Kilian Bron has always dreamed of getting lost in the great outdoors, both in the mountains and in desert landscapes. On paper, the continent of North America is the ideal place.

All the areas Kilian has been able to develop on so far have been a digest of what he discovered in the United States and Canada. To introduce them, he finds it interesting to compare them with his other adventures. The dense forests of British Columbia are an evolution of his riding spots at home. In a completely different style, the slabs of this same region remind him of other granite lines in the Namibian desert. The buildings as far as the eye can see in the heart of Manhattan are a new experience, but the encounters made on the spot with the ‘Bikelife’ crew are the purpose and main objective that fuel Kilian’s passion for bikes.

The goal is always to share Kilian’s sometimes quirky vision of cycling in unusual environments that he tries to sublimate as he evolves there. It is a real artistic approach, adapting to what’s there and adding his means of expression, which is most often on the bike.

For years now, Kilian has based his vision of mountain biking around unusual and visually impressive places, mainly far from bike parks and trail centres. All these places fascinate him, as do the encounters along the way, without forgetting the production work that runs alongside a film like this. Let’s be realistic; it’s essential to play on all these points to offer content that stands out while adapting to the constraints of each shoot.

In Europe, there is an incredible chance to express oneself and practice the sport almost everywhere. One can still ride off the beaten track, pretty much without any constraints. In Kilian’s opinion, this freedom of movement and this vision of the sport that has driven him from the start is different on the American continent. This state of mind extends to Kilian’s very view of adventure and expedition, which cannot happen if he stays within too much of a framework or a space defined in advance. From his passion for cycling to the discovery of new places, Kilian’s message is also to defend this concept through these words or the artistic approach outlined above. He expresses himself by proposing this, sometimes breaking the rules and playing on his ideas, as long as they make sense.

Today, Kilian is starting to fight to preserve this freedom in the heart of the mountains. An approach that sometimes becomes political but that requires a lot of dialogue so that the next generation can take advantage of this freedom and express themselves in turn as Kilian was able to do.

In Canada and the United States, Kilian found the right balance to creatively express himself on these unusual spots. He put more emphasis on the other areas of creativity, such as the sequence of various spots in radically different settings or a bit of scripting of a few American clichés, obviously to be taken in jest.

Kilian particularly appreciated the organisation of communities and associations, which are much more developed than in France, for example. He is generalising, but it’s still a reality in a large part of the country. He didn’t say anything new here, but it is certainly a great example to follow. THANKS!

Kilian also ramped up his riding again, which differs from his average daily life where he rarely exceeds 10 km/h on most of the alpine paths he rides. On the other hand, he absolutely wanted to use the most versatile mountain bike possible. A COMMENCAL T.E.M.P.O. (140/125mm) is effective both when pedalling and when descending. This is the simple definition of Kilian’s mountain biking, where a single bike allows him to express himself in every way. He can try flipping a freeride line and then pedal back up each zone, or nearly!
Kilian doesn’t define himself as an endurist, nor as a downhiller or a freerider. He is just a mountain biker who gets creative with his favourite bike. The one with which he can venture into all areas and places unknown. In this case, crossing the USA and part of Canada with his very personal vision of trail riding turned into “Cross Countries” as the title!

This video also marks the end of an era. It was one that involved restricting himself to producing these “signature” 3 to 6-minute edits. Lately, Kilian has also offered books, podcasts, and interviews, in addition to classic edits for social networks.

Many thanks to COMMENCAL USA and COMMENCAL Canada, who thoroughly played the game to help Kilian and make this project a reality.

Since “FUEGO,” Kilian and his team have also focused their efforts on a documentary complementary to the main edit, which will be available soon. The logical continuation consists simply of associating this documentary part with the short format in the same video. As with each project, Kilian addresses different societal or environmental topics. Wherever possible with this documentary format, he wants to encourage the audience to become aware of these issues so that the action sequences on the bike become real rewards.

“The Bikelife movement has always impressed Kilian! He had been following Jae Milez (@jaemilez ) for quite a while on Instagram, and that’s how they ended up connecting. Jae’s thing is to ride without a front wheel! He animates the local community and organises a lot of events in NYC. He comes from the Bronx, where Bikelife is a means of expression. The community welcomed Kilian and his crew so well. They followed them through different boroughs of New York until they ended up at a rasso with 400 very hot riders—it’s a great memory.”

Kilian discovered Grand Junction a few years ago after coming for Interbike. The slab he rides where J.B. is disguised as a speed officer is part of the local trail network. It’s 100% natural, and Kilian loves it. It’s a meeting of the human shape and the terrain at the service of mountain biking.

Squamish was crazy! Kilian connected with Matt Bolton (@matt_boltz ), a local pro rider and shaper. He welcomed Kilian and offered him the opportunity to ride the trail he made with his friends: Jurassic Five. They also rode on the alpine trails of the region. There is monstrous potential in terms of natural trails. Kilian particularly appreciated the emulation of the local community. They stick together and constantly push the sport forward.

Kilian landed in Sedona thanks to Alex Petitdemange, aka The Red Mountain Goat, a Frenchy who has been living in Sedona for a while and with whom Kilian talked a lot. They rode with Alex’s friend Lars Romig (@mountainmongo ). They opened an incredible number of challenging lines in Sedona. Here again, the terrain naturally lends itself to mountain biking.

Kilian went at the same time as Caleb Holonko and Daniel Shaw… They had just raised the kick of the train gap by a meter and a half so that it could go into a flip. For Kilian, they represent the new generation of freeride.

Honolulu was to mark the end of filming with a week’s vacation afterward. Unfortunately, Kilian’s photographer J.B. pulverised his heel after a bad fall during location scouting. They turned their plans upside down to ensure that he was taken care of and repatriated in the best way.