RED BULL X-ALPS 2009: RACE ON!
Today 30 athletes set out from Salzburg on the adventure of a lifetime: the Red Bull X-Alps.
At 11:30 the start gun went off, startling much of the crowd gathered in the Mozartplatz – but it was nothing compared with the shock of what’s to come for the competitors.
Ahead of them, they face Europe’s harshest mountains and extreme alpine weather conditions. Rules state they must cross the entire Alpine chain by foot or by paraglider in their quest to reach Monaco.
The athletes burst over the start-line and ran full pelt for the first of seven turnpoints: the Gaisberg. Pierre Carter (RSA) was the first to reach the 1288 m summit. Thousands of spectators watched the 43-year-old South African crush his opposition with a 1hr 10min time, recorded by event sponsor Suunto.
This is Carter’s first Red Bull X-Alps, and before the start he commented that he was feeling relaxed: “this is my first time, so there’s far less pressure on me than the others”, he said. Carter’s reward is the SalzburgerLand Gaisbergkonig prize: a luxury three-day break, but he won’t be taking that for quite some time.
Hot on his heels were Christian Amon (AUT2) and Michael Gebert (GER). All athletes launched their paragliders into cloud-covered skies. With no lift to keep them aloft, they glided down to the valley below before packing up their rucksacks and setting off south-west.
A tight race is now unfolding as athletes battle it out on foot. Their next objective is the Watzmann. They must then conquer the mighty Grossglockner: at 3798 m, it’s Austria’s highest mountain. Then they must tackle the Marmolada, the Matterhorn, France’s Mont Blanc before heading south to Mont Gros and gliding to the beach at Monaco. The race is expected to take between ten and fifteen days, depending on weather conditions.
Film and photography crews are in pursuit by helicopter, paraglider and SUV. Hundreds of thousands of people are watching the race unfold live at www.redbullxalps.com. The site’s Live Tracking and news reports reveal every athlete’s position and route in real time.
Photocredits: ©Red Bull Photofiles
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