Pelé could have never walked again, Néry never resurfaced.

The two go a long way together in a video, "The two extremes".

One descends from the Mercantour mountains on his bicycle in a frantic race, the other evolves like weightlessness in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, until they meet in a surprising way: this is the story told in this four and a half minute video, imagined by Pelé.

French freediver Guillaume Néry, during training on July 18, 2015 near Nice, for the AIDA World Championships (International Association for the Development of Freediving) in Cyprus (September 5-20) BORIS HORVAT AFP/Archives

"It was a challenge to succeed in combining these two sports and that the rendering was beautiful to watch because in apnea the movements are very slow and mountain biking, on the other hand, is very fast", underlines to l AFP the 23-year-old cyclist, who was keen to work with Néry.

French mountain biker Yannis Pelé trains on November 2, 2021 on the slopes of Mont Chauve d'Aspremont Valery HACHE AFP

The 39-year-old freediver met him when he was just a kid in the cottage run by his parents in the hinterland of Nice.

"We bonded, we became friends, until this famous accident where he supported me enormously, he even came to see me at the hospital when I took my first steps and so it was important for me to do a project together," says Pelé.

"Highlighting our two great disciplines. And also in relation to the accident he had. He still managed to find the depths, so it's two fairly strong images that we wanted to combine in this project. “, adds the cyclist.

Tiny chance

In September 2015, following an error by the organizers during a competition, Néry fell to 139 m instead of 129 m;

he had then never gone beyond 126 m and fainted about fifteen meters from the surface.

In the summer of 2016, Pelé suffered a serious fall in competition.

Hit in the spinal cord, he loses the use of his legs.

French freediver Guillaume Néry, during training on July 18, 2015 near Nice, for the AIDA World Championships (International Association for the Development of Freediving) in Cyprus (September 5-20) BORIS HORVAT AFP/Archives

"The doctor gives me a very small chance of being able to walk again. I can't believe it and for me it's impossible to see myself in a wheelchair. I'm going to walk again, that's for sure", remembers the young athlete, who has only one goal: "get back on my bike".

French mountain biker Yannis Pelé trains on November 2, 2021 on the slopes of Mont Chauve d'Aspremont Valery HACHE AFP

With courage and after a year and a half of convalescence, Pelé is riding again.

Five years later, he still has some sequels - spasticity - but above all a tenfold happiness.

"Today, I have incredible feelings, I feel better than before the accident. I think we savor life more. It has changed my life, for sure, and my way of seeing things. things. I'm happy to be on my feet every day," says Pelé, who has moved away from competition to create video images.

French mountain biker Yannis Pelé trains on November 2, 2021 on the slopes of Mont Chauve d'Aspremont Valery HACHE AFP / Archives

Sweep away the trauma

Already the author of four projects - including one with mountain bike superstar Kilian Bron - the one with Néry is an artistic nod to their two worlds, but also to their very special bond.

"When he had his accident, I was quite touched, impacted. I saw right away that he had set himself the challenge of being able to walk again, why not get back on a bike one day as if he was preparing for the Olympics. I admired his determination. The doctors were amazed to see his speed of recovery, even though he was still in very bad shape," recalls Néry to AFP.

He then introduced him to the breathing and visualization techniques used in apnea.

French freediver Guillaume Néry does breathing exercises during training on July 18, 2015 near Nice, for the AIDA (International Association for the Development of Freediving) World Championships in Cyprus ( September 5-20) BORIS HORVAT AFP/Archives

Néry had no after-effects from his accident, but just like Pelé, he experienced trauma and gave up competitions.

Former freediving world champion, Frenchman Guillaume Néry, on June 9, 2021 in Villefranche-sur-Mer Valery HACHE AFP / Archives

"Despite the severity of the accident, and that I still got pretty close to corrections, I came to myself and knew that I was going to be able to recover fairly quickly. However, my first thought was: stop , I stop, the competition, the records", remembers the freediver.

A week later, he plunged back "to finally sweep away this psychologically traumatic experience".

© 2022 AFP