por parapentenet
It is Day 8 of the Red Bull X-Alps and today athletes were at last enjoying some incredible conditions. Since last Sunday, they have covered hundreds of kilometers in the air and on the ground, journeying across the mountains of Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and now France.
Exhaustion is beginning to take its toll but at the front of the race, the battle shows no sign of letting up as Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1) made a last ditch effort to catch race leader and three time champion Christian Maurer (SUI1). It almost worked.
Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1) taking off at Annecy, TP9. /Harald Tauderer
Before dawn he hiked up to a high pass on the border between Italy and France. From there he made a 15km flight which put him in a good position for the next Turnpoint of Mt Blanc. As he gained valuable ground, it looked as though Maurer was stuck in dead air around the Turnpoint of Annecy and was unable to get away.
But it no accident that Maurer has won the race three times and by mid afternoon, he had escaped Annecy and had 35km on Guschlbauer, as they both now began the last stage of the route south along the Alps Maritimes.
Sebastian Huber (GER) also displayed some remarkable flying prowess. He began the day on the wrong side of Mont Blanc. He was south, but needed to be north. In between was a 4,800m mountain. Hiking to 2,300m he launched at 10am, flying close to the sheer rock faces on the southern side to find rising pockets of warm air. In this way he managed to skirt around the Mt Blanc massif. Air space over Mt Blanc in summer means athletes cannot fly over its glaciers, so it was a long and spectacular flight for Huber.
Further back, a whole host of athletes were in the air making the best of the day. Aaron Durogati (ITA) led the chasing-pack flying at top speed to the Matterhorn Turnpoint, flying wingtip-to-wingtip with Antoine Girard (FRA2) and Gaspard Petiot (FRA4). Durogati has pulled his Led Lenser Night Pass for this evening in a bid to escape their clutches. It allows him to hike through the night.
The good flying day comes after a day that saw difficult and windy conditions and two athletes having to retire with injury. Tom de Dorlodot (BEL) hurt his foot after a take-off went wrong, while Toma Coconea (ROU) was dragged over rough ground moments after landing, leaving him with a broken elbow and a lost tooth. Coconea is famous among fans he the only athlete to have competed in every edition of the Red Bull X-Alps since 2003 and is known for his incredible endurance. In one 29 hour period earlier this week, he ran 150km non-stop!
e is already preparing for 2017, said his supporter Daniel Pisica. is body and mind are still strong.
After Alex Villa elimination this morning for being the last ranked athlete, this leaves 27 athletes still racing to reach Monaco. They have until 12:00 on Friday 17 July to get there. Will they succeed?
Follow live on Red Bull MOBILE live tracking.
Pawel Faron (POL) preparing for take-off. /Kelvin Trautman
Chrigel Maurer (SUI1) signs in at Annecy. /Harald Tauderer
Sebastian Huber (GER3) moments before flight. /Vitek Ludvik
ABOUT THE RED BULL X-ALPS
The 2015 Red Bull X-Alps is the seventh edition of the world's toughest adventure race in which athletes must hike or fly 1,038km across the Alps from Salzburg to Monaco in the fastest time possible. The race started on July 5, 2015. It's an epic undertaking that can involve hiking up to 100km of mountain terrain in a day or flying at altitudes in excess of 4,000m. The race demands not only a very high level of endurance fitness but expert paragliding experience. The 2013 edition was the fastest on record with 10 athletes reaching Monaco. It was won by Christian Maurer (SUI) in 6d 23hr 40m.
New in 2015 is the one-day Powertraveller Prologue on July 2 which was won by Paul Guschlbauer in 2h 21m. Stanislav Mayer (CZE) was 2nd in 2h 22m and Gavin McClurg (USA2) came 3rd in 2h 24m. Athletes started and finished in Fuschl am See, passing the Turnpoints of the Zw枚lferhorn and Schafberg peaks. The first three athletes each gained an additional Led Lenser Nightpass and a five-minute headstart on the main race start.
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