PWC Brazil gets underway

The final fixture of the 2025 Paragliding World Cup season is underway in Governador Valadares as pilots battle to secure a place in next month’s Superfinal.

A 52.1k task was set for the first day. The start was delayed due to rainfall but once it got going pilots reported strong but smooth lift. Numerous clouds marked the thermals, so pilots were generally able to fly the task straight on course line with full bar racing in-between climbs of 2m/s to 5m/s with the top of lift around 1,600m, organisers said.

Arthur Moindrot (FRA) won the task while 71 pilots made goal, with another nine making the end of speed section. In dramatic scenes Baptiste Lambert, Marcelo Sanchez Vilchez and Honorin Hamard all reached the End of Speed (ESS) section ahead of the eventual winners, and having lead much of the race had more leading points – which all add to the score. However, they were unable to reach goal costing them the win. It’s a reminder that in competition, making goal is everything. Violeta Jimenez (USA) won the task in the female rankings.

The second task was a 72km triangle with pilots flying south for the first leg, north-east for the second leg, then back towards launch to a goal just on the other side of the river from Governador Valadares. The task was designed so that pilots, after arriving at goal, could continue on to the famous Feira da Paz landing spot right on the riverbank of the city. With the day being a local holiday, spectators filled both the launch and the landing field and were treated to an exciting spectacle, organisers reported.

“The task ended up being tricky in a couple of spots, with pilots having to slow down to find and then climb in very light lift. This gave some pilots who had fallen off the lead gaggle the chance to catch back up to the leaders,” they said. In the end 78 pilots made goal with the majority of them flying onward to land in the riverside goal.

The overall winner of the day was Baptiste Lambert (FRA) who came in to the ESS section just 37 seconds behind Swiss pilot Roger Aeschbacher, but having led most of the task taking 100% of the leading points won the day with a total of 992.3 points. The winning female pilot was Marcella Uchoa from Brazil, no stranger to the podium.

The forecast was looking good for the rest of the week so there is plenty of racing ahead, say organisers. Governador Valadares is located in eastern Minas Gerais State, in the Rio Doce Valley region. The local terrain is relatively undulating, with average altitudes ranging from 150 to 300m, featuring gentle hills, valleys and watercourses – most notably the plains along the Doce River. The main takeoff is Pico da Ibituruna 1,123m.

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