News straight from the road as the athletes head for Turnpoint 2 and beyond!
After a night when no athletes used a Ledlenser Night Pass, the morning began with plenty of action. Toma Coconea (ROU) and Gaspard Petiot (FRA2) have reached the Triglav turnpoint after a dramatic foot race up the north face of Mangart. Coconea was greeted by a crowd of bell-ringing, cheering fans, while Petiot was met by his brother and sister.
We asked Coconea how he felt, and he responded silently with a cheerful thumbs-up. Petiot’s supporter told us that they are hoping to fly from Triglav as early as 10am and that they’re hoping for a big flight, possibly even as far as Kitzbühel.
Just a few kilometres behind them, Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1), who made ground with a short flight to Tarvisio, and Nelson de Freyman (FRA3) are also racing for Triglav.
After clearing the Triglav turnpoint yesterday, leader Christian Maurer (SUI1) is continuing his march north for Turnpoint 3, Aschau-Chiemsee, after a flight along the southern shore of Weissensee. He is currently 44km ahead of Coconea.
Stanislav Mayer, who rose up the rankings yesterday into 7th place, has also been in the air, while Aaron Durogati, who badly injured his knee and is struggling to walk, is looking forward to more time above the ground.
With flyable weather forecast, today is the day that the Red Bull X-Alps 2017 will really pick up speed.
“I had a super great day,” said Gaspar Petiot (FRA2), who is in the top three and just 8km from Turnpoint 2 in Slovenia. “When I started this morning I was last.”
Gaspard Petiot (FRA2) performs during Red Bull X-Alps in Werfen, Austria on July 2, 2017
dventure racing and paragliding is about making decisions, and today was a day to make the right ones. Conditions for flying in many places were marginal, with strong and turbulent wind making launching difficult and flying extremely challenging.
“We are slow on foot,” Petiot said, “but I knew if we could launch and fly then we could do something with the day.”
His trick he said was to launch before the main spine of the Alps as he could tell that conditions on the south side were too strong and turbulent to be safe.
“My first flight was short, but my second one at 2pm worked and I managed to fly a long way. I don’t know how far but I was in the air for five hours with the wind behind me.”
To top off his day, he launched again, made further distance, and landed shortly before the official land-by time of 9pm.
_XAlps
Tomorrow I hope to climb the west ridge of the mountain, reach the take off and then wait until conditions are good for flying. Petiot and his supporter are both mountain guides and they know that of they climb straight up the rock rather than take the trails, they will be faster.
“We need to get permission from the race director but we are happy it is a good route.”
Another athlete happy with his decision making today was Chrigel Maurer (SUI1). The Swiss athlete started in 22nd place and flew into first, tagging the second turnpoint before heading back north towards Aschau-Chiemsee in Germany.
“The flying was amazing,” Maurer said after he had landed. “I had one flight this morning,” he said, “which was short but very efficient.”
“Then after launching again in the air it was working well. But in Goldeck I made a mistake and switched sides into the lee. That meant I had to land and walk up again.
“From there it was amazing flying. Approaching Turnpoint 2 clouds formed below me, like fog, and out to the west big clouds blocked out the sun.”
Without sun, there are no thermals, and that makes flying in the mountains doubly-difficult.
“The west side of the mountain wasn’t working, so then I switched to the east side and found I was able to soar.” Using just the wind against the mountain face, he managed to stay aloft, surfing it like a wave.
“That was amazing, but it was very hard work. I managed to cross over the ridge line with just 20m to get to the turnpoint.”
Pushing back north he landed near the small village of Obervellach, where he was met by his supporters and ate a quick dinner before walking into the evening.
“In the morning I will walk up to a launch. I hope to get to Greifenburg and launch around noon,” he said. Greifenburg is a world famous paragliding site.
Deciding not to fly is just as important as deciding to take off. So it was with many pilots today, who looked at the conditions and decided to go head down and stick to hiking.
Michal Gierlach (POL) hiked all day and chose not to fly today. “The wind was a poor direction, strong, turbulent air,” he said from the mountain.
“We are hiking high this evening to stay in a hut at 2,400m. I’m with a group of about six. My legs are tired but everything is fine. I hope to get a good rest tonight and then we plan to try to fly from the hut in the morning.”
Maurer surges into lead as Girard retires with knee injury, Day 2
If Day Two started slowly, it certainly made up for it as the afternoon progressed. Maurer (SUI1) surged from 22nd place into the lead to pass TP 2, Triglav, crushing the all-day lead that Coconea (ROU) had established after hiking through the night.
Christian Maurer (SUI1) performs during the Red Bull X-Alps on Goldeck, Austria on July 3rd, 2017Christian Maurer (SUI1) is seen during the Red Bull X-Alps in Sankt Johann im Pongau, Austria on July 3, 2017
For most of the day the lead athletes had been pinned down on the approach to Spittal an der Drau. Strong winds on the Hohe Tauern main ridge made taking off precarious and not every athlete was happy to chance it. For those that got away, the rewards were high.
Frenchmen Gaspard Petiot (FRA2) and Nelson de Freyman (FRA3) managed to escape and de Freyman at one point soared into second place, overtaking Chrigel a few kilometers north of Triglav.
Athletes such as Sebastian Huber (GER1) and Jesse Williams (USA2) could only watch as they flew overhead. But sometimes the right decision is not always the most obvious one. Late in the day Antoine Girard (FRA1) announced that he is retiring from the race after injuring his knee during take off.
He was attempting to launch his paraglider when the afternoon wind conditions caused him to misstep during take-off. The result was a sprained knee.
Antoine Girard is an experienced adventure paraglider pilot, who has competed in two previous Red Bull X-Alps races, in 2013 and 2015. He finished third in 2013 and fourth in 2015.
If the day began with the story of Toma Coconea, it ended with Chrigel Maurer. Having started the day an hour behind the last team in 22nd place, by the end he’d managed to fly into the lead and tag the second Turnpoint of Triglav in the air while the others struggled on foot.
Die Athleten absolvieren ihre ersten Flüge der Red Bull X-Alps 2017. Coconea marschiert weiter. Durogatis Rennen ist in Gefahr.
Was für eine Nacht für Toma Coconea (ROU)! Die rumänische Lauflegende stürmte voraus, um als erster Athlet den Alpenhauptkamm bei den Hohen Tauern zu überqueren. Heute Vormittag hatte er bereits eine Distanz von 20km zwischen sich und seinen ersten Verfolger Sebastian Huber (GER1) gebracht, die bis Mittag auf 30km anwachsen sollte. „Ich habe nicht geschlafen“, sagte er. „Ich bin nur gelaufen.“ Sein Team ergänzte, dass die Musik von AC/DC ihn wach hielt.
Heute Mittag unternahm er den Aufstieg zur Spitze des Goldecks, einem bekannten Startplatz für Paragleiter. Mit einem Flug am Nachmittag plant er seine Führung weiter auszubauen. Obwohl der Regen aufgehört hatte, blieben die Bedingungen wechselhaft und hinderten eine Vielzahl der Athleten am Fliegen.
„Es war zu windig”, erklärte Huber an der Spitze des Maltatals während einer Fußmassage seines Physiotherapeuten Helmut Lorenz.
Das Teilnehmerfeld beginnt sich auseinanderzuziehen. Die Verfolgung von Coconea und Huber nahmen Gavin McClurg (USA1), der sich mit dem Einsatz seines Ledlenser Nights Passes weit nach vorne katapultierte, und Jesse Williams (USA2) auf. So wie es aussieht, erwartet uns ein harter Kampf um Platz 3 zwischen den beiden Amerikanern morgen – passenderweise am 4. Juli.
McClurg überraschte mit seiner Entscheidung, den Ledlenser Night Pass zu ziehen. Immerhin hatte er vor dem Rennen erklärt, wie wichtig es für ihn ist, zwischen 02:00 Uhr und 05:30 Uhr zu schlafen. Da er sich nach dem Abstieg vom Gaisberg nur am 20. Platz wiederfand, gab ihm der Zug die Chance, einige Plätze gutzumachen.
Aaron Durogati (ITA1) hatte mit dem harten Abstieg vom Gaisberg zu kämpfen. Sein Team gab bekannt, dass er unter Knieproblemen leidet und äußerte die Befürchtung einer Meniskusverletzung.
Sein Supporter Matteo Vettore sagt: „Gehen, vor allem im steilen Gelände, ist zurzeit leider beinahe unmöglich. Wir wägen nun unsere Optionen ab und versuchen zu fliegen, aber im Moment spielt das Wetter nicht mit.“
Chrigel Maurer gelang ein erster Flug, wenn auch nur über eine kurze Distanz. Dennoch reichte das Manöver, um sich vom 22. auf den 6. Platz zu verbessern. Der Schweizer stellte einmal mehr sein fliegerisches Können unter Beweis.
Keines der Teams hat einen Ledlenser Night Pass für heute Nacht gezogen. Somit endet das Rennen heute für alle Athleten um 22:30 Uhr. Alle Blicken richten sich nun Richtung Triglav.
Die Athleten sind über 70km verteilt, aber die Führung ist nach wie vor für jeden Einzelnen in Reichweite. Wer auch immer es schafft, den ersten weiten Flug zu absolvieren, könnte sich schnell an die Spitze des Feldes setzen.
Verfolgt das Geschehen via Live Tracking auf redbullxalps.com
ÜBER RED BULL X-ALPS
Red Bull X-Alps 2017, das härteste Adventure Rennen der Welt, startet am 2. Juli 2017 in seine achte Ausgabe. Von Salzburg aus werden 31 Athleten aus 20 Nationen die 1.138km lange Strecke quer über die Alpen nur zu Fuß oder mit dem Gleitschirm überqueren und darum kämpfen, als Erster im Ziel in Monaco zu landen. Dabei müssen sie 7 Turnpoints in 7 verschiedenen Ländern passieren.
Jeder ihrer Schritte wird dabei von fortschrittlicher Live Tracking Technologie erfasst und für Millionen von Fans zugänglich gemacht. Aufgrund der ständig wechselnden Wetterbedingungen ist eine gute taktische Planung ebenso wichtig wie die extreme Ausdauer, welche den Athleten abverlangt wird. Darum wird jeder der 31 Abenteurer von einem Supporter begleitet, der ihm Tag und Nacht bei Strategie, Versorgung und vielem mehr zur Seite steht.
Eine Liste mit Steckbriefen und weiteren Informationen zu allen 31 Athleten findet ihr unter redbullxalps.com/athletes.
As if running all day and evening in tough conditions wasn’t enough, three athletes have announced they will will use their Ledlenser Night Passes tonight.
Toma Coconea (ROU), Gavin McClurg (USA1) and Sebastian Huber (GER1) will all now hike through the night.
Each athlete has one Ledlenser Night Pass that they can use when they want. They must announce they intend to use it before noon on the day they plan to hike all night.
That means this is a tactical decision by all three athletes to get some serious distance behind them early in the race.
McClurg famously hates hiking downhill and lost time on the way down the Gaisberg today – he will use his to catch up and establish a safe margin between him and the back of the pack.
Coconea will use his to extend his lead as much as he can.
Meanwhile Huber will also use his to get ahead – but having come third in the Leatherman Prologue he won an extra Ledlenser Night Passes. Using one now is a smart move, allowing him to establish a lead over the main pack, and still keep a Night Pass for use later in the race.
Because Monday will see a staggered start, both Coconea and McClurg will have to stop moving at 5am and wait out their allotted time. Huber gets to keep moving and doesn’t have to stop.
Three jokers have been played – the game is rapidly taking shape.
31 athletes begin the 1,138km epic hike-and-fly adventure to Monaco – the hard way.
Under dark and threatening clouds in Salzburg, Austria, 31 athletes from 20 countries today set off on the Red Bull X-Alps 2017. Their mission? To get to Monaco in the fastest time possible, whether paragliding or on foot, via a set route that weaves its way across 7 countries.
First on the checklist was the summit of the Gaisberg, a 1,287m peak that overlooks SalzburgerLand. Sebastian Huber (GER1) was first to reach the top in 01h 03m, followed by Toma Coconea (ROU) in 01h 10m. Chrigel Maurer (SUI1), Aaron Durogati(ITA1), Nelson de Freyman (FRA3) and Benoit Outters (FRA4) made the top as a pack in a provisional time of 01h 12m.
All athletes were on top of the peak by 2pm after setting off on foot from the city’s Mozartplatz, running past the city’s famous landmarks before crossing the Salzach river.
The next turnpoint is more challenging to make. It’s situated on the peak of Triglav, Slovenia, some 157km to the south.
With adverse weather making flying all but impossible, athletes face a brutal start to the race, beginning on foot, carrying all their paragliding equipment and mandatory gear.
In a surprise move three athletes have already deployed their Ledlenser Night Passes, allowing them to hike through the mandatory rest period. Toma Coconea (ROU), Gavin McClurg (USA1) and Sebastian Huber (GER1) will all hike through the night.
Ledlenser Night Passes must be deployed before midday of the day the athlete wants to use them, so this is a tactical decision by all three athletes to get some serious distance behind them early in the race.
According to the rules, the team in last place on Wednesday July 5th will be eliminated. And every 48 hours thereafter the last team is axed.
Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1) said: “The Red Bull X-Alps is the ultimate race – a combination of flying, mountaineering, endurance and tactics all happening in the incredible playground of the Alps.”
Race organiser Ulrich Grill said: “It’s not just a paragliding race. You have to be prepared to hike and it looks like this year we’ll see a lot of that.”
Quelle: with thanks to Redbullxalps.com
