Neck-and-neck to the last day
During the first half of the race, the top ten were often separated by only a few kilometres. Even on the morning of the final day, four athletes were still fighting for the lead. In the afternoon, near the Zugspitze, Aaron chose his own line: skirting Innsbruck to the north instead of crossing the main Alpine ridge to the south.

Aaron flew this more direct yet harder line flawlessly, gaining the decisive advantage over Lars Meerstetter, Simon Oberauner, and Chrigel Maurer.

Meticulous preparation
Aaron’s build-up also involved developing the XENON 2. Together with Nicola Donini he led the flight-testing programme. Aaron had a clear vision of what his X-Alps wing had to deliver, and after several prototypes, numerous modifications, and countless flight hours, the glider was ready. Part of the testing took place in conditions that would normally be labelled “non-flyable”, because Aaron wanted to discover the wing’s limits before, not during, the race.

A team success
These joint efforts turned the X-Alps into a collaborative project between athletes and the NOVA development team, one that Aaron has now crowned with victory.

Aaron used a XENON 2 (18) and an X-Pack 50. The winning glider will be further refined in the coming months based on feedback from athletes and will then be available in a revised version at a higher level.

Congratulations
Congratulations on this incredible eight-day performance. Kudos as well to Lars Meerstetter, Simon Oberauner, and Chrigel Maurer for keeping the race thrilling to the end.

And congratulations to Samuel Tanner on finishing the X-Alps at his first attempt, and to Nicola Donini, who demonstrated his flying mastery both in development and in the race itself.

Photos by Andrea Zafferon