The Battle is on for Mont Blanc
Press Release / 27.06.2021
A forested ridgeline above the French village of Saint-Jean-d’Aulps in the Haute Savoie was this morning the setting for an epic duel between the six-time champion Chrigel Maurer (SUI1) and the challenger Maxime Pinot (FRA1) as they set their sights on the snow-capped Mont Blanc massif.
They both fought to gain height on the eastern side of the hill – facing the sun – but every time they caught some rising warm air, they were pushed back down again by a westerly wind that flushed down the lee side of the mountain. For 15 minutes, up and down they went.
Suddenly, as they battled to escape and get above the ridge, another athlete joined the fray – Frenchman Benoît Outters (FRA2), who two days previously had run 78km on foot during a day of thunderstorms.
Pinot was first to get above the ridge, but rather than let him get away Maurer and Outters worked together to find the lift they needed. And then suddenly, they too were up and flying across the sky at 40kph, gunning for Pinot and the glaciated peaks of Mont Blanc.
Ulrich Grill, race organizer, said: “This race is on and as exciting as it gets. Never have we seen the top three so close together with so many challengers right behind. It’s just incredible how the top athletes are all pushing each other. All eyes are now on Mont Blanc. It’s the biggest mountain and the biggest challenge on this race course, which is the toughest in history.”
He added: “I also find it really inspiring and encouraging to see French, Swiss, Italian and Austrian athletes racing together across borders, after everything we have all experienced in the past 18 months. The Red Bull X-Alps is leading the way for the re-opening of the Alps to hikers, adventurers and paragliders! It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
To clear Mont Blanc, athletes must pass it to the west and then cross into Italy. This means they must either have enough height to clear a high mountain pass (they were aiming for the 3,342m Col de Miage) or it becomes a brutal ascent on foot that would add at least 20km to the route and around 2,000m of ascent. All three were desperate to avoid that on the race’s most promising weather day so far.
There are now just 25 athletes left in the field after two eliminations and two withdrawals due to injury. Thomas Friedrich (AUT3), at 20, the youngest athlete in the field, pulled out last night after suffering a hard landing and injuring his foot. It will be a bitter blow for the athlete, who came third during the Prologue and was the first to reach the first Turnpoint of the Gaisberg on day 1.
The field is now spread out with almost 300km separating the lead athletes from the two American athletes Gavin McClurg (USA1) and Cody Mittanck (USA2) lying at the back. With the next elimination due tomorrow morning both athletes have pulled a Night Pass to hike through the night to avoid being cut. It will be a long night for them both – and with just a few kilometers separating them, it could come down to the wire.