Fontarrabie depuis Hendaye 2012 - cropped

The X-Pyr is an international multi-day "hike-and-fly"

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...

endurance race. The competition route traverses the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

mountain range from west to east, starting near

Hondarribia Hondarribia (; ; ) is a Spanish town situated on the west shore of the Bidasoa river's estuary, in Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community. The border town is situated on a little promontory facing Hend ...

, Spain, on the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

and finishing near the

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

border along the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

Race details

The X-Pyr race was founded by Íñigo Redin, who was inspired to create a

version of the

Red Bull X-Alps The Red Bull X-Alps is a paragliding adventure race in which athletes hike or fly approximately 1,200 km across the Alps. It first launched in 2003 and has taken place every other year. Around 30 athletes take part, navigating their way via a ...

race that crosses the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. Since the first iteration in 2012, the race has been held biennially. Generally, the X-Pyr occurs in even-numbered years to avoid overlap with the X-Alps race, which happens in odd years. The 2020 race was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. There have been five editions of the race, most recently in 2022. All four editions between 2014 and 2022 were won by

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

pilot

Chrigel Maurer Christian "Chrigel" Maurer (born 1982), also known as "Chrigel the Eagle" or the "Eagle of Adelboden", is a Swiss paragliding competition pilot and endurance athlete who has won all eight Red Bull X-Alps "hike-and-fly" paragliding championships si ...

. In June 2024, Austrian pilot Simon Oberrauner won the 2024 X-Pyr edition, reaching the goal in 101:52:17 (hr:min:sec), 39 minutes before runner-up Christian Schugg from Germany. The routes of the five X-Pyr iterations to date have all started in

and ended in

El Port de la Selva El Port de la Selva () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Empordà in Catalonia, Spain, on the Costa Brava. It is situated on the northern coast of the Cap de Creus and is an important fishing port and tourist centre. The romanesque ...

, both in

, on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and Mediterranean coasts, respectively. The intermediate turnpoints vary from year to year, but remain roughly along the Pyrenees and the France-Spain border. Of the 42 pilots who started the 2022 race, four reached the final goal of El Port de la Selva. In previous races, three to eight competitors finished. Port de la Selva 6

Like the X-Alps and other hike-and-fly paragliding races, competing pilot-athletes must complete all parts of the declared course by either flying their paraglider or hiking. They must pass all specified intermediate turnpoints in the specified sequence. The first to arrive at the declared destination, or "goal", is declared winner. Race participants must carry their paraglider,

harness A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types: * Bondage harness * Child harness * Climbing harness * Dog harness * Five-point harness, a type of seatbelt * Horse harness * Pet harnes ...

and other related equipment in their

backpack A backpack, also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, pack, booksack, bookbag, haversack, packsack, or backsack, is in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders; b ...

while

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

. They each declare one official ground crew member, who assists the pilot with food and logistics but is not allowed to carry the essential flying gear. Both pilot and ground crew are continuously tracked by GPS/GNSS loggers/trackers during the race to monitor their progress. Any

airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as outer space which is t ...

violations, or flying during the mandatory rest period between 21:00 to 07:00, may result in penalties ranging from extra time to disqualification.

Notes

References

{{reflist

External links

X-Pyr
official website
The X-Pyr Story - Mountain Marathon
- A racer's perspective (by

Greg Hamerton Greg Hamerton (born in Cape Town in 1973) is a South African fantasy novelist and extreme sports writer. Biography Greg Hamerton was educated early at a Waldorf school (based on the Rudolf Steiner system). He matriculated from South African C ...

) Adventure racing Endurance games Paragliding competitions