HE has closed the bag: The Eagle has landed! This time not on the moon, but on the raft on the Zeller See. The alien, the one and only Chrigel Maurer has won the Red Bull X-Alps for the seventh time in a row. We congratulate and bow our heads in deepest respect to the King of the X-Alps. When HE crossed the finish line, HE was about 130 km ahead of…

For those who did not follow the live tracking today: this was probably the day of the seventh X-Alps victory for Chrigel Maurer. You don't have to be a prophet to make this prediction. The eagle flies and flies and flies – while his closest pursuers can't quite make headway in worse aerological conditions. The “Eagle from Adelboden” easily…

Wow, what an exciting and eventful day! The weather did not promise record conditions, it was supposed to be a bit too windy and the base a bit too low for that. But it should have been well possible to fly around Mont Blanc, the turnpoint 9 so feared by all athletes, on its west side. Because if that didn't succeed, "very nasty hiking" would be…

Today, the leading group was on its way from Turnpoint 7 Fiesch to Turnpoint 8 Dent d'Oche. The weather forecast did not promise a great day, but paraglidable.com displayed “green”. So, it should have been reasonably flyable. In the morning, however, the cloud base lay on the mountains for a long time. Would it open up? And if so, when and where…

A short review about Wednesday evening up front: Of the top guys, Paul Guschlbauer still managed a glide over Lake Walen, didn't make it or wouldn't make it into Glarnerland. The others flew into the valley. Chrigel Maurer flew the farthest in much shade and climbed to the Klausen pass. Close on his heels were a host of competitors, including…

Today's route: The leading group is already on its way from Lermoos towards Säntis. On this leg - unlike between the Achental and Lermoos - there are two clear and obvious route options:

• Further north through the valley of River Lech, passing Schröcken (famous ski area) then through the Walsertal valley to Feldkirch to cross the wide Rhine…

Ken Oguma (JPN) – literally – won many hearts in flight during his X-Alps adventure, which unfortunately lasted only three days. Even in this short time we have come to appreciate him not only as a pilot, but also through his likeable and warm manner, his laughter and his humor.

It's only day 3 and already the field of athletes has spread out over some 250 km! The conditions are sporty because the valley winds are strong. The latter have to be exploited to one's own advantage and their dangers avoided. Those who had not yet made it to the Achental turnpoint had the ‘Bavarian Wind’ whistling in their faces (the Tyroleans…

Maxime Pinot has had to take a severe daily beating again. Yes, well, he is not very far behind. But you don't want to show your face, do you? The Frenchman has said on occasion that he wants to stay relaxed, take the days as they go. And really, really nothing is lost yet. His trauma from the Titlis is nowhere in sight yet.