Red Bull X-Alps
The Red Bull X-Alps is one of the world's toughest adventure races in which athletes must hike or fly 1,000 km across the Alps. It first launched in 2003 and has since taken place every other year. Around 30 athletes take part and must navigate their way via a predetermined set of turnpoints that vary with each race. Every kilometer must be covered either on foot or by paraglider. Teams consist of one athlete and one official supporter, whose role providing technical advice, mental and nutritional support is almost as demanding.
The route traditionally covers the Alpine regions of Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France before ending in Monaco. The exact route is normally unveiled in the spring before the race start.
New to the 2015 race was the Powertraveller Prologue, a one day hike and paragliding contest in the Salzburgerland region. Starting and finishing in Fuschl am See, athletes had to hike or fly a 38km course around two turnpoints, the Zwölferhorn and Schafberg peaks. It was won by Paul Guschlbauer in 2h 21m.
The 2015 race started July 5 and ended July 17th. It was won for the fourth time in a row by the Swiss athlete Christian Maurer who reached the finish, a landing float in Monaco bay, on July 14. His official time, which stops at the final turnpoint of Peille above Monaco, was 8d 4h 37m.
The race
The concept for the Red Bull X-Alps was developed by Austrian pilot Hannes Arch who saw a TV documentary in which German pilot Toni Bender crossed the Alps from North to South by paraglider, carrying all his equipment, sleeping rough and hiking parts of the way.
"I thought it would be cool to base a paragliding competition on this format and developed a basic concept for it - and the idea was born! Together with Red Bull, we have developed it over the years to be the Red Bull X-Alps it is today - the toughest and most extreme endurance and outdoor race in the world. Its simplicity is what makes it most appealing. We start in Salzburg and whoever arrives in Monaco first wins. That's it. It's about body and soul, not about hundreds of rules and regulations," Arch has said.[1]
When conditions are good, athletes use paragliders to fly, and when they are not they must run or hike, carrying their paraglider and other mandatory equipment. No other form of transport is permitted.
The first edition led from Austria’s Dachstein Glacier to Monaco via Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, Mont Blanc and Mont Gros in France. Seventeen athletes and their support teams covered a distance of 800 kilometers as the crow flies. Over the years the route and the turnpoints have changed. From 2009 the race started off in the Austrian city of Salzburg. At 1,031 kilometers, the 2013 course was the longest in the history of the race and athletes had to pass 10 turnpoints: Gaisberg, Dachstein, and Wildkogel in Austria; Zugspitze in Germany; Ortler/Sulden in Italy; Interlaken, Matterhorn in Switzerland; Mont Blanc, Saint Hilaire, and Peille in France. The 2015 race route will be revealed in spring 2015. The 2015 race is only the second edition after 2005 that will see women compete. So far the race has only ever been won by Swiss nationals.
Thanks to GPS-Live Tracking, all athletes can be followed in real time on the official website throughout the race. The exact position of the athletes is monitored via data loggers and GSM cell phones. The athletes also carry a camera with them at all times. Stills and videos are used in the athletes’ online diaries, which are kept up to date by their supporters.
The rules
The first athlete to reach Monaco wins the race, which ends 48 hours later but not before a set finish time as defined by organizers. Thereafter, the race will officially end and athletes will be requested to stop racing. Pilots who have not reached the final destination within this time will be ranked according to the distance left to the final destination. Since the 2011 edition, athletes are forced to have a mandatory rest between 23:00 and 04:00 and stay within a radius of 250m of their resting position for safety reasons. In 2013, the mandatory break was extended by 1.5 hours, from 22:30 to 05:00. If an athlete was still moving in that time, he would be subjected to a minimum penalty of 24 hours. Athletes with penalty times had to prolong their next rest for the duration of their penalty time. Failure to comply with this rule led to disqualification.
New in 2013 was the so-called Night Pass, which allowed athletes to hike through the night. To use they had to inform organizers of their intention by 12:00 local time the day they wished to use. The idea behind the Night Pass was to allow athletes a chance to advance their position by tactical means once during the race. They may be able to hike to a key point where they can extend their lead or pass teams in front. Since 2013, prototypes are banned from the competition and all equipment, including paragliders, harnesses and helmets must comply with EN or LTF certifications. The full rules can be found on the official website.
X-Alps 2003
Route
The first course took the athletes from the Dachstein Glacier in Austria to Monaco. It was defined by two turnpoints, all of which had to be taken within a radius of 100 meters. Over the years the route and the turnpoints have changed.
# | Turnpoint | |
---|---|---|
1 | Switzerland | pass over Verbier |
2 | France | Mont Gros |
Teams and results
Of the 17 competitors who started the race on July 14, 2003, on the Dachstein, only three made it to Monaco. All others completed between 30% and 90% of the course.
Rank | Team | Athlete | Time | Distance covered |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | SUI | Kaspar Henny | 11 Days and 22:55:30 Hours | |
2 | FRA | David Dagault | 12 Days and 03:20 Hours | |
3 | GER1 | Stefan Bocks | 12 Days and 08 Hours | |
4 | GER2 | Thomas Friedrich | 672 km | |
5 | SUI2 | Urs Lötscher | 668 km | |
6 | SLO | Uros Rozic | 657 km | |
7 | CAN | Will Gadd | 656 km | |
8 | GER3 | Holger Herfurth | 648 km | |
9 | ROM | Toma Coconea | 618 km | |
10 | AUT2 | Walter Holzmüller | 554 km | |
11 | TUR | Buhara Arif Kemal | 525 km | |
12 | POL | Krzysztof Ziolkowski | 522 km | |
13 | ITA | Andy Frötscher | 511 km | |
14 | AUT1 | Gerhard Gassner | 486 km | |
15 | MEX | Carlos Carsolio | 462 km | |
16 | BUL | Slavi Vasilev | 357 km | |
17 | GBR | Jon Shaw | 263 km |
X-Alps 2005
Route
Dachstein Glacier, Austria, to Monaco.
# | Turnpoint | |
---|---|---|
1 | Germany | Zugspitze |
2 | France/ Italy | Mont Blanc |
3 | France | Mont Gros |
Teams and results
17 athletes, two of which were women, competed in the second Red Bull X-Alps, starting on August 1, 2005. Four teams reached the final destination while three teams had to withdraw from the race due to injury. All others completed between 25% and 88% of the distance.
X-Alps 2007
Route
Dachstein Glacier, Austria, to Monaco.
# | Turnpoint | |
---|---|---|
1 | Austria | Dachstein |
2 | Italy | Marmolada |
3 | Switzerland | Eiger |
4 | France/ Italy | Mont Blanc |
5 | France | Mont Gros |
Teams and results
30 teams started on July 23, 2007, for the third edition of the Red Bull X-Alps. 12 teams had to withdraw. Five teams made it to the final destination in Monaco.
Martin Müller was the fastest athlete, however, he was penalized with 36 hours due to an airspace violation in Sion, Switzerland. Müller was taken over by Alex Hofer and Toma Coconea at Mt Gros and only placed third. Winner Alex Hofer traveled 900 km (61% of the distance) in the air and walked 588 km (39%). In comparison, Coconea flew 24% of the distance and walked the other 76% (1,021 km).
X-Alps 2009
Route
For the first time the race started from the Mozartplatz in the center of the city of Salzburg, the end goal however remained the same. The number of turnpoints was increased to seven.
# | Turnpoint | |
---|---|---|
1 | Austria | Gaisberg |
2 | Germany | Zugspitze |
3 | Austria | Großglockner |
4 | Italy | Marmolada |
5 | Switzerland | Matterhorn |
6 | France/ Italy | Mont Blanc |
7 | France | Mont Gros |
Teams and results
The fourth edition was the first one to start from a new starting point. On July 19, 2009, 30 teams started from the Mozartplatz in the Austrian city of Salzburg. Only two teams made it all the way to the final destination in Monaco while 12 teams had to withdraw, were disqualified or taken out of the race.
Chrigel Maurer was the fastest athlete and the first to reach Monaco from the air (he landed at Roquebrune Beach and ran to the last turnpoint on Mont Gros from where he flew to the final destination). Defending champion Alex Hofer arrived one day later. The winner traveled 72% (999 km) of the overall distance (1,379 km) in the air and walked the other 28% (380 km).
X-Alps 2011
Route
Mozartplatz, Salzburg, Austria, to Monaco.
# | Turnpoint | |
---|---|---|
1 | Austria | Gaisberg |
2 | Austria | Dachstein |
3 | Austria | Großglockner |
4 | Italy | Drei Zinnen |
5 | Switzerland | Piz Palü |
6 | Switzerland | Matterhorn |
7 | France/ Italy | Mont Blanc |
8 | France | Mont Gros |
Teams and results
As in 2009, the 2011 race started from the Mozartplatz in Salzburg. The 30 athletes who had been nominated by the race committee took off on July 17, 2011. Only two teams made it all the way to the final destination.
Defending champion Chrigel Maurer was the first to arrive in Monaco after 11 days, 4h and 52min after covering a total distance of 1,807 km, 1,321 km of which he covered by paraglider and 486 km on the ground.
X-Alps 2013
Route
Mozartplatz, Salzburg, Austria, to Monaco.
# | Turnpoint | |
---|---|---|
1 | Austria | Gaisberg |
2 | Austria | Dachstein |
3 | Austria | Wildkogel |
4 | Germany | Zugspitze |
5 | Italy | Ortler/Sulden |
6 | Switzerland | Interlaken |
7 | Switzerland | Matterhorn |
8 | France/ Italy | Mont Blanc |
9 | France | Saint Hilaire |
10 | France | Peille |
Teams and results
31 athletes took off from the Mozartplatz in Salzburg on July 7, 2013. A record number of ten teams made it all the way to Monaco.
At 1,031 km, the route was almost 200 km longer than in 2011. Chrigel Maurer was the first to arrive in Monaco, winning for the third time in a row. He made it in a record time of 6 days, 23h and 40min. He traveled a total distance of 2,556 km, 2,288 km of which he covered by paraglider and 268 km on the ground.
X-Alps 2015
Route
The route was announced on March 19, 2015.[2] It follows an arc of Europe’s highest mountains, starting in Salzburg, Austria and finishing in Monaco. The 2015 route has 10 turnpoints and a straight-line distance of 1,038 km and is more challenging tactically than the 2013 race due to it having less obvious flight paths.
New to the 2015 edition was the Powertraveller Prologue, a one-day hike and paragliding race around the mountains of Fuschl am See. The first three athletes to finish the Prologue were each rewarded with a five-minute headstart in the Red Bull X-Alps race start on July 5 and an additional Led Lenser Nightpass to journey through the night, which is normally a mandatory rest period. First was Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1) 2h21m, second was Stanislav Mayer (CZE) in 2h22m, third was Gavin McClurg (USA2) 2h24m.
# | Turnpoint | |
---|---|---|
1 | Austria | Gaisberg |
2 | Austria | Dachstein |
3 | Germany | Aschau - Chiemsee (Kampenwand) |
4 | Austria | Lermoos |
5 | Italy | Brenta, Cima Tosa |
6 | Switzerland | St. Moritz - Corvatsch |
7 | Switzerland | Matterhorn |
8 | France/ Italy | Mont Blanc |
9 | France | Annecy |
10 | France | Peille |
Teams and results
On December 29, 2014 the first 31 teams were revealed. Two more wildcard teams were added to the starters field on January 8, 2015. The race was won for the fourth time in a row by the Swiss athlete Christian Maurer in 8d 4h 37m, flying an Advance Omega paraglider.
Legend |
---|
Wildcard Team |
Winners
Year | Winner | Second | Third |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Kaspar Henny (SUI) | David Dagault (FRA) | Stefan Bocks (GER) |
2005 | Alex Hofer (SUI) | Urs Lötscher (SUI) | Kaspar Henny (SUI) |
2007 | Alex Hofer (SUI) | Toma Coconea (ROM) | Martin Müller (SUI) |
2009 | Chrigel Maurer (SUI) | Alex Hofer (SUI) | Honza Rejmanek (USA) |
2011 | Chrigel Maurer (SUI) | Toma Coconea (ROM) | Paul Guschlbauer (AUT) |
2013 | Chrigel Maurer (SUI) | Clément Latour (FRA) | Antoine Girard (FRA) |
2015 | Chrigel Maurer (SUI) | Sebastián Huber (GER) | Paul Guschlbauer (AUT) |
References
- ↑ Red Bull X-Alps
- ↑ Official route 2015