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Four days before the race start and 5 teams have withdrawn in 24 hours.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!
