Red Bull X-Alps
Maurer Makes it Win Number 7 at the Red Bull X-Alps
Press Release / 29.06.2021
In a time of 8 days, 6 hours, 30 minutes and 28 seconds Chrigel Maurer made it to the finish line in Zell am See on Day 9, 130 km ahead of the next athlete. The chasing group of four is still on the way to Turnpoint 11 at Kronplatz in the fight for the remaining two podium places. The impressive flight yesterday took the 38-year-old Swiss from Fiesch in Switzerland to Merano in South Tyrol.
Despite the weather forecast predicting strong winds and thunderstorms north of the main Alpine chain, Maurer chose to stay on that side and try his luck on more familiar territory, rather than head south to Italy, as Pinot, Outters, Oberrauner and von Känel chose to do.
As the chaser pack found themselves on the wrong side of the mountain with no thermal activity meaning they had to hike on foot, Maurer was able to get away. But it was a stressful and challenging flight, as he battled strong winds with gusts up to 50kph, turbulence and sinking air that caused his wing to collapse more than once.
In the early afternoon he landed on the summit of Kronplatz, Turnpoint 11, from there he took the final blow and reached the landing raft in Lake Zell at exactly 6PM.
Race organizer Ulrich Grill said: “The legend reinvented! Again, Chrigel Maurer puts his stamp on Red Bull X-Alps 2021. For a moment we thought that the French may have finally cracked the hero’s winning series, until he struck back with one of his famous moves. Absolutely astonishing. This deserves a massive applause. We bow to the seven-time champion Chrigel the Eagle! Now, all eyes are on the battle for second and third place with several athletes in contention.”
They include the French athletes Maxime Pinot (FRA1) and Benoît Outters (FRA2) as well as Simon Oberrauner (AUT2) and Patrick von Känel (SUI2) who were separated by only 20km as they tagged Turnpoint 10, Piz Palü, mid-afternoon.
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