Competition News

Task distance: 35.8 km Launch window: 11:15 Race start (SSS): 12:15 Status: Task stopped due to incoming rain in the east — but with most pilots already safely on the ground

A Short Window, A Fast Task
Today's weather only offered a narrow window to fly, so the task committee opted for a short but punchy task. It turned out to be exactly the right call: a compact 35.8 km course that delivered fast, tactical racing and a goal field full of smiling pilots.

Conditions
Before the start, cloudbase sat low at around 2300–2400 m, gradually building through the morning. By the time the start gate opened at 12:15, cloudbase had climbed to roughly 2700 m — enough to give pilots a solid position for the start. The clouds themselves developed quickly, and staying clear of cloud base in the final minutes before the start proved tricky for the field.

The Route
Out of the start, the task led west along the ridge to the first turnpoint, then out into the valley for the second. From there, pilots faced the day's first real tactical choice: take the longer line along the high ridge, or push the shorter, lower ridge line toward turnpoint 3.

The leading gaggle chose the low route — but arrived at the crossing point undercooked, leaving the valley crossing to turnpoint 4 with only around 2300 m. That decision would go on to define the entire race.

The Key Moment
The chasing group played it safer, topping up to around 2800 m before committing to the same crossing — a difference of roughly 500 m that proved decisive.

On the other side, the leading gaggle pushed for the ESS on the south side of the valley first, but their thin altitude margin forced them to cross back to the north side in search of lift just to reach ESS and goal. Not everyone made it — several pilots landed just a few hundred metres short of the ESS cylinder.

The chasing group, by contrast, arrived with height to spare and could fly the optimised line straight to the ESS without any detours — closing, and in many cases erasing, the gap to the leaders in the process.

The Finish
With rain moving in from the east, the task was eventually stopped — though by that point the vast majority of the field was already on the ground. A well-timed call all around: the short window was used to full effect, producing a fast and genuinely exciting racing task. Most pilots came into goal with a smile.

Results:

Overall:
1. Morane Montavon
2. Lars Meerstetter
3. Martin Kubicek

Sports Class:
1. Stefan Bahn
2. Raphael Oerer
3. Thierry Stoll

Women:
1. Violeta Jimenez
2. Agnieszka Zaborowska
3. Martina Hauri

Juniors:
1. Thierry Stoll
2. Nicola Heiniger
3. Jean Morisetti

Fotos: Martin Scheel