Today a 58km Task was set wich was pretty straight forward on the paper, but at the end, left us with different approaches. For the airstart, we took off in the higher mountains and then had a cylinder in the flats where it was just a short out and return. Next we were heading back in to the mountains in to the North-East part where (at least we were told so) never before a task was set. After the north-easterly waypoint, we were heading back over the take off and further to the west. For the final glide the plan was then to come back to the take off again, gain height, take one more waipoint in the flats and then come back to the landing field. After the airstart and the glide out and returning to the mountain, the first fiew kilometers were really fast and basically only ridge racing. We were all pretty well positioned and kept pushing hard on the ridge. Back at the take off, flying direction the westerly turnpoint, the group was splitting the first time. Most of the pilots took the slightly longer route on the luv side of the hill where me and Jérôme went for the more direct route over through the lee side of the hill, which was kind of sketchy, as we were facing a lot of head wind coming around the hill at some point. The climbs were not that good and we kept pushing low for the next vally crossing, while the other pilots came in around 200m higher over our heads. Unfortunately there was no lift on the westerly waypoint and we had to head straight back direction the takeoff where we were able to get some hight on the lee side of the hill. Steve Cox was pushing hard against the wind and got to the luv side of the take off first of the swiss guys, but unfortunately the thermals were week and the wind was not really helping. Roger Aeschbacher and myself kept catching thermals on the lee side and tried to follow the leading group which was about 2 minutes ahead and around 200m higher, already on the luv side. I was lucky and just catched the important thermal below the leaders, while Roger had to keep on going to the next ridge to find some other thermals. During the final glide through the flats, I was able to catch up to the leaders. We had a good glide but it felt like dead air until we were around 300m over ground and I still needed glide ratio 10.5 to goal. We catched a week 0.5m/s thermal and only the four highest pilots out of our 16 pilots group, kept on going. I started going at glide ratio 9.5 to goal and made it with 100m over the line, 4 minutes behind the first pilots. In the end it could have worked without the last weak thermal, but with a high risk of bombing out. The others of the swiss team came in within the next 15 minutes and it was overall a ok day for the swiss team. Sarah Zimmermann made a really good move and went out to the flats earlier then the others, which was the shorter but riskier route. She was able to overtake a lot of other pilots on the final glide with finding a week convergence line in the flats, which was enough to get directly to goal. Thanks to this move she is now first in the women standings, while only flying on a Zeno! Unfortunately there are also bad news for today. Cédric Aymon had a big collaps while pushing on the ridges, which was ending in a crash below the rocky cliffs. The hight was unfortely not enough in order to open the reserve. He got flown to the hospital in Feltre with the helicopter and was getting surgery on the same evening. He is ok and will be able to leave the hospital in a few days. Fortunately he "only" has several broken bones on the leg, ribs and the connection between femur and hip, but no injuries to his back. Morane Montavon was visiting him before surgery and his dad will arrive today. We wish him a speedy recovery. Pictures by Roger Aeschbacher and Sarah Zimmermann.

Français plus bas / English below ---------- Schweizer:innen solide im Goal – Team Swiss League auf Platz 4 Zahlreiche Schweizer:innen haben sich für den ersten Task der SRS Skywalk Edition in Gemona eingefunden. Der gestrige Trainingstask liess bereits gute Flugbedingungen erahnen – heute wurde es ernst. Um 11:45 Uhr wurde das Startfenster geöffnet und die ersten Pilot:innen stiegen in die Luft. Der Task hatte es mit 76.1 km in sich – es war alles dabei: Ridgeracing, Soaring und Flachland-Fliegerei. Gleich zwei Mal galt es, das Tal zu queren. Auf dem Rückweg wurden praktisch alle Linienvarianten ausprobiert – mitten durchs Flache, zurück über den Startplatz oder sogar über die hohen Berge im Westen. Der Final Glide konnte mit genügend Höhe bereits 16 km vor dem Goal angesetzt werden – ein seltener Luxus. Von den 13 Schweizer:innen erreichten acht das Goal. Raphi Oerer flog ein starkes Rennen und kam nur fünf Minuten hinter dem Tagessieger ins Ziel. In der Teamwertung sicherte sich das Team Swiss League den vierten Platz – ein gelungener Auftakt. Im Goal hiess es: schnell einen schattigen Platz suchen, einpacken und direkt ins kühle Nass des nahen Flusses eintauchen. Die Task-Deadline war bewusst auf 17:00 Uhr angesetzt, da ab 18:00 Uhr erste Böen einer nördlichen Gewitterzelle erwartet wurden. Tatsächlich fegten um 18:45 Uhr 50er-Böen durch das Tal – da war man froh, sicher am Boden zu sein. Der Abend klang gemütlich aus – mit Couscous + Risotto, Getränken und guter Stimmung in der Wagenburg einiger Schweizer:innen. Ein sportlich spannender erster Task mit guter Teamleistung, cleverer Linienwahl und rechtzeitigem Bodenkontakt vor dem Gewitter. Der Auftakt macht Lust auf mehr! ---------- Un solide début pour les Suisses – Team Swiss League termine 4e Nombreux·ses pilotes suisses ont fait le déplacement à Gemona pour le premier task de la SRS Skywalk Edition. Le task d’entraînement de la veille nous avait déjà mis dans de bonnes conditions – aujourd’hui, les choses sérieuses commençaient. À 11h45, la fenêtre de décollage s’est ouverte et les premiers pilotes ont pris leur envol. Un task de 76,1 km nous attendait, avec tous les ingrédients d’un bon jour de course : soaring, vol de crête et traversées de plaine. Deux fois, il a fallu traverser la vallée, et au retour, toutes les lignes possibles ont été utilisées – en ligne droite à travers la plaine, via le déco, ou même par les hauts reliefs au nord-ouest. Le final glide pouvait être lancé dès 16 km avant l’arrivée pour ceux qui avaient suffisamment de gaz – une belle récompense après un bon travail de gestion d’altitude. Sur 13 Suisses, 8 ont atteint le goal. Mention spéciale à Raphi Oerer, arrivé à seulement 5 minutes du vainqueur du jour. Au classement par équipe, le Team Swiss League s’est placé 4e, une belle performance d’ensemble pour ouvrir la compétition. À l’atterro, il s’agissait ensuite de trouver rapidement un coin d’ombre, plier l’aile et plonger dans la rivière toute proche pour se rafraîchir. La deadline du task était fixée à 17h00, car des rafales annoncées d’une cellule orageuse au nord devaient arriver vers 18h. Et en effet, à 18h45, des rafales à 50 km/h balayaient la vallée – on était tous heureux d’être déjà au sol. La journée s’est terminée en toute convivialité dans le campement suisse, entre rires, repas et partage d’impressions. Un premier task réussi, avec une belle présence suisse à l’arrivée, des choix de lignes variés, une bonne coordination d’équipe et des décisions prudentes face à la météo. De quoi bien lancer cette édition Skywalk de la SRS ! ---------- Strong Swiss showing – Team Swiss League finishes 4th A large group of Swiss pilots gathered in Gemona for the opening task of the SRS Skywalk Edition. Yesterday’s training task gave us a taste of the good flying conditions – and today, things got real. The start window opened at 11:45 AM, and the first pilots took to the air. A 76.1 km task was on the menu, offering a bit of everything: ridge racing, soaring, and flatland flying. We had to cross the valley twice, and on the return leg, every possible line was flown – straight through the flats, back over launch, or even via the high mountains to the west. With enough altitude, the final glide could be initiated as far as 16 km before goal, which was a rare luxury. Out of 13 Swiss pilots, 8 made goal. Special mention to Raphi Oerer, who finished just 5 minutes behind the day’s winner. In the team ranking, Team Swiss League secured a solid 4th place – a promising start to the competition. At goal, it was all about finding some shade, packing up, and jumping into the cool waters of the nearby river. The task deadline was set early at 5:00 PM due to incoming gust fronts from a northern storm cell. And sure enough, by 6:45 PM, gusts up to 50 km/h were sweeping through the valley – everyone was glad to be safely on the ground. The evening ended in true Swiss style, with a relaxed hangout in the team’s camp, sharing stories, laughs, and a well-earned meal. A great start to the Skywalk SRS with solid flying, smart line choices, strong team spirit, and safe decision-making ahead of incoming weather. Looking forward to what comes next! Task Results 12 Raphael OERER 18 Simon STEINER 29 Gaetan GERBER 31 Marco SOMMERFELD 46 Pascal BLUM 72 Philipp LANGENEGGER 75 Martina HAURI 96 Carel LUEBBIG 104 Lukas GAFNER 105 Gloria BITZI 119 Jan LUEBBIG 121 Mattia VOSTI 121 Claudio VOSTI

Today's 90km task stretched to approximately 120km due to various detours. The start proved as tricky as yesterday! Super stable conditions and a strong crosswind on takeoff made launching difficult. The queue was so long that some pilots, including Alfredo, were too late to reach the mountain base. The first leg was particularly challenging due to a much stronger easterly wind than predicted. We had to fly through significant lee thermals, which were rated at a Level 2+. However, the day gradually improved, turning into a fast ridge race towards the easterly turning point. The Swiss Team once again made some impressive moves, with several pilots finishing among the top 50. Overall today: 5 Roger 15 Steve Cox 17 Dominik Breitinger 29 Jérôme Kägi 57 Cédric Aymon 58 Morane Montavon 77 Sarah Zimmermann 78 Alfredo Studer 94 Davide Licini Overall after 4 Tasks: 10 Steve Cox 12 Dominik Breitinger 18 Jérôme Kägi Congratulations to the team for their consistent performance so far!

After heavy rain and thunderstorms yesterday, we woke up to cool, fresh air. A cloud band hovered over the valley, covering everything, so it took a while for the day to get started. I also counted three inversion layers that gradually burned off. After 12:00, the conditions improved, and the PWCA team decided to allow pilots into the air, setting the air start for 2:00 PM. Roger and I decided to launch early to explore the air and assess our options. He had a big knot on the left side but luckily managed to open it in the air. As for me, I had to top-land and untangle a mess with my risers, so the early start didn’t really work out. I had to return to the launch line and waited another 15 minutes. In the end, nearly all the Swiss pilots were well positioned for the air start—let the race begin. The start was fast as always. In our briefing, we had agreed to stay high and fly conservatively given the conditions, and it paid off. More than half the field essentially raced themselves into the ground, while we stayed high in the mountains, making sure never to get too low. It worked out perfectly—almost all Swiss pilots were in the top 21. The task was stopped after about 65% due to thunderstorms and rain. However, it still counts, and it’s an important one because of the significant point gap between the top 22 and the rest. Tomorrow looks promising—let’s fly smart again. Ranking Today: 4. Jérôme Kägi 8. Dominik Breitinger 10. Steve Cox 11. Morane Montavon 12. Alfredo Studer 14. Roger Aeschbacher 21. Sarah Zimmermann 49. Davide Licini 53. Cédric Aymon Ranking Overall: 6. Steve Cox 9. Dominik Breitinger 12. Jérôme Kägi 21. Alfredo Studer 40. Sarah Zimmermann 77. Davide Licini 83. Roger Aeschbacher 91. Morane Montavon 100. Cédric Aymon Foto credits: - Morane Montavon - Dominik Breitinger

Die Prognosen waren vielversprechend, doch auf den zweiten Blick war es ein schwieriger Tag: tiefe Basis und Bise. So entschieden wir, den XC-Cup im Alpstein an der Ebenalp durchzuführen. Rund 25 Piloten und Pilotinnen versuchten das Experiment. Die erste Schlüsselstelle wartete bereits nach dem Start. Wie sollte man nun vom Alpstein ins Toggenburg fliegen? Der Säntis lag tief in den Wolken, das Rheintal sah nicht besser aus. So entschieden sich die meisten für die nördliche Route über den Kronberg und starteten so in den XC-Cup. Wer Geduld bewies und sich nicht scheute, im Tiefflug nach Thermik zu suchen, wurde belohnt. Im Toggenburg war die Basis etwas höher, und die Thermik war zuverlässiger. Doch bereits in Richtung Linthebene zeigte sich eine stabile Suppe, die so manchen Glücksritter absaufen liess. Trotz der schwierigen Bedingungen schafften es einige Pilot:innen, viele Kilometer aus dem Tag herauszuquetschen. Zwar wurden die grossen Strecken in anderen Regionen geflogen, aber dennoch gab es ansehnliche Dreiecke und freie Strecken. Einige Pilot:innen nahmen sich die X-Alps zum Vorbild und hüpften mit wenigen Toplandungen von einem Gipfel zum nächsten. Insgesamt war es ein spannender, kreativer und lehrreicher Tag.

Die Prognosen waren vielversprechend, doch auf den zweiten Blick war es ein schwieriger Tag: tiefe Basis und Bise. So entschieden wir, den XC-Cup im Alpstein an der Ebenalp durchzuführen. Rund 25 Piloten und Pilotinnen versuchten das Experiment. Die erste Schlüsselstelle wartete bereits nach dem Start. Wie sollte man nun vom Alpstein ins Toggenburg fliegen? Der Säntis lag tief in den Wolken, das Rheintal sah nicht besser aus. So entschieden sich die meisten für die nördliche Route über den Kronberg und starteten so in den XC-Cup. Wer Geduld bewies und sich nicht scheute, im Tiefflug nach Thermik zu suchen, wurde belohnt. Im Toggenburg war die Basis etwas höher, und die Thermik war zuverlässiger. Doch bereits in Richtung Linthebene zeigte sich eine stabile Suppe, die so manchen Glücksritter absaufen liess. Trotz der schwierigen Bedingungen schafften es einige Pilot:innen, viele Kilometer aus dem Tag herauszuquetschen. Zwar wurden die grossen Strecken in anderen Regionen geflogen, aber dennoch gab es ansehnliche Dreiecke und freie Strecken. Einige Pilot:innen nahmen sich die X-Alps zum Vorbild und hüpften mit wenigen Toplandungen von einem Gipfel zum nächsten. Insgesamt war es ein spannender, kreativer und lehrreicher Tag.