The Catalan dominated the slopestyle scene from 2006, won the high-calibre Whistler Joyride in 2008, took an X Games medal in Munich in 2013, won the Rampage in 2014 and co-founded the FEST series in 2015. Recently, Lacondeguy has been most interested in big mountain lines and motocross.
BIKE: What are you, Andreu, MX pro or bike pro?
Andreu: I've always ridden both - you know that!
But right now your interest seems to be more in motocross.
That's right. I'm having a lot of fun at the moment. I train with Julien Vanstippen. We do shows together for Monster Energy.
So you are a petrol head.
Rubbish! Freeride mountain biking is the best. I want to be in the mountains - that's where I feel good. But it's not always easy with the bike industry and sponsors, and now I have to find the bacon elsewhere. That's why I'm now using my skills on the motocross bike and earning some extra money.
I would have thought that freeride superstar Andreu Lacondeguy would have been done by now.
Haha, can you imagine me dozing off in the sunlounger on the veranda? No, I always have to be doing something, entertaining myself, challenging myself. And motocross is just the thing for that. But for me, there's really no difference between mountain bikes and motocross bikes. They are toys. Just like surfboards - you choose the right one depending on the conditions.
Mountain bikes make no noise and burn no petrol.
Oh yes, that's why I like them so much. They utilise gravity. It's such an honest, clean principle - the most honest in the world. You can take a mountain bike anywhere.
How do the scenes differ - are the MXers cooler?
No. But the MX scene has been around for much longer. There is an industry behind it that is not as volatile as the bike industry. That's why as a motocrosser you can do your thing much more, whereas as a bike pro you're pretty dependent. If enduro bikes are in vogue, you're in a bad position as a freerider. The next thing you know, it's only e-bikes because they're being hyped and so on. That makes me dizzy, and that's why I now ride MX shows.
How good are you as an MXer, can you keep up with the checkers like Colby Raha or Kris Foster? I would never say that I'm as good as them. They are the pinnacle of the sport. But I like riding with them. Not just because it's great fun; I also learn a lot. And the better I get at MX, the better I get at freeriding.
Just to get an impression: How close are you to them?
Well, I train with Julien Vanstippen. We jump the same jumps and we work on the same tricks. Julien is one of the elite freestyle motocross riders, has won X Games gold and Red Bull Imagination, the world's sickest competition.
"I've never done anything for money in my life, always just for fun. I want to keep it that way!"
Sometimes frustrated that Julien is much better?
No, on the contrary: I'm thrilled that I'm learning so many new things. I've really missed that in mountain biking recently.
What do you learn from the MXers?
The psyche is much more challenged here, because the jumps are so much bigger and starker. And the consequences are therefore more severe. Mountain biking allows you to try something new, and even if it goes wrong, you usually come away with a black eye. If you crash on a motocross bike, you really hurt yourself.
Is there now pressure from your bike sponsor because you're just hanging on to the gas tap?
Moto and bike are my life. My sponsors know that.
You think they know that you're an outlaw and do what you feel like doing anyway.
Yes, you could say that.
There were rumours that you cancelled your participation in the X Games Real MTB because there was only $9,000 in support.
That's not quite true. I injured my knee last winter. That played a big part in me cancelling my participation. But yes, I also wanted to ride the craziest lines in the gnarliest mountains. You need a big production team, guides, a safety plan and so on. You can't pull off a project like that with 9,000 dollars.
What now: knees or money?
Both. But the knee was the deciding factor. To do an X Games edit, you have to be 100 per cent fit - everyone understands that, right?
An X Games medal means fame. You've missed out on that now.
(Laughs) I already have them! (Bronze at the X Games in Munich, editor's note) It's not fame, it's not money, it's not medals that appeal to me. No, I want to show people what I mean by mountain biking - that's what appeals to me!
Have you watched the X Games clips?
Of course, and I celebrated it.
What were your favourite stunts?
Dude, I like Tom. Tom van Steenbergen is one of my favourite riders. He pulled off such great tricks. But I was also impressed by Remy Morton. He's a gifted builder and I liked the perspective of his clip. Tom and Remy - their edits were my favourite.
You now wear the monster stripes on your helmet. Before that, you were a Red Bull athlete - crazy, right?
That's how it is. And yes: crazy!
Has there ever been such a change?
(Laughs) It's pretty cool to have had the two biggest sponsors in extreme sports. I'm very grateful. But I'm not the only one. It was the same with BMXer Daniel Sandoval and FMXer Josh Sheehan: first Red Bull, then Monster.
You've been in the business forever. How much has freeriding changed in that time?
What the riders are doing today - unbelievable! This progression is crazy, isn't it? Who would have thought it possible? And yet I'm missing something.
Big mountain freeriding?
Yes, there are so many incredible mountains and so many lines. It's a shame that we ignore that so much.
Brage Vestavik goes on big mountain missions.
That's right, Brage is one of the few. I like his riding and I like his vision - Brage is on the right track!
You've already ticked off all the gravity disciplines, experienced everything. Is there anything you no longer fancy, slopestyle for example?
I've been getting really good on my big bike lately. So good, in fact, that I've neglected my dirt hardtail. When I recently started riding hardtail again, I was completely surprised at how much fun I was having. Or I haven't ridden a BMX for ten years, last week Julien Vanstippen lent me his and I couldn't believe how fun it was. I'm going to get one again! In short, there is no bike that I don't enjoy. I even ride a road bike now, which I would never have thought possible. My motto is: Anything with wheels is fun!
Is there another slopestyle trick you'd like to learn?
Basically, I want to work more on my style, but I would like to get a clean Cork 7. I've always liked the Cork 7, but I've never had it completely clean.
The Red Bull Rampage is coming up again soon, but without you. That makes your fans sad.
I know - and the Rampage was my favourite event. Yes, Dude, I took part ten or twelve times. So: the same thing every October. The same cliffs, in the same country, with the same people - it got tiring at some point. And expensive, because participating in a Rampage is really expensive for a European.
The same cliffs?
Yes, the same short, narrow descents over and over again. The spot is really worn out, everything is already built, there's hardly any room for anything new. Just take this year - the Rampage is taking place on the site from 2019. How boring. Nah, I'd rather spend my travel budget on something else.
How?
For a big mountain project in Peru. I liked that much better. Plus, I didn't have to worry about the Rampage nonsense.
Rampage nonsense?
At the Rampage, they force us to ride when the wind is at its strongest, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. I mean that rubbish. That creates enormous stress and risk. I think you could organise a competition like this much more smoothly.
What about the FEST events?
Good, why? The FEST series has changed the sport in my eyes. The big jumps brought the focus back to big bikes. Nico Vink's Royal Hills FEST event is taking place in a fortnight' time, so I'm going there.
Many of your fans would rather see you at Darkfest than in Peru, where you surf down gravel slopes. That gets boring, they say.
Oh, let people complain. If only they knew how awesome it is. No-one has ever been to this mountain and taken these lines - that's what makes it so appealing. Darkfest, on the other hand, has been around forever. Why don't 20 riders go to Darkfest and I'll go to Peru on my own, then we'll see both! (Laughs)
When you look back on your career - what were the highs, what were the lows?
Oh dude, so many highlights! Just thinking about the "New World Disorder" times or my victory at the Crankworx slopestyle in Whistler. I won an X Games medal at my last slopestyle event. Or my victory at the Rampage 2014 - it was all so cool. But it wasn't just the big successes that were highlights, the random "golden days" while biking with friends are etched in my memory forever.
No lows?
Not much. Injuries perhaps, annoying travelling back and forth or the bullshit from the industry. But that's about it. I had a very fun career.
I spoke to Derek Westerlund recently and he said: "Maybe I'll make NWD 11."
That would be awesome! I grew up with these films, later I was part of them. Maybe that's exactly what our sport needs: NWD 11. I'd be there in a heartbeat! Times were better when we had big film projects, print magazines and less social media.
But now there are impressive web edits available free of charge and all the time. Which driver impresses you?
Oh, there are many. Brandon Semenuk's edits are an experience every time. I can only look up to that guy. And Nico Vink. Nico is probably the one who has done the most for our sport.
What do you mean?
He knows the most about bike riding, about bike set-up, about trail building, and he is damn well versed in technical mountain biking. There's hardly anyone better. Nico builds the best jumps. Without Nico, the FEST series would probably never have existed. I have a lot to thank him for, we all do!
So Vink-Fest next - is that your lifestyle: one action-packed event after another?
Yes, that's my life at the moment. And I'd like it to stay that way. I want to travel the world, bike, motocross, meet people, build jumps. I want to pursue the vision I have of freeriding, and that will take me to many foreign countries. All this keeps me on my toes.
What's Andreu's situation with his wife, house and children?
No wife, no girlfriend, no children. But five years ago I bought a farmhouse near Barcelona with lots of land around it. I live there, build jumps, ride motocross and bikes, eat steaks, feed the dogs and live my dream.
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
