Sport-heute: Sailing - From Mozart to Monaco -To the Limits of Human Endurance

20. Juli 2009, 00:29

From Mozart to Monaco -To the Limits of Human Endurance

RACE IS ON!

818 kilometres, 30 participants from 23 nations, 5 countries, 1 goal: Monaco! The picturesque Austrian city of Salzburg was the location for the start of Red Bull X-Alps 2009 on Sunday as members of the international extreme sport elite set off on a transalpine odyssey armed with no more than a paraglider and a hiking boots. Cheered on by a crowd of 3500, the 30 athletes sprinted past the house where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born and through the city’s famous Getreidegasse through before the real race began with the first ascent of the course up to the Gaisberg mountain overlooking Salzburg. South Africa’s Pierre Carter was fastest to the first checkpoint at 1300 metres above sea level in a time of 1:05:00 hours, followed by Michael Gebert (GER) and Christian Amon (AUT).

Brüttisellen, 19.7.09 (mk) SALZBURG (AUT). The finest extreme athletes in the world will push their bodies to the limits of human endurance in the next 10 to 14 days as they take on some of the most legendary mountains ranges on the planet across five countries with no more than a paraglider and a pair of hiking boots. Red Bull X-Alps 2009 will demand not only endurance, concentration and tactics, but also the ability to resist pain and exhaustion, defy danger, and master constantly-changing weather conditions.

A crowd of 3500 fans watched the main group depart from Salzburg in light drizzle and changeable wind conditions on Sunday morning. Japan’s Kaoru Ogisawa (image JPN1) was unfortunate enough to be caught by an unexpected gust of wind and almost drifted into a group of trees. Having left Salzburg, the athletes now have to pass checkpoints on the Watzmann (GER), Großglockner (AUT), Marmolada (ITA), Matterhorn (SUI), Mont Blanc (FRA) and Mont Gros (FRA) on their way to the finishing line in Monaco.

“The longer you are in the air the better. Trying to get to Monaco by foot is going to be impossible with 20kg on your back,” explains English competitor Tom Payne.
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RACE IS ON!
Athletes burst over the start line in Mozartplatz at 11:30 today at the start of the Red Bull X-Alps 2009.

"Nervous, I'm definitely feeling nervous" conceded Aidan Toase (GBR) before the gun went off.

The thirty athletes stormed out of Salzburg and set off up the Gaisberg, first turnpoint in their epic 818 km push to Monaco.

Visit the blogs here to see the supporters and athletes' latest posts on how they're doing.

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CARTER TAKES GAISBERG
Pierre Carter (RSA) was the first to reach the 1288 m summit. Thousands of spectators watched the 43-year-old South African crush his opposition with a 1 hr 10 min time.

This is Carter’s first Red Bull X-Alps. Before the start he commented that he was feeling relaxed: “this is my first time, so there’s far less pressure on me than the others”, he said. Carter’s reward is the SalzburgerLand Gaisbergkonig prize: a luxury three-day break, but he won’t be taking that for quite some time.

Hot on his heels were Christian Amon (AUT2) pictured launching on the right and Michael Gebert (GER).

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THE LONG HIKE SOUTH
All athletes launched their paragliders into cloud-covered skies. With no lift to keep them aloft, they glided down to the valley below before packing up their rucksacks and setting off south-west.

A tight race is now unfolding as athletes battle it out on foot. Their next objective is the Watzmann. They must then conquer the mighty Grossglockner: at 3798 m, it’s Austria’s highest mountain. Then they must tackle the Marmolada, the Matterhorn, France’s Mont Blanc before heading south to Mont Gros and gliding to the beach at Monaco. The race is expected to take between ten and fifteen days, depending on weather conditions.

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