Red Bull X-Alps
Athletes Hike Through the Night to Make the Finish
Press Release / 02.07.2021
The Red Bull X-Alps today reaches its final endgame for the remaining 15 athletes still battling on the course line. They were stretched over 350km from France’s Haute Savoie to South Tyrol – all focused on gaining as much distance as possible before the clock halts racing at 11.30AM local time on Friday July 2nd.
Ten athletes have pulled a Night Pass which means the struggle to gain ground and overtake each other will continue throughout the night and into tomorrow. Those athletes include Tom de Dorlodot (BEL), Eduardo Garza (MEX), Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1), Toma Coconea (ROU), Damien Lacaze (FRA5), Manuel Nübel (GER1), Michael Lacher (GER3), Steve Bramfit (GBR) and Michal Gierlach (POL).
Yesterday afternoon they were clustered together near Piz Palü, enjoying good flights as they battled to tag the 10th Turnpoint and reach Kronplatz.
All eyes however are on Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1), the only athlete who has any hope of reaching goal, a landing float on the waters of Zell am See.
Race organizer Ulrich Grill said: “He still has 170km to go but with a bit of luck he could still make it. Anything is possible. But he needs three to four hours of flying and with the weather as it is, that is not certain.”
According to official race meteorologist Ubimet, rainy conditions are expected across much of the Alps. A lot of snow also fell overnight so if Guschlbauer has to hike over the main chain of the Alps from Italy to Austria over the Hohe Tauern mountains he can expect a lot of snow, which will also slow him down on foot.
Grill adds: “The last 24 hours will be very exciting to see who is able to cover the most distance in the night. Only then will the rankings be decided.”
Aaron Durogati is one of the few athletes not to pull a Night Pass having used his last night. However, he must serve a time penalty for an airspace violation from tomorrow, which effectively ends his race at 10.30PM tonight.
The last athlete to make goal was the Frenchman Benoît Outters who arrived at 8:45PM on Wednesday evening after a gruelling hike to Schmittenhöhe through thunderstorms. In the past 40 hours he’d hiked 160km, climbed 7,700m and slept for two hours. His efforts however were finally rewarded with an evening glide to the float.
Speaking after making a perfect landing, he said “It’s incredible. To finish this race another time for me is just crazy. I had to hike very fast to get here in time but I’m happy because I could fly down and the race is over. Now I just want to sleep. I am very happy.”
The race goes on. Follow the remaining athletes via Live Tracking on redbullxalps.com.
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