where progress, fun, and freedom take center stage.<\/p>\n
Hi, I\u2019m Kevin Fabregue. I\u2019m a professional freestyle BMX athlete. I live in Montreal, I\u2019m from France, and I often ride here at the Bromont National Cycling Centre.<\/p>\n
I officially got into cycling when I was 10 or 11, but I started riding bikes at a very young age. I was already riding a bike when I was around 2 or 3. I started with cross-country around age 10 or 11; I competed in provincial races. But after a few years, what interested me most was jumping I was getting a little tired of climbing the mountains; I couldn\u2019t wait to ride down them and get to the section with the bumps. Then I asked my parents for a BMX, but that didn\u2019t happen until much later. It wasn\u2019t until I was about 13 that I got my first BMX and started riding it just for fun.<\/p>\n
I chose BMX because it\u2019s a sport where you can challenge yourself every day; there\u2019s always something new to learn\u2014it\u2019s endless. Today, I\u2019ve been riding BMX practically every day for over 15 years, and I\u2019m still far from where I want to be. There are always things in my head that I want to learn, so it\u2019s like there\u2019s no end to it\u2014the progress never stops. Plus, there are so many areas to work on in this sport. It could be going higher, being fluid, doing the same trick but executing it better\u2014that\u2019s really what I love. Also, it\u2019s still an artistic sport; it\u2019s visual, it\u2019s something you do in the air, and that\u2019s something that draws me in.<\/p>\n
At first, it was just about learning new tricks and then going out to ride with my friends. I think it was just doing something different that motivated me. Today, I\u2019m 30, so of course my motivation is different. It\u2019s mostly competitions that motivate me to keep training because I have a goal or something I set for myself. So I think competition, right now, is what motivates me the most, but also just showcasing my sport in a positive way, showing it to younger people. I think the older I get, the more I enjoy seeing young people ride and improve, having fun\u2014it gives me the same feeling I had when I was learning.<\/p>\n
The sense of accomplishment, of having goals, achieving them, setting new ones, but also the feeling of freedom. Being a professional BMX athlete definitely lets me wake up in the morning and go ride my bike. For me, that was a dream when I was young.<\/p>\n
Honestly, it just happened naturally. When the center opened, I went to check it out, we saw there was an open area, and we suggested building a park there, so that\u2019s how it all started. We planted the seed to turn it into a bowl in the unused section of the center. So after that, we were the only pro athletes in Quebec doing that, and it just happened naturally\u2014we became ambassadors because the center asked us to. For me, it\u2019s a privilege to represent a center like this that encompasses all cycling sports. For a long time, it wasn\u2019t really considered part of cycling sports. It\u2019s a more niche, urban sport, so it has less to do with track racing, BMX racing, road cycling, or mountain biking. Freestyle BMX is in a category of its own. So it\u2019s cool to be with all the other cycling sports, and then the other athletes see us training and say to themselves, \u201cOK, it\u2019s the same as us\u2014these guys are here every day, they go to the gym, they do this and that.\u201d So it\u2019s really cool to be able to live and be in an environment like this.<\/p>\n
I think it\u2019s the variety of disciplines available in a single facility. There\u2019s no other center in the world where, in the same building, there\u2019s a pump track\u2014so you have kids learning to ride push bikes, and older riders doing laps on the pump track to be as fast as possible. People riding the track, whether amateurs or pros. A bowl with people doing freestyle. Mountain bikers who come to hone their agility in the freestyle area during the winter. There\u2019s a gym, PowerWatts classes\u2014everything you need under one roof. That\u2019s what makes the center unique. And everyone mingling, practicing their sport in harmony. If you\u2019re doing freestyle, you see people spinning around you\u2014it\u2019s cool, it\u2019s really wild. You don\u2019t find that anywhere else.<\/p>\n
It was seeing just how much all the kids who were there\u2014who came from different places all over the country\u2014really connected. We had a kid from Toronto, kids from Ottawa, kids from around here, and kids from Montreal. They aren\u2019t all at the same skill level, but they all share the same passion: BMX. Seeing how capable they were\u2014despite having completely different goals\u2014of progressing together and helping each other. Even the best rider helped the one who was furthest behind in their goals; for me, that\u2019s the best thing to see. The difference between BMX and other sports is that you can show up at the park and ride with an Olympian or a pro athlete, even if you just bought your BMX two weeks ago. That would never happen in tennis\u2014you wouldn\u2019t walk onto a court and play with a top player. You\u2019d just be there with people at your level. But in BMX, at a skatepark, you can run into anyone and learn something at the same time as someone else. I think that\u2019s one of the best aspects of our sport. And at camp, it just showed me even more what this sport is all about. It\u2019s an individual sport, but everyone progresses as a team, and that\u2019s the best thing there is.<\/p>\n
Personally, I really keep it focused on having fun, because it\u2019s a dangerous sport, and the older you get, the more aware you are of injuries and all that. So if you\u2019re not having fun doing it, it\u2019s a sport you\u2019ll eventually quit. Because at some point, you\u2019ll just realize: \u201cIf I want to improve, I have to take risks.\u201d \u201d So if, on top of that, you\u2019re not having fun because you\u2019re putting too much pressure on yourself, setting too many goals that don\u2019t make sense, it won\u2019t work in the long run. So for me, the first thing I want to teach them is to keep it fun. You have to take it step by step, and I think that\u2019s what the kids took away from the camp.<\/p>\n
There are plenty, but the most recent one was in 2024, right before the Olympics. Actually, getting to the Olympics in BMX freestyle is super complicated, and since I ride for France\u2014and the world\u2019s best athlete also rides for France\u2014there was only one spot available for France. But to get to the Olympics, there was a process: you had to qualify through the Olympic Qualifier Series. Then in 2022\u20132023, I managed to qualify for 2024, so I was able to compete in the Olympic qualifiers, going to Shanghai and Budapest to do that. So the most recent thing I\u2019m proud of, I think that\u2019s it. It was something that was one of my goals, then to be the second French rider at that time, and then to have managed to do that\u2014it was a huge achievement in my career. But otherwise, it\u2019s just being able to ride my bike, wake up in the morning, just do that for a living, put on shows, and be able to inspire young people\u2014that\u2019s something that makes me super proud today, too.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d say freedom first\u2014that\u2019s the easiest one\u2014then pushing limits, and finally fun. It\u2019s really just about having fun, but without that fun, I wouldn\u2019t ride BMX.<\/p>\n
Through his career and his commitment to freestyle BMX, Kevin Fabregue embodies a vision of the sport where progress, freedom, and fun go hand in hand. Whether in competition, during demonstrations, or through the camps he leads, he helps introduce and develop BMX among the next generation. With his approachable style and infectious passion, Kevin reminds us that behind every trick and every jump lies, above all, a passion to be shared.<\/p>\n