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00:00The Alps, the highest mountain range in Europe and the impressive backdrop for the hardest paraglide and hiking adventure race in the world, the Red Bull Ex-Alps from Salzburg to Monaco.
00:30The 7th edition of the Red Bull Ex-Alps sees athletes hike or fly 1,038 kilometers across the peaks and valleys from Salzburg to Monaco in the fastest time possible.
00:55It's known as the world's hardest adventure race and all have to pass 10 defined turn points, which takes every bit of skill they have to navigate this mountainous region.
01:09The winner of the last three editions and a legend in this sport, Christian Kriegelmauer, is ready to go.
01:15It's very emotional moment to prepare a half a year seriously to this race and then to stay here and to know in one hour it's the start.
01:26And I'm very happy to go out in the nature to be free to do my sport and to make hike and fly till Monaco.
01:34The lineup consists of some legendary characters and many familiar names like Paul Gushelbauer, who's taking part for the third time.
01:43Erin Durogati from Italy.
01:46Frenchman Gaspar Pettio and a lot of rookies like Sebastian Huber from Germany.
01:52There's also two women taking part this year. One of them is Dawn Westrom from the USA.
01:56And they're off from the historic Mozart Flats in Salzburg city centre.
02:13Their destination is the cooling waters of Monaco at the Mediterranean Sea, 1,038 kilometres and 10 checkpoints or turn points away.
02:20First, however, they have to reach turn point one in these blistering hot conditions, which has not made any easier running the tarmac and concrete streets of the historic city of Salzburg.
02:31The overall number of newcomers at the Red Bull Ex-Alps has never been higher.
02:3521 of the 32 athletes are competing for the very first time.
02:39Even though they're new to this competition, they are all experts in this sport.
02:44But to take part, they go through a rigorous selection process.
02:50The Geisberg Peak above Salzburg, an idyllic location for turn point one.
03:02Running in these hot conditions is no walk in the park.
03:05It's hard work as athletes have to carry their equipment with them all the way.
03:15The first athlete to reach the summit is Sebastian Huber from Germany.
03:17The Bavarian Sunnyboy started paragliding in 2008 and is working as a paraglide instructor.
03:33Behind him is Aaron Durogatti, a paragliding World Cup winner from Murano in Italy and a well-known and experienced ex-Alps athlete.
03:40Third to reach the Geisberg Peak is Austrian athlete Paul Gushelbauer.
03:50Christian Kriegelmauer is one of the first athletes in the air.
04:04The flying conditions have never been this good to start a Red Bull X-Alps and the athletes take advantage.
04:09Everyone in the field passes turn point two at the peak of the Dockstein.
04:19Austrian Stefan Gruber is in the lead but Kriegelmauer and Paul Gushelbauer are hot on his heels.
04:29In the afternoon, the leading pack of athletes are already heading quickly west to the next destination.
04:30That's turn point three, Ashao Kimse, the Kampfenbahn.
04:31Day one is coming to an end.
04:32Day one is coming to an end in the leading group in the World Cup.
04:34And the leading group in the World Cup.
04:35And the leading group in the World Cup.
04:36And the leading group in the World Cup.
04:37Everyone in the field passes turn point two at the peak of the Dockstein.
04:38Austrian Stefan Gruber is in the lead but Kriegelmauer and Paul Gushelbauer are hot on his heels.
04:43In the afternoon, the leading pack of athletes are already heading quickly west to the next destination.
04:52That's turn point three, Ashao Kimse, the Kampfenbahn.
04:57Day one is coming to an end and the leading group is landing right behind turn point three where they will spend their first night.
05:13Flight conditions are not as favorable to start day two but some competitors take off from the Kampfenbahn anyway, struggling to find lift at first.
05:21The decision is if waiting out the bad weather will pay off or if it's better to push on and walk along the valley floor from turn point three.
05:34A second group which includes Dorledo and Petiot decide to wait and this tactic pays off.
05:40They keep a close eye on the weather and by midday they are airborne and riding the thermals.
05:45The pack of athletes on the ground realize their mistake as they are easily passed from above.
05:50Kriegelmauer and Paul Gushelbauer are now in the top spots with Stefan Gruber who took a flight path too far south and is relegated to third position.
06:05Kriegelmauer is the first Red Bull X-Alps athlete to reach turn point four at the Lermus Tyrolitzug Spitz Arena.
06:16After more than 80 kilometers in the air helped along by great weather conditions, he is able to sign in and continue on towards turn point five extending his advantage.
06:25Paul Gushelbauer reaches turn point four shortly after Maurer.
06:30Gushelbauer however is forced to walk the last distance to sign in because he lands off target by a few kilometers.
06:36But the field of chasers is right behind them, one of them being French pilot Gaspar Petiot who has spent more than 200 hours in the air every year since 2006.
06:49Aaron Durogati who was seventh in the 2013 edition of the Red Bull X-Alps is part of the chase group as well.
06:56Durogati broke his leg in October but thanks to his fighting spirit he is back in the game having an incredible performance so far.
07:04Unfortunately Romanian pilot and ex-Alps veteran Tomo Kokonea receives bad news over the phone.
07:10Penalty 48 hours.
07:13It's crazy.
07:15Yesterday for fly a little bit high for altitude for verboten zone.
07:26But after checking his tracking device for a second time the race officials decide that the flight path he took was just within the limit.
07:33So the Romanian athlete who has been part of every ex-Alps so far and therefore has his own following of fans is able to make it to turn point four on day two.
07:46But for one athlete the race has already come to an end.
07:50We wanted to fly far but the headwind was so strong that we couldn't fly so far as we hoped and now we are eliminated.
08:01The rules of the race eliminate the last place athlete every 48 hours.
08:06With the elimination of Yvonne Date that leaves Dawn Westrom as the sole remaining woman in the Red Bull X-Alps 2015 bringing the total field of athletes still competing to 31.
08:15The situation, my feet hurt a little bit but otherwise I feel really good.
08:24I think I've done a couple hundred kilometers and yeah I'm going.
08:30The weather changes the next day turning to a disadvantage and making flying conditions very hard in Italy and the Northern Alps.
08:37Testing both the athletes bodies and their minds.
08:40I have a little pain in my right leg okay two days ago but this morning one moment the little pain was a big pain and impossible working.
08:57For a takeoff athletes have to hike up as high as they can.
09:02The other side and then like that it should be possible.
09:06Run up just on the top.
09:12The deteriorating weather conditions make it very hard for the field of chasers to fly.
09:18Kriegelmauer is in the lead and heading to Brenta Cimatosa in Italy on foot towards turn point five.
09:33Once more the favorite is signing in first but he has no time to lose.
09:38Flying conditions are good so he's heading off again to the next stop, the Piskorvac in Switzerland.
09:42But something he's not used to dealing with is having two athletes right on his heels.
09:47Every time it looks like Maurer is able to break away Paul Gushelbauer and Sebastian Huber are not that far behind.
09:58Even though the weather conditions are in Kriegel's favor the two of them are in a good mood and they sign in second and third.
10:04Time for a short break to escape the bad weather.
10:06We go up here to Brenta and we were very lucky to arrive here before the thunderstorm is coming because it was really big.
10:27After the storm has passed Sebastian Huber and Paul Gushelbauer are ready for another takeoff heading towards turn point six.
10:34Kriegelmauer is heading off for a late last flight of the day as well trying to extend his advantage.
10:36The Swiss athlete won every single one of the last three ex-Alps with a big lead.
10:38But this time it seems like it's not so easy for him to leave his chasers behind.
10:39While most athletes only have one chance of victory,
10:43the Swiss athlete is the best to win the win.
10:45If you want to win the win, the Swiss athlete is the best to win.
10:48And a great chance of winning the win,
10:49and when you want to win the win.
10:51Who wants to win?
10:53When you want to win the win,
10:55you're going to win.
10:56And, you know,
10:58the Swiss athlete won every single one of the last three ex-Alps with a big lead.
11:01But this time it seems like it's not so easy for him to leave his chasers behind.
11:02While most athletes only have one Ledlenzer night pass, Gushelbauer won a second in the
11:11Power Traveler prologue two days before the start of the Red Bull X-Alps, so he doesn't
11:16hesitate to use one of them to shake off Sebastian Huber and catch up with Kriegel Maurer.
11:22In the morning, flying conditions are as good as they get and he's heading off once again.
11:28While Gushelbauer is in the air heading after Kriegel, the field of chasers arrives at Turnpoint
11:335 led by rookie Stefan Gruber.
11:35The paragliding competition pilot from the Zilletal Valley of Austria is putting his expert
11:40racing skills to good use in this event, reaching Turnpoint 5 in fourth place.
11:45He's so excited that he signs in under the wrong name, going for the gold standard I guess.
11:50The field of rookies is incredibly strong this year and challenging the experienced pilots.
11:55step-by-step, more and more athletes are reaching Turnpoint 5, taking off shortly after, heading
12:00towards Turnpoint 6, Piskorvac in Switzerland.
12:02Meanwhile, Kriegel Maurer and his supporters are struggling with decisions.
12:20The mistake was that we did, I think, a quite good plan, but then we thought we can optimize
12:27it, avoid the passage where Kriegel has to walk down, but then the wind was wrong.
12:33The game, as we always say, is right place, right time and I'm not so sure if this is right
12:39time, right place.
12:40There's no turning back now though.
12:52While Kriegel Maurer is struggling, Paul Gushelbauer and Sebastian Huber are gaining ground thanks
12:56to great weather conditions.
13:00They are able to diminish the gap to Maurer.
13:02However, Kriegel stays in the lead, being the first one to reach Piskorvac on day 5.
13:19Approximately 80 km behind the leading group is the field of chasers with French pilot
13:24Gaspard Petiot, who's successfully putting his knowledge as a mountain guide into practice
13:28in this competition.
13:40On day 6, another highlight is in sight, the Matterhorn.
13:43At 4,478 meters, this is the highest peak on the route to Monaco, and definitely one
13:49of the scenic highlights.
13:55Sebastian Huber in third position is also pushing hard and continues chasing Maurer.
13:59Yeah, if everything is okay and weather conditions are fine, perhaps we can reach Kriegel.
14:08But it seems like nothing can stop Kriegel Maurer.
14:11While the other athletes are pushing forward on foot, he now seems to always be in the right
14:15place at the right time.
14:17He found the perfect spot for his next takeoff.
14:34Soon he's soaring at an incredible 3,600 meters, quickly approaching the route's highest peak,
14:39the Matterhorn.
14:45Just four hours behind Kriegel is Austrian Paul Gushelbauer.
15:01He reaches turn point seven in second position, followed by Sebastian Huber.
15:13As dusk settles, Paul Gushelbauer is still searching for a good takeoff point for the
15:20next day, hiking up as high as possible before the mandatory night break at 10.30pm.
15:28Another very cool day.
15:35I'm taking a good distance.
15:37Now I'm on 3,000 meters in the hut and tomorrow I will go on the south side around the Matterhorn.
15:45I hope they can fly another time.
15:48It will be cool.
15:52The next day Gushelbauer is climbing up even higher.
15:54He's taking off in the early morning in difficult wind conditions.
15:57Meanwhile, Sebastian Huber is exercising his patience.
16:08He's taking a break, waiting for better weather conditions.
16:11With the late start at 9 a.m.
16:13He proves that his decision was right as he passes Kuschelbauer in flight.
16:18It's not only the risk of the 48 hour elimination rule that sees athletes out of the competition.
16:34The day started really well.
16:36It was really cool and we arrived on top.
16:38The takeoff was perfect.
16:39It was just, it looked like the perfect day.
16:44I was flying with Ferdi and we were laughing and joking in the air.
16:49We were searching for a takeoff.
16:50The only thing we found was a very steep hill and Ferdi took off perfectly.
16:55The door-le-do crashed shortly after takeoff and injured his foot which is now massively swollen.
17:00Luckily, there are no broken bones and he will be back on his feet again in three to four weeks.
17:05All together is not so bad and I'm really happy I'm in one piece.
17:09At the end, that's what matters.
17:12Toma Kokonea was also lucky things didn't turn out worse for him.
17:16He had to be taken to the hospital after a hard landing in turbulent conditions.
17:19So I just spoke with Mr. Kokonea and he had a broken elbow and some soft tissues at the nose and lost one tooth.
17:38But the rest of him is in a good condition.
17:43I broke my harness today in the air so I had to repair.
17:53And I'm very lucky that a friend of mine is here with a good api air saving machine and everything.
18:00So it's a perfect operation and for sure it's stronger than before.
18:04I'm quite tired.
18:06My fitness is okay but for the feet it's hard.
18:10And also for tomorrow it looks windy and we will see what happens.
18:17We come now up to this point where a short night is not long enough to recover.
18:23And we know that the chance to make a mistake gets the bigger the more tired you are.
18:30There's a lot of challenges that athletes have to deal with during a race like this.
18:34But still Kriegelmauer has shown a lot of determination so far and again he's heading off in first position.
18:39We'll see you next time.
18:40We'll see you next time.
18:41We'll see you next time.
19:09One week in and the length and hardships of the race are starting to take their toll.
19:16Newbie Sebastian Huber is getting ready for another hard race day.
19:24He's in third position at the moment trying to catch up with Paul Gushelbauer who is a mere 20 kilometers ahead of him.
19:29Now we are on the east side of Marbleau and the plan is to pass Marbleau on the north side and go to Annecy directly.
19:44It's a good day for Gushelbauer as he was able to extend his head start with a good flight reaching turn point 9 50 kilometers ahead of Sebastian Huber.
20:06Is the podium already set?
20:18A moment of shock for Sebastian Huber as his glider collapses while he's trying to land at turn point 9.
20:24He's lucky to escape with no injuries.
20:25For eight days straight, Christian Kriegel-Maurer has awed fellow competitors and fans alike with a virtuoso display of flying prowess and flawless tactics at this year's Red Bull Ex-Alps.
20:46Wow.
20:47Since setting off from Salzburg, he has flown and hiked much more than 2,000 kilometers over the mountains of Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France through 10 turn points to Monaco.
21:02He reached his goal after eight days, four hours and 37 minutes.
21:06Meanwhile, a thrilling battle is taking place for second position.
21:14Gushelbauer is grounded by strong winds as Sebastian Huber, 20 kilometers behind him, searches for a spot to take off from.
21:23Soon he is high up in the air and by the time Gushelbauer is ready for another takeoff, Huber is already 80 kilometers ahead.
21:30Now on foot, Huber is heading towards the final turn point, claiming second place and winning the Mazda Rookie Challenge.
21:46For him, the clock stops here.
21:50Now it's time for the fun part, flying into Monaco.
21:53Kriegel-Maurer is the first one to celebrate his fourth consecutive win.
21:56I really like the adventure. I like the hiking fly sport and maybe it's exactly what I can do best.
22:20So to be here as a winner, it's a very special feeling and I'm very happy.
22:27A moment to remember for Sebastian Huber.
22:30He flies into second place in his first ever Red Bull Ex-Alps with an incredible time of eight days, 23 hours and 43 minutes.
22:37The goal was to take it as an adventure and it's a great feeling to be here, healthy and this is all.
22:58This is all.
22:59The fight for third place is not over yet.
23:02Gaspar Petiot and countryman Antoine Gérard along with Aaron Durogatti are on Gushelbauer's heels in the hunt for the last spot on the podium.
23:09Gushelbauer is still struggling with the bad wind conditions.
23:24Exhausted and not landing very gracefully, Paul Gushelbauer is able to make it to third position.
23:29Warmly welcomed by his fans and supporters.
23:42The endurance athlete and hotshot pilot ended up in ninth place in 2013 and is happy with his result in this year's race.
23:49It's great to reach Monaco again.
23:52Third place is also good.
23:53There was a chance to do better, but now in the end I had to fight for the third place, but it's perfect.
23:59I mean, it's not a big difference to the first and the second still.
24:04And yeah, it's cool.
24:12The 2015 Red Bull Ex-Alps will be remembered as the most competitive and thrilling edition so far.
24:18The level is extremely high and it went higher and higher with every edition we made on it.
24:25And you make a little mistake and you see that the level is so high that the others pass by and they leave you behind making just a little mistake.
24:3619 of the 32 athletes reached the float in Monaco by the time the race clock stopped.
24:42Of the 21 rookies, an incredible 12 made it all the way to the finish line.
24:47This was the seventh edition of the world's toughest adventure race, the Red Bull Ex-Alps 2015.
25:04The participating athletes have endured extreme conditions from thunderstorms and rain to strong winds that made flying difficult.
25:12From the cold of high altitudes to searing hot temperatures on the ground.
25:16And you can bet they'll be back for the next edition and we hope to see you again in 2017 for the next Red Bull Ex-Alps.
25:23K-10 to return, we hope to see you again in 2017 for The Independent Brianة see some sequester future races at the beginning of the season of 2011 everyone outside.
25:28We hope to see you again in the industrialized operations.
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