Cancelled, postponed, regretfully on hold…. The 2020 international competition season across the free flying world was pretty much cancelled due to Covid-19. Except for Disentis.
Under the stewardship of Swiss team leader Martin Scheel, the first and only leg of this year’s Paragliding World Cup circuit took place in Switzerland from 15-23 August. Given the international travel restrictions in place it was understandably dominated by Swiss and French pilots (35 pilots from each nation) and at 115 pilots the field was smaller than it can be, but the flying was perhaps all the sweeter for it.
Between showers and foehn there were four tasks over the week – 76km, 62km, 109km and 55km – and Switzerland’s Stephan Morgenthaler won the overall competition. In the first task he took a smart line down the centre of the valley while the mountains were in deep shade and managed to find a climb, which took him to goal. He was the only pilot to make it in, and that put him a massive 249 points (out of a potential 1,000 per task) ahead of the next pilot. All he had to do was fly consistently and hang on and the competition was his.
It’s never that easy though! He was 22nd in the next task, back up to second in the third, and 14th in the final task. By the end the chasing pack had nearly caught him, with Ozone designer Luc Armant (FR) in second, just 28 points behind. Charles Cazaux (FR) was third.
Ed Ewing caught up with Stephan Morgenthaler after the competition:
Congratulations on your win Stephan.
Thank you. It’s not often I make it to the top! I have flown competitions for a long time, and people say if I’m good at the start then I mess up at the end. So, this time I made it through without messing up!
You were the only person to make goal on Task 1.
This was the decision point for the competition, and it was a lucky punch, honestly! Of course, you have to give luck a chance, but basically everybody else had landed, and I just had a feeling the centre of the valley was good, because on both sides of the valley the air was flowing down.
I saw people trying to fly the slopes, but they were sinking. So I thought about going to the centre, and it was buoyant. It was a small area of convergence and it meant I got a very good glide ratio and could make it to a point where I could climb again.
And no one else saw it?
I think they all tried to go along the slopes. It’s normal to fly the mountainsides, but that day the slopes were in shade for so long that they went katabatic.
It takes quite some strength of character to do that, to think apart from the group.
Others call it rigid! It’s like putting a bet on your feeling. Sometimes you can be massively wrong with this! I enjoy flying, and I love to try other things, so sometimes you are lucky.
How long have you been flying now?
I started when I was 13 or 14, with my father. Now I am 42. He started paragliding and I liked the look of it.
Where do you live? Is the flying good?
Staffelbach. It’s flatlands! We have very small hills. The Jura is close, about half an hour’s drive. I bought a winch recently because sometimes conditions look nice but you just can’t do it with the small hills.
What’s your day job? Do you get to fly a lot?
I develop industrial inkjet printers for Brother. If I have a chance I fly. I fly in winter when I go skiing, I fly tandems with the family, but if you compare to tandem pilots or test pilots, they fly all the time. I fly probably 100 hours a year.
You’re in the Swiss team. What is it like in the team these days?
Some years ago we had problems attracting young pilots to competition, but recently it has been transformed. Now we have regional organisers who arrange training days, meet-ups and set tasks. The mood has changed. When there are new people there are always changes, and I enjoy that.
Internationally, the Swiss have been active in Brazil in a very organised way, setting up tow camps and going for records, flying 500km. Have you been out there to chase distance?
No, but I would really like to. I think I would have fun doing it, but I don’t have the time – I have three children, 3, 5 and 7. I have a friend who lives in Brazil and he always invites me, so maybe one day.
In Disentis you won the first task, but then there is pressure to stay on top. Did you feel that?
Obviously I could manage it, although I had one or two days where I was not in the lead. I try not to care too much about the rankings. I go for fun, and I also enjoy it if I don’t win. Of course I look at the ranking, but there is no disadvantage in life if I don’t win. I don’t earn money from it, for example.
Which was the task you enjoyed the most?
Always when we go long distance through the mountains. The shorter ones can be very quick. The longer the flight the more I like it.
How was the whole organisation?
I’m very proud of the organisation that they made this competition. We have to live with this situation now, and just to make no competition is not the right answer. For us it was easy – we wore masks in the transport, but that was it. It wasn’t a big issue.
And finally, any tips for pilots new to the competition scene?
I think most of the people who want to fly competitions are self-motivated. This is all you need. You don’t need to tell them how to do it. They can see how to do it and they learn fast. But I guess stay open, there is always something new to learn.
Published in issue 214 (October 2020)
