Record Application Numbers For Red Bull X-Alps 2009: Limited Time Left To Enter!

News Release / 15.09.2008

There are just a couple of weeks left before applications for the Red Bull X-Alps 2009 close, and all budding athletes are invited to apply online as soon as possible.

There have been a record number of entrants so far, but anyone who thinks they have what it takes to compete in the world’s toughest hiking and paragliding adventure race should send in their forms immediately. Competitors use just a paraglider and their hiking boots to cover the course, which passes through Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France and finishes on the Mediterranean coast.

“The level of interest in the 2009 race has been greater than ever,” says Race Organiser Hannes Arch. “We have a tough task selecting 30 athletes to compete since the standard of the applicants is extremely high.”

Potential participants have until September 30, 2008 to fill out the online form, and an official selection announcement is scheduled for mid-October. The race starts on July 19, 2009.

Defending champion, Alex Hofer has already signalled his intention to race again in 2009, and says that he wants to be more prepared than in 2007. “This time I will come to Europe quite some time before the competition to fly some hundreds of kilometres,” says the 31-year-old Swiss, who currently lives in China. “I am bit out of practice since the last race!”

The release date for details of the 2009 route is planned for the next few weeks. “Details and permits are being finalised,” says Arch. “As soon as everything is complete and put in place, we will make the course public.”

For more information and to enter see www.redbullxalps.com.