Competition News

Am Samstag, dem 29. August 2026, ging die SRS BGD Edition im spanischen Piedrahíta zu Ende. Am letzten offiziellen Wettkampftag mobilisierte das Schweizer Team noch einmal alle Kräfte, um sich in dem hochkarätigen internationalen Feld zu behaupten. Die Aufgabe unter strahlend blauem Himmel. Die Wettbewerbsleitung setzte für den Finaltag einen technisch anspruchsvollen Task über 108,8 Km an. Im Gegensatz zu den Vortagen präsentierte sich das Wetter als absolut blauer Tag ohne eine einzige Wolke. Diese wolkenlose Thermik verlangte den Pilotinnen und Piloten taktische Höchstleistungen ab. Der Flug, der maximale Konzentration forderte. Packender Rennverlauf im Leading Gaggle. Der Task startete direkt mit intensiven Positionskämpfen. Schon früh kristallisierte sich eine stark besetzte Führungsgruppe heraus, die das Tempo diktierte. Aus Schweizer Sicht verlief das Rennen äusserst vielversprechend: Raphael und Sven zeigten eine hervorragende Leistung und schafften es von Beginn an, die Pace an der Spitze voll mitzugehen. Sie bissen sich im Leading Gaggle fest und konnten dem Lead über weite Strecken des Tasks erfolgreich folgen. Erst im anspruchsvollen Endanflug im Tal forderte das gnadenlose Blauthermik-Rennen seinen Tribut, als sich das Feld auf den letzten Kilometern aufteilte. Der Wind über Avila kam wie angekündigt aus NO und der Tag war schon zeitlich fortgeschritten so das die Thermik nicht mehr so hochreichend war. Das gesamte Schweizer Team bewies über den gesamten Flug hinweg grossen Teamgeist. Leider gelang es Marco nicht ins Ziel (1,4Km) Soner auf dem weg zum TP Avila und Jan vor dem Pass bei Piedahita. Tages Team Wertung 2. Alpine Wings (Sven, Raphi, Marco und Jan) Resultat Task 3 8. Sven Albert 12. Raphael Oerer 50. Marco Vergari 92. Soner Yorgun 106. Jan Rindlesbacher Aktuell ist das Ergebnis noch nicht bestätig da es einen nicht näher genannten Strafe gibt. Wochenresümee: Herausforderndes Wetter und starker Schweizer Teamgeist in Piedrahíta Die diesjährige SRS BGD Edition im spanischen Piedrahíta verlangte allen Beteiligten viel Geduld ab. Von den sechs geplanten Wettbewerbstagen konnte wetterbedingt – vor allem aufgrund von zu starkem Wind – nur an drei Tagen geflogen werden. Trotz der schwierigen meteorologischen Bedingungen blickt die Schweizer Piloten auf eine erfolgreiche und lehrreiche Woche zurück. Top-Leistung der Organisation vor Ort Ein ganz grosses Lob gebührt der lokalen Organisation. Die Crew vor Ort machte einen absoluten Top-Job. Trotz der täglichen Ungewissheit und den wetterbedingten Absagen blieb die Rennleitung hochprofessionell, flexibel und traf stets die richtigen Sicherheitsentscheidungen. Die Organisation schaffte es an den fliegbaren Tagen, das Maximum aus den anspruchsvollen Bedingungen herauszuholen und für faire, spannende Tasks zu sorgen. Perfektes Schweizer Teamwork Aus Sicht des Schweizer Teams war die Woche ein voller Erfolg für den Zusammenhalt. Die Piloten arbeiteten hervorragend zusammen. Sowohl am Boden bei den täglichen Briefings als auch in der Luft wurde Taktik grossgeschrieben. Man unterstützte sich gegenseitig, tauschte wertvolle Infos über die Thermikentwicklung aus und bewies echten Teamgeist. Diese starke Teamarbeit war der Schlüssel dazu, dass die Schweizer Piloten an den wenigen Flugtagen – bis hin zum wolkenlosen Finale am Samstag – ganz vorne im internationalen Feld mitmischen konnten. English Version Swiss Fighting Spirit on a Cloudless Final Day at the SRS BGD Edition in Piedrahíta On Saturday, August 29, 2026, the SRS BGD Edition in Piedrahíta, Spain, came to an end. On the final official competition day, the Swiss team mobilized all their strength once again to hold their ground in a high-caliber international field. The Task Under a Radiant Blue Sky For the final day, the meet director set a technically demanding task of 108.8 km. In contrast to the previous days, the weather presented itself as an absolutely blue day without a single cloud. This cloudless thermalling required tactical peak performance from the pilots—a flight that demanded maximum concentration. Thrilling Race in the Leading Gaggle The task started right away with intense position battles. Early on, a strong lead group emerged and dictated the pace. From a Swiss perspective, the race was highly promising: Raphael and Sven delivered an outstanding performance, managing to keep up with the pace at the front right from the start. They dug into the leading gaggle and successfully followed the lead over long stretches of the task. It was only during the demanding final glide in the valley that the merciless blue thermals took their toll, as the field split up on the last kilometers. The wind over Ávila came from the NE as forecast, and the day was already well advanced, meaning the thermals were no longer reaching very high.The entire Swiss team showed great team spirit throughout the whole flight. Unfortunately, Marco just missed making it to goal (by 1.4 km), Soner landed on his way to the Ávila turnpoint, and Jan went down before the pass at Piedrahíta. Daily Team Ranking 2nd Alpine Wings (Sven, Raphi, Marco, and Jan) Task 3 Results 8. Sven Albert 12. Raphael Oerer 50. Marco Vergari 92. Soner Yorgun 106. Jan Rindlesbacher Note: Currently, the result is not yet confirmed due to an unspecified penalty. Weekly Summary: Challenging Weather and Strong Swiss Team Spirit in Piedrahíta This year's SRS BGD Edition in Piedrahíta, Spain, demanded a lot of patience from everyone involved. Due to weather conditions—mainly due to excessively strong winds—flying was only possible on three out of the six scheduled competition days. Despite the difficult meteorological conditions, the Swiss pilots look back on a successful and instructive week. Top Performance by the Local Organization Huge praise goes to the local organization. The crew on-site did an absolute top job. Despite the daily uncertainty and weather-related cancellations, the task committee remained highly professional, flexible, and always made the right safety decisions. On the flyable days, the organization managed to extract the maximum from the challenging conditions and ensure fair, exciting tasks. Perfect Swiss Teamwork From the Swiss team's perspective, the week was a complete success for camaraderie. The pilots worked together excellently. Strategy was a top priority, both on the ground during daily briefings and in the air. Everyone supported each other, exchanged valuable information about thermal development, and showed true team spirit. This strong teamwork was the key to the Swiss pilots mixing it up at the very front of the international field on the few flying days—right up to the cloudless finale on Saturday.

Text by Soner Yorgun SRS BGD Edition Task 2 The day finally offered good conditions with strong thermals, and a 77km task was set, broken into two sections: an east-west zig-zag over Piedrahita, followed by a long downwind race toward Ávila, the two separated by a mountain pass. In both sections, pilots could either stick to the Peña Negra ridge or take the flats, the more direct line. Both worked, though the ridge thermals were notably strong on the Piedrahita side, so I stayed on the ridge for this first part. I had a good start, but early on I ripped the pod of my GR5 harness — the airflow around the fairing was disturbed, leaving me with a fairing flapping violently behind me and an oddly shaped pod in front. I had to grab the fairing and tuck it under my chest zipper, flying the remaining 80% of the race like that. The mountain pass after the zig-zag was expected to be tricky, but strong regional thermals let us climb to around 2600m, making for an easy transition above it. Cumulus over the mountains then drew many pilots, myself included, onto that line toward goal, while the chasing gaggle took the direct line over the flats — which worked too, closing the gap with the leading group. In the end, a whole flock of pilots came in on final glide together, and I got passed by several from behind, which I blame on the ripped harness. Still, it was a fun, classic Piedrahita task with panoramic views over the vast Spanish flatlands. Ranking: 29. Soner Yorgun 38. Raphael Oerer 43. Artem Malyshev 59. Marco Vergari 74. Jan Rindlisbacher 91. Michael Heberlein 92. Sven Albert

SRS BGD Edition – Task 1

Text by Soner Yorgun After three days grounded by strong winds in Piedrahita, we finally made it to the Peña Negra launch, hoping for a good task. At first it didn't look promising: firm southerly wind blowing in from behind, together with high cloud cover and crisp air. Within a couple of hours, though, the wind shifted northerly, allowing safe launches, and a challenging 58 km task was set. Thermals along the ridge after takeoff were weak and broken. The initial cloud base — slightly above 2,000 m — didn't allow much vertical distance to climb anyway, so after gaining some height along the ridge, I quickly joined the group out in the flats to search for better climbs, a higher cloud base, and a good position for the air start. After a reasonably good start, we still had to work weak thermals and a strong headwind toward turnpoint 1, 22 km west of the start point. I got quite low in this first part of the race and was passed by dozens of pilots with better height, but the thermals got stronger around a cluster of small hills out in the flats, and I managed to climb back to cloud base. From there, getting to turnpoint 1 was a real battle against 20+ km/h headwind — hunting for lifty lines and staying in the very core of the thermals to avoid drifting back significantly. When I finally tagged turnpoint 1, I noticed I was now with the remaining small lead group, since the pilots ahead were either desperately low or had already bombed out. The leg to turnpoint 2 ran the opposite direction, with tailwind, so I decided to push on and leave the others behind, thinking it would be a fast, easy flight back toward Piedrahita. I was wrong. In the meantime, the high cloud cover had increased, slowing the thermals. I even flew past one thermal, gambling that I'd find a better one over the hills — I didn't, and landed before reaching Piedrahita. The pilots who stayed patient behind me caught the day's last thermals and got past turnpoint 2, but no one reached goal. A very difficult, technical task with plenty of lessons learned — though I don't regret pushing forward . Ranking 15. Soner Yorgun 29. Sven Albert 34. Michael Heberlein 53. Artem Malyshev 59. Marco Vergari 84. Raphael Oerer 112. Jan Rindlisbacher