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.”
With less than 24 hours to go until the start gun fires in the historic city of Mozart, it’s the final chance athletes have to prepare for the world’s toughest adventure race – a 1,138km hike and fly battle via 7 Turnpoints across the Alps to Monaco.
This year, the route is tougher than ever, criss-crossing the main chain of the Alps a minimum of four times. Athletes first race to the top of the Gaisberg, a 1,287m peak overlooking Salzburg, before taking to the skies and flying 157km to Turnpoint 2, the peak of Triglav, Slovenia. From there the route goes northwest to Germany, then south to Italy before turning west towards Switzerland and France.
At least they’re hoping to fly. Weather conditions look set to be challenging meaning the race could begin with a battle on foot, adding an exciting new dimension to the race start.
Speaking at the press conference in Hangar-7, Austrian athlete Paul Guschlbauer said it could take two days to reach Triglav, Turnpoint 2, based on the current weather prediction from Morecast.
He added: “The Red Bull X-Alps is the perfect race for me. To be outside in the mountains, running and flying is what I love. Maurer is still the best in my mind and I look up to him, but it would be the greatest thing in my career to win this race. For me, or anyone else to push him off the top slot, would be a big thing!”
Four time champion Maurer, who missed the Leatherman Prologue due to sickness, said that he expected to be feeling at 95% at the race start and will back on form after a few days. “As long as I feel the fun and the spirit of adventure I am happy to compete. The most important thing is to have fun in the Alps. And make Monaco,” he added.
“The level of athletes I’m surrounded by is extraordinary,” said US athlete Mitch Riley, competing for the first time. “And flying in the Alps is unlike anywhere else on earth.”
“It looks set to be a great adventure race,” said race organiser Ulrich Grill. “This year we have the strongest lineup ever and it’s going to be so exciting to see who will make it to Monaco first.”
But with 1,138km to goal, the first challenge will be to make Triglav, Turnpoint 2. If it’s not possible to fly from the Gaisberg, Turnpoint 1, it could be a long hike, 157km long to be precise.
Red Bull X-Alps 2017 kicks off with one-day Leatherman Prologue
THE LEATHERMAN PROLOGUE RECAP
It was a day the mountain men showed their stuff. Sebastian Huber, Aaron Durogati and Benoît Outters are clearly the athletes to watch on the ground. And not far behind was the indomitable and indefatigable one and only – yes, you guessed – Toma Coconea. Competing in his eighth Red Bull X-Alps and at the age of 42, he demonstrated that he’s still an athlete to be reckoned with.
Watching from the sidelines, grounded with a cold, was the reigning four time champion. Could this create the biggest upset in the last 10 years of the race, and see someone new crowned victor?
For Maurer, missing the Leatherman Prologue is not the biggest setback and the mandatory penalty of starting one hour behind the last athlete to set off on Day 2 is unlikely to hold him back. But he likes to lead from the front, and if the race starts on foot, and the eagle can’t spread his wings and he’s still not feeling his best, then he’ll find himself somewhere he’s not used to – further down the rankings.
Maurer was staying cool and unbothered when we spoke to him. “I hope also to fly, then I have a chance otherwise the first three in Monaco will be the same like today. The adventure will be interesting for me, not the ranking.”
Those who know Maurer know that he will still be as competitive as ever! One thing he did point out was how hard the guys at the front ran.
“I was surprised how fast they treated this Prologue,” he said.
Race director Christoph Weber also noted the level of enthusiasm. “It was good to see everybody putting a lot of effort into this little run.”
Speaking afterwards, Durogati said he didn’t set out to go hard the whole way, but that’s just the way it turned out.
“I didn’t start with the idea that I had to get an extra Night Pass,” he said. “But if it comes, because I’m feeling good, then I go for it – so I did! I think it’s always better to have something more than the others. If it doesn’t kill you to get it, why not?”
“It was fun to cross the finish line together,” added Sebastian Huber, who first demonstrated his mountain running prowess in 2015 after becoming the first man to summit the Gaisberg.
Not everyone went hard.
“I went at my own pace,” said Mitch Riley, who was also thankful for the mild weather. In 2015, it was so hot many athletes returned dehydrated.
Another one happy to go at his own pace was Tom de Dorlodot. “It was nice to speak to other athletes on the way down,” he said.
As one of the most experienced Red Bull X-Alps athletes – this is his sixth time taking part – he knows that it’s a race that doesn’t reward those who go out too hard.
Everything now hinges on the weather. “It looks to be shifting,” adds Weber.
“Hopefully it now looks like we can fly on Sunday but then it’s bad on Monday. “But then there’s some fresh cold air coming over which should be good for flying.”
Let’s see…
