Christian Maurer (SUI1) this morning arrived first at 10:53am in Peille, the final turnpoint at the Red Bull X-Alps 2017. With his arms aloft, he ran the final few metres to the turnpoint sign where the clock officially stops. After setting off from Salzburg it took him 10 days 23 hours and 23 minutes and for him it was the hardest race in his career, a race that saw him start with an illness and finish with a knee injury.
Along the way the Swiss adventurer battled bad weather, got flushed by a thunderstorm and at one point found himself trailing in 21st place. He said: “I felt a lot of pressure this time and it started badly. And with the wind, rain and thunderstorms, I’ve never faced such bad weather in the Red Bull X-Alps before. But above all it’s an adventure first and foremost, not a competition.
“But I’m very happy to be here. For my knees, it’s good to be over. They never had to work so hard. This is the first time I’ve hiked over 500km, normally it’s more like 300km. Right now I’m just looking forward to being able to relax.”
Race Director Christoph Weber said: “It’s an outstanding achievement. Tell me another athlete who’s dominated his sport for eight years like Maurer has. This year was also a much more punishing course and the weather made it harder for him. He excels in the air, but had to hike much of the last 200km, so it was not easy for him at all.”
Benoit Outters (FRA4) was next to make Turnpoint 7 at 12:42pm after a time of 11 days 1 hour and 12 minutes. The Red Bull X-Alps rookie landed at the turnpoint after flying the last section and received a hero’s welcome from fans. Amid emotional scenes, he fought back tears as he hugged his mother and supporters before spraying everyone with a bottle of champagne.
“I am very happy, it’s incredible,” he said. “I knew that to reach Monaco I’d have to walk these last two days. So much walking. I’m exhausted, but very happy to be here.”
To make Monaco, Outters pulled off an extraordinary feat of endurance, running 192km in two days.
As is tradition, his and Maurer’s race is not over until they make the ceremonial – and untimed – flight to Roquebrune, which will take place approximately at 18.45 pm tonight due to city regulations that restrict the flights to set times of the day.
Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1) is currently third and lying 71km from goal. With Stanislav Mayer (CZE) another 70km behind him, his podium place was also looking good, but whether he can make Monaco before the race ends at 10:53am tomorrow is another question. He still has 70km to go, and with no Ledlenser Night Pass available he’ll need to put in a heroic effort to make it.
Elsewhere in the field, the start gun has fired on putting in as much distance as possible before 10:53am tomorrow. And it’s no less brutal at the back. This morning saw a bitter fight to avoid elimination between Tom de Dorlodot (BEL), Mitch Riley (USA3) and Jesse Williams (USA2) who were all pursuing Evgenii Griaznov (RUS), who had a narrow lead. In the end Griaznov put in a strong run this morning to get just 300m ahead of Riley who has now been eliminated.
Among the mid-pack, it’s all or nothing as athletes attempt to make one last flight that will push them up the rankings. There’s still everything to play for.
Stay tuned to Live Tracking to watch the drama unfold on www.redbullxalps.com.

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Reference/Quelle   with thanks to redbullxalps.com

They’re tired, sunburnt and it seems, keen to complete the challenge. Today, fourteen athletes have pulled a Ledlenser Night Pass in a bid to push on through the night to make the finish line of Monaco.
Up front, race leader Chrigel Maurer (SUI1) was 50km from the finish line early afternoon and hiking up the Col di Tenda in the hopes of getting in an afternoon flight. But if he can’t fly, he’s prepared to walk. Having pulled a Ledlenser Night Pass, he now has the means to keep going until he makes it to goal, which could be in the early hours. Live Tracking will continue throughout the night as the Red Bull X-Alps 2017 reaches its thrilling conclusion.
Other athletes to pull a Ledlenser Night Pass include: Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1); Pascal Purin (AUT3); Tom de Dorlodot (BEL); Richard Brezina (CAN); Stanislav Mayer(CZE); Benoit Outters (FRA4); Sebastian Huber (GER1); Manuel Nübel (GER2); Tobias Grossrubatscher (ITA2); Ferdinand van Schelven (NLD); Michal Gierlach (POL); Christian Maurer (SUI1); Jesse Williams (USA2); and Mitch Riley (USA3). Nick Neynens(NZL) is the only athlete still in possession of a Ledlenser Night Pass not to have pulled his.
Maurer now leads by 50km on his nearest rival Benoit Outters, but knows that a simple mistake now could be very costly. Behind Outters lies Guschlbauer, who said earlier this morning that conditions were perfect, if you liked to run on the flat.
His position in third place was looking safer than it has been but with Stanislav Mayer only 20km behind, anything is still possible. Simon Oberrauner, with 194km to goal, is also looking very threatening.
Race director Christoph Weber says:“ This has undoubtedly been one of the toughest editions of the race in recent years. The route is longer than it has been before and the weather has not made it easy. Athletes for sure will be feeling the pain and looking forward to Monaco. We will be waiting to greet them.”
Meanwhile the chaser pack, whose athletes have been flying wing-to-wing for half the race has broken up and every athlete is following their own line, every man to himself. One of the more impressive was Manuel Nübel’s flight near Turnpoint 6, the Matterhorn, launching from 3,300m at 7.15am to fly over glaciated peaks. By early afternoon he’d covered 88km in the air and 15 on foot.
Who will make it across the line? Stay tuned to Live Tracking to watch the drama unfold on www.redbullxalps.com.

Reference/Quelle   with thanks to redbullxalps.com

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Red Bull X-Alps 2017 Paragliding TV Race Salzburg to Monaco

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This has been one of the most challenging races in recent years of the Red Bull X-Alps – the longest in distance with a route that zig-zags over the main chain of the Alps several times. And the weather has not been too generous this year, forcing athletes to hike unimaginable miles on foot.
But for one man at least, the finish line is now getting tantalisingly close. Christian Maurer (SUI1) was by mid afternoon 164 km from goal and on the home front.
In contrast to previous years, he’s following a different line south, staying on the Italian side to avoid the higher mountains in France which are more difficult to fly in difficult conditions. After hiking 1,000m to the take-off at Cima Cavallari he was in the air by 11am. It could still be a long couple of days ahead.
Behind and in hot pursuit is Benoit Outters (FRA4). He pulled a Ledlenser Night Pass the previous night – the first of two he possesses after winning the Leatherman Prologue – and it looked as if the French ultrarunner was preparing for a single push to Monaco on foot. But such is the difficult terrain around Turnpoint 6, the Matterhorn, that even he was making slow progress on the ground and was still 60km behind Maurer. The chaser pack meanwhile was stretched around the northern shores of Lake Como with very little between them. All are starting to suffer – some more than most. After hiking all day yesterday in temperatures in the high 20s, Manuel Nübel (GER2) required medical treatment.
“We had a little problem with the heat,” his supporter Christian Schineis, a surgeon, said. “Manu suffered heat exhaustion and some dehydration so we went to a hotel and gave him some infusions. He’s doing a lot better.”
There was no hotel for Pascal Purin (AUT3). He did one better. After taking a wrong line in the mountains, he ended up taking shelter with a family in a primitive hut with just a single lightbulb for electricity. “It’s amazing to think there are still people who live like that today,” he said.
The battle for third place could yet prove a gripping finale to the race – particularly if and when it becomes possible to take to the sky.
Meanwhile at the back, the other Swiss athlete in the race, Krischa Berlinger (SUI2) was being stoical about his slow progress. He spent the night up on the Timmelsjoch on the Italian / Austrian border with Gavin McClurg (USA1) in the hope of a good flight to Lake Garda, but woke up to find the cloudbase 300m below them. “Then we’ll fly down, hike back up again, fly down – the story of my life,” he said.
Jose Arevalo Guede (ESP) and Simon Oberrauner (AUT4) have pulled a Ledlenser Night Pass today. Guede, who is 60km behind Tom de Dorlodot (BEL), will be hoping to fly today and then hike through the night to catch de Dorlodot and avoid elimination. But after a 48-hour enforced rest, de Dorlodot is feeling strong and unlikely to be overtaken easily.
Oberrauner, currently in fourth place, is clearly stating his ambitions for a third place and will push hard to overtake Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1).
As the race reaches its final stages, positions are bedding in – but anything can still happen on the long road to Monaco.
Follow all the action on Live Tracking on www.redbullxalps.com.

Reference/Quelle   with thanks to redbullxalps.com

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Red Bull X-Alps 2017 Paragliding TV Race Salzburg to Monaco

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