Author: Judith
Day 1 – Summary
Day 1 of the X-Pyr 2024 began with the start at the beach in Hondarribia. 40 teams ran up to the first turn point at Larun. Sadly it was foggy, windy, raining and very cold. It was not flyable, but everyone got there, with Pierre Remy together with Lenart Oblak being the first to sign the board, with a time of 2:38.
After them, Maxime Pinot and Sebastian Weber, 6 minutes later.
All teams, except Johannes Helleland, used the northern rute to climb Larun.
The diference between the first and the last team was 1:50.
All had to walk down and Nicola Heidinger’s illness of the day before meant he could not continue. The rest split north-south, hiking in the rain to try to get into a good flying position for Day 2. Noe Court managed to get a short hop and this put him at the head of the race.
Later, near the end of the day the sun started shining and some well placed pilots managed to get a little air time, for example Lars Meerstetter made the most of the little bit of dry weather of today. Finished the day with a distance of 62.5 km.
Tomorrow looks more promising… it can’t get much worse than today!
Breaking News! Route Change for the 2024 X-Pyr
In this edition there has been a rule change to allow the route of the race to be changed. The only reason for this would be if the weather was bad and there was a risk that pilots would have to walk for several days. This situation is bad for the athletes as it is hard on the body, soul-destroying and for the and spectators at home it is extremely boring to watch a small dot moving slowly across the screen. Athletes were consulted about this rule change and the response was very positive.
For this edition of the X-Pyr, the weather looks sufficiently bad at the beginning of the race, to justify invoking this new rule.
What will change? There are three differences:
– TP 3: Boí Taull, radius is now 12 km
– TP 4: Monte Perdido, radius is now 33 km
– TP 5: Pic des Trois Seigneurs, removed!!!
This makes the X in the middle of the route much smaller and the total optimised distance is now 486.9 km, some 80km shorter. The longest leg of the route is now 143.7 km.
The teams have been informed and are busy updating their instruments and plotting a new course. The race starts on Sunday at 10am (CET), come rain or shine!
How can you follow the X-Pyr 2024?
There are many ways you can follow the action live or catch up later if you missed something.
The Website
If you go to the website you will see all the elements – the race blog, info on the teams, the social media feed and videos. You can check out the route and history. You will also be able to watch the live tracking.
Live Tracking
We are offering two ways of seeing the live tracking, either through
Social Media
If you would like to follow us on Social Media you can follow us on Instagram or follow our page on Facebook.
Live broadcasts
To watch our live reports from the start of the race, tune in at 9:15am (CET) on Sunday the 23rd of June on our Youtube channel to see live coverage and commentary. We will then be broadcasting live from the sign-in board at turn point one at Larun, once the first athletes get closer. They must hike to this turn point so the fastest should arrive within 2 – 3 hours, depending on conditions.
Videos
You can also see the several daily video updates on YouTube. You can also access these from the main X-Pyr website. You will also be able to see an evening commentary with guest commentators on the day’s racing in both Spanish and English.
Race blog
If you prefer to read your news, you will be able to read a news summary on the competition race blog.
Weather
And if you want to keep ahead of the weather, we have a new feature in conjunction with partners XCSkies. See individual weather for each competitor linked to their live track. See the Meteo section of the website for more details.
Keep tuned and enjoy the race!
8 DNS – what’s going on with this X-Pyr edition?
Four days before the race start and 5 teams have withdrawn in 24 hours. What’s going on? From 48 teams, we will now (hopefully) start with 40 teams. The latest athletes to withdraw are:
Team Pál Takáts/Sergio Toro announced on the 19th of June that they will not be able to compete in the race. Pál, a rookie to the race, having come from the acro world, via cross-country races to compete in the hike & fly scene. He was 4th in the 2023 X-Alps and a hot contender for this edition of the X-Pyr.
In his own words
“Timo has left us for his final and eternal flight last Friday and I’m still struggling to find peace with this new reality…I have lost other friends in the past and even though we were not close, for some reason this hit me really profound…Maybe because I knew him since he was a small kid, maybe because I know his lovely parents, maybe because he was way too young, too skilled and talented, maybe because recently I already felt disillusioned with high level competitions, maybe because in that situation it could have happened to any of us pro pilots…Probably it is just all of it together. I cannot imagine the pain of his parents, partner and closest friends and my thoughts and prayers are with them all the time 🙏🥺
I’m raising many questions to myself about life and my passion of paragliding as I lost all the motivation to fly right now. After days of battling emotions, I came to the conclusion that I’m simply not in the right headspace for any demanding, high-level flying so therefore I cancel my participation in the @xpyrrace . It was a very though decision but since I was already in doubt, I guess it was the right one. I am lucky to still be alive after 2-3 really close calls during more than two decades of pushing hard in different disciplines and sports. Maybe this is the wake up call and slap in the face to start appreciating this fact more and to reflect on what is important in life…
Céus azuis Timo, abrazos fortes e fortaleza familia querida“
Team Michal Gierlach and Daniel Wojstanowicz are out of the X-Pyr too. Michal, more commonly known as Spike, has been unwell with what he thought was the common cold. Sadly after a visit to hospital it has been confirmed he has pneumonia and there is no way he can participate in a race as strenuous as the X-Pyr.
Sadly, the team of Emil Guariento and Matteo Folini have had to withdraw from the race at the last minute. The young Italian from Bolzano writes that:
“After the good result at the Bornes to Fly, I felt something was missing in my body, I did some blood tests and yesterday I received the results. I’m going to give up, as it doesn’t make any sense to wait longer. I’m sorry for that, it hurts. “
The team of Louis Cussot/Justin Puthod gave us the sad news of their withdrawal. Louis has been suffering with knee problems and an MRI scan confirmed some lesions in the cartilage of the knee cap. Doctors advise that if he doesn’t rest the damage could be permanent, so of course he cannot come to the race.
Last to withdraw is the team of Rémi Bourdelle and his brother Adrien. Rémi has a problem with his knee and after a 10 km test run, the pain was not sustainable. The team came in to replace Ben Abruzzo/Gavin McClurg, and Rémi was a participant in the last edition.
We wish all the teams well and hope they all recover from their injuries and pain. All the best, we will miss you during the race!
The Bourdelle brothers retire
One day, 5 withdrawals! Last to retire is the team of Rémi Bourdelle and his brother Adrien. Rémi has a problem with his knee and after a 10 km test run, the pain was not sustainable. Sadly the team won’t be joining us.
Rémi was a participant in the last edition. We hope he makes a full and fast recovery.
Louis Cussot out with knee problems
The team of Louis Cussot/Justin Puthod have just given us the sad news of their withdrawal. Louis has been suffering with knee problems and an MRI scan confirmed some lesions in the cartilage of the knee cap. Doctors advise that if he doesn’t rest the damage could be permanent, so of course he cannot come to the race.
He will be missed! We swish him a speedy recovery and a return to full fitness soon.
Michal Gierlach withdraws
In more shocking news, team Michal Gierlach and Daniel Wojstanowicz are out of the X-Pyr too. Michal, more commonly known as Spike, has been unwell with what he thought was the common cold. Sadly after a visit to hospital it has been confirmed he has pneumonia and there is no way he can participate in a race as strenuous as the X-Pyr.
Another new participant who we were excited to welcome to the Pyrenees, we wish him a swift and full recovery and to see him fit and well for the next edition.
