NOVA Red Bull X-Alps Blog: SUN 20.06.2021

Low-level-act in perfection
A cloudy sky, no cumuli, wind and heat greeted the athletes after the ascent to the Gaisberg. The stragglers had no trouble joining the throng in front of the starting area. No one dared to take off. A hundred metres more or less altitude decided whether they would make it to the next hill, if you can call the first mountains south of Salzburg that. With a few hundred metres above the Gaisberg, one had to take off after all. One of the first to risk a breakaway to lower altitudes was Ken Oguma (JAP). He marked the spot on a forest slope deep in a little valley where many a drama was still unfolding behind him. He himself found thermals again and was back in the race - which he had even led with his hussar ride. The next few hours and the few dozen kilometres to the Tennengebirge were hardly to be surpassed in terms of suspense. Pulks formed, breakaways lost their advantage, chasing fields overtook.
 

Prominent victims
It came as it had to: soon the first ones were on the ground in the lovely foothills of the Salzburg Alps. With a north-westerly wind, they headed east past the Tennengebirge. But there were already prominent victims far before this key point. With this low working altitude and difficult valley wind and north-westerly wind, the athletes were in the grass in no time. Théo de Blic (FRA) joined a hiking group from USA1 and GER1: three-time X-Alps participants Gavin McClurg and Manuel Nübel. That may be a small consolation for the Frenchman, who is used to winning. But the Austrian and German Rookies Thomas Friedrich and Michael Lacher did not fare any better. They, too, had to go hiking in the hills and didn't see down into the Pongau at six o'clock in the evening. Not everyone will be able to make the glide to the signing board in Wagrain Kleinarl tonight and perhaps some are looking around for a take-off spot to turn around for tomorrow morning.
 

Oguma and Donini among the escapees
After his hair-raising low safe in the middle of the course, Ken didn't make any more blunders and ran in with champion Chrigel Maurer (SUI) for the glide down to Kleinarl in the evening. He will easily be able to spend the night at the top. Surely a nice feeling. Nicola Donini (ITA), the third of our NOVA pilots, could again benefit from his great experience in crowd flying and showed a strong performance over the whole flight time. He, too, will approach the Turn Point Kleinarl today and go to sleep with little distance to the top. There was no real breakaway at the top. Several favourites were always close to the front. Chrigel will not be sorry that he rarely worked at the front. Today it was important not to bomb out. Maxime Pinot (FRA) got the media attention in Kleinarl first, signed the board and packed for another climb for a second and probably last flight today. The Frenchman did a lot of leading work in the difficult foothills of the Alps from Salzburg to Wagrain and earned the honour of the lead.
 

Small but subtle differences
I would have loved to hear the conversation between Gavin, Manuel and Théo after they had to land early in the afternoon and climb up together for the restart. They moved from one launch to the other to catch up as much as possible. It's interesting to see if they run together, or even ten metres apart. In any case, they all went their own ways at the new launch site. Théo generously let the older ones go first and watched Manuel fly west to the Salzach, Gavin east to go around the Tennengebirge there. Eventually Théo flew after Gavin, with better line, better speed, and saved himself a kilometre or two of walking for late tonight. At the moment Manuel is hiking up the gorge to Bischofshofen, Gavin is climbing up to the Tennengebirge for a flight and Théo is hiking up the Lammertal. I wouldn't be surprised if the three of them meet up again somewhere today. Nothing is lost yet and nothing is gained. It never was after one day anyway. You can't even see any real tendencies. But it might stay that way for a while.
 

Ken Oguma joins the chasing pack after his breakaway at the front, light brown track. Thomas Friedrich and later Théo de Blic and other notables can't get out of the valley. Has it shaded out? The wind stopped? The cycle didn't fit? Oh man, Ken! You were lucky.
In the evening, the gun smoke of the thermal battles in the foothills of the Alps has cleared. A long line of backpack carriers ascend to Wagrain Kleinarl for gliding. Pulk flying paid off today, runaways were punished in exemplary fashion, some spared, like Chrigel Maurer and Maxime Pinot, who also tried variants on their own and were eventually caught up again. Here Maxime is a good half hour ahead, already at the signing board in Kleinarl. Partick von Känel (SUI) prefers to run.
 

Now, shortly before the night's rest at 10:30 pm, it's time for us to take a deep breath. The events up to the closing time - and those of tomorrow's race day No. 2 - will be part of our next report.

Text: Roli Mäder (NOVA Team Pilot)

PS: Check out the NOVA video from day #1. 
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