RED BULL X-ALPS 2007:

13.08.2007

Alex Hofer (SUI1) is the 2007 Red Bull X-Alps champion. A dramatic finish unfurled when the final leg of the race came down to a vicious route march for Toma Coconea (ROM) and Martin Mueller (SUI3), and a breathtaking flight that snatched victory from nothing for Hofer.

On Saturday, Coconea (ROM) and Mueller (SUI3) started their penultimate day together high on the Col De Galibier, deep in the middle of the French Alps. A fantastic flying day unfurled before them and by early afternoon they were both airborne. Mueller, a triple ex-Swiss paragliding champion, soon blew Coconea away with spectacular airmanship and, as the day drew to a close, had built a 40km lead over the Romanian.

Mueller and Coconea were half of an elite group of four pilots who'd managed to break away from the rest of the athletes after passing the Eiger turn point. The party would have been three and, had it not been for Coconea clocking up an incredible 170km on foot over a thirty hour period, the Swiss trio would have had the game to themselves.

Hofer, the current 2005 Red Bull X-Alps champion and fellow Swiss athlete Urs Lötscher (SUI2 joined the pair; together they steamed ahead to Mt Blanc and built up an 85km lead over Aidan Toase (GBR1), the fifth ranked
contestant.