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The Red Bull X-Alps is a paragliding race in which athletes must hike or fly 1,200 km across the Alps. It first launched in 2003 and has since taken place every other year. Around 30 athletes take part and must navigate their way via a predetermined set of turn points that vary with each race. Every kilometer must be covered either on foot or by paraglider. Teams consist of one athlete and one official supporter, whose role it is to provide technical advice, mental and nutritional support.

The route traditionally covers the Alpine regions of Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France before ending in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. The 2017 route featured Slovenia as well.^[1]

Athletes didn't fly into Monaco due to airspace restrictions, and the term "Monaco" has been used solely for marketing purposes. That is one reason why in the tenth edition (2021) the route has been changed to not include Monaco but rather return to Austria.^[2]

The exact route is normally unveiled in the spring before the race start.

So far the race has only been won by Swiss nationals, and by Christian Maurer since 2009.^[3]

History

The concept for the Red Bull X-Alps was developed by Austrian pilot Hannes Arch who saw a TV documentary in which German pilot Toni Bender crossed the Alps from North to South by paraglider, carrying all his equipment, sleeping rough and hiking parts of the way.

"I thought it would be cool to base a paragliding competition on this format and developed a basic concept for it - and the idea was born! Together with Red Bull, we have developed it over the years to be the Red Bull X-Alps it is today - the toughest and most extreme endurance and outdoor race in the world. Its simplicity is what makes it most appealing. We start in Salzburg and whoever arrives in Monaco first wins. That's it. It's about body and soul, not about hundreds of rules and regulations," Arch has said.^[4]

When conditions are good, athletes use paragliders to fly, and when they are not they must run or hike, carrying their paraglider and other mandatory equipment. The use of tunnels and all other forms of transport are not permitted.

The first edition led from Austria's Dachstein Glacier to Monaco via Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze, Mont Blanc and Mont Gros in France. Seventeen athletes and their support teams covered a distance of 800 kilometers as the crow flies.

Over the years the route and the turn points have changed. From 2009 the race started off in the Austrian city of Salzburg. At 1,031 kilometers, the 2013 course was the longest in the history of the race and athletes had to pass 10 turn points: Gaisberg, Dachstein, and Wildkogel in Austria; Zugspitze in Germany; Ortler/Sulden in Italy; Interlaken, Matterhorn in Switzerland; Mont Blanc, Saint Hilaire, and Peille in France.

New to the 2015 race was the Powertraveller Prologue, a one-day hike and paragliding contest in the Salzburgerland region. Starting and finishing in Fuschl am See, athletes are required to hike or fly a 38 km course around two turn points, the Zwölferhorn and Schafberg peaks. It was won by Paul Guschlbauer in 2h 21m. In 2017, the prologue will return to Fuschl am See as the Leatherman Prologue on June 29.

The 2015 race started July 5 and ended July 17. It was won for the fourth time in a row by the Swiss athlete Christian Maurer who reached the finish, a landing float in Monaco bay, on July 14. His official time, which stops at the final turn point of Peille above Monaco, was 8d 4h 37m.

Thanks to GPS-Live Tracking, all athletes can be followed in real time on the official website throughout the race. The exact position of the athletes is monitored via data loggers and GSM cell phones. The athletes also carry a camera with them at all times. Stills and videos are used in the athletes’ online diaries, which are kept up to date by their supporters.

Rules

The first athlete to reach Monaco wins the race, which ends 48 hours later but not before a set finish time as defined by organizers. Thereafter, the race will officially end and athletes will be requested to stop racing. Pilots who have not reached the final destination within this time will be ranked according to the distance left to the final destination.

Since the 2011 edition, athletes are forced to have a mandatory rest between 23:00 and 04:00 and stay within a radius of 250m of their resting position for safety reasons. In 2013, the mandatory break was extended by 1.5 hours, from 22:30 to 05:00. If an athlete was still moving in that time, he would be subjected to a minimum penalty of 24 hours. Athletes with penalty times had to prolong their next rest for the duration of their penalty time. Failure to comply with this rule led to disqualification.

New in 2013 was the so-called Night Pass, which allowed athletes to hike through the night. To use they had to inform organizers of their intention by 12:00 local time the day they wished to use. The idea behind the Night Pass was to allow athletes a chance to advance their position by tactical means once during the race. They may be able to hike to a key point where they can extend their lead or pass teams in front.

Since 2013, prototypes are banned from the competition and all equipment, including paragliders, harnesses, and helmets must comply with EN or LTF certifications.^[5]

X-Alps 2003

Route

The first course took the athletes from the Dachstein Glacier in Austria to Monaco. It was defined by two turn points, all of which had to be taken within a radius of 100 meters. Over the years the route and the turn points have changed.

#	Turnpoint
1	Switzerland	pass over Verbier
2	France	Mont Gros

Teams and results

Of the 17 competitors who started the race on July 14, 2003, on the Dachstein, only three made it to Monaco. All others completed between 30% and 90% of the course.

Rank	Team	Athlete	Time	Distance covered
1	SUI	Kaspar Henny	11 Days and 22:55:30 Hours
2	FRA	David Dagault	12 Days and 03:20 Hours
3	GER1	Stefan Bocks	12 Days and 08 Hours
4	GER2	Thomas Friedrich		672 km
5	SUI2	Urs Lötscher		668 km
6	SLO	Uros Rozic		657 km
7	CAN	Will Gadd		656 km
8	GER3	Holger Herfurth		648 km
9	ROM	Toma Coconea		618 km
10	AUT2	Walter Holzmüller		554 km
11	TUR	Buhara Arif Kemal		525 km
12	POL	Krzysztof Ziolkowski		522 km
13	ITA	Andy Frötscher		511 km
14	AUT1	Gerhard Gassner		486 km
15	MEX	Carlos Carsolio		462 km
16	BUL	Slavi Vasilev		357 km
17	GBR	Jon Shaw		263 km

X-Alps 2005

Route

Dachstein Glacier, Austria, to Monaco.

#	Turnpoint
1	Germany	Zugspitze
2	France/ Italy	Mont Blanc
3	France	Mont Gros

Teams and results

17 athletes, two of which were women, competed in the second Red Bull X-Alps, starting on August 1, 2005. Four teams reached the final destination while three teams had to withdraw from the race due to injury. All others completed between 25% and 88% of the distance.

Rank	Team	Athlete	Supporter	Time
1	SUI3	Alex Hofer	Heinz Haunschild	12 Days and 01:20 Hours
2	SUI2	Urs Lötscher	Andreas Wild	+ 1 Day, 1 Hour
3	SUI1	Kaspar Henny (defending champion)	Elio Baffioni
4	AUT1	Helmut Eichholzer	Elisabeth Rauchenberger
5	GER1	Stefan Bocks	Hansi Keim
5	GER2	Michael Gebert	Florian Schellheimer
7	AUS	Benn Kovco	Bryan Anderson
8	AUT2	Christian Amon	Lars Pongs	retired
9	ESP	David Castillejo Martinez	Magdalena Alcañiz Soriano
10	GBR	Aidan Toase	Jan Toase
11	GRE	Dimitris Bourazanis	Marina Zannara	retired
12	IRL	Niki Hamilton	Petra Knor	retired
13	ITA	Andy Frötscher	Florian Ploner
14	MEX	Santiago Baeza	Christian Fernandez del Valle
15	ROM	Toma Coconea	Cornel Doru Calutiu
16	TUR	Semih Sayir	Osman Grukan
17	USA	Kari Castle	Craig Goddard

X-Alps 2007

Route

Dachstein Glacier, Austria, to Monaco.

#	Turnpoint
1	Austria	Dachstein
2	Italy	Marmolada
3	Switzerland	Eiger
4	France/ Italy	Mont Blanc
5	France	Mont Gros

Teams and results

30 teams started on July 23, 2007, for the third edition of the Red Bull X-Alps. 12 teams had to withdraw. Five teams made it to the final destination in Monaco.

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Red_Bull_X-Alps
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Rank	Team	Athlete	Supporter	Finish Time	Distance to Goal (as the crow flies)
1	SUI1	Alex Hofer (defending champion)	Sandro Schnegg	14 Days and 1 Hour
2	ROM	Toma Coconea	Razvan Levarda	+ 04:35 Hours
3	SUI3	Martin Müller	Fabian Zuberer	+ 1 Day and 00:15 Hours
4	SUI2	Urs Lötscher	Nicole Willi	+ 1 Day and 05:50 Hours
5	JPN	Kaoru Ogisawa	Masaru Saso	+ 1 Day and 22:54 Hours
6