Baptiste wins PWC Gemona

After six tasks in the foothills of the Italian Alps Baptiste Lambert claimed victory at the first Paragliding World Cup of the season, followed by Martin Jovanoski and Roger Aeschbacher in second and third place, respectively. In the women’s ranking, Alexia Fischer dominated the field in first place, followed by Elisa Deutschmann and Violeta Jimenez in second and third.

It was a near perfect week of World Cup action. Only the first task was cancelled as rain came in. Thereafter pilots faced a series of tasks ranging from 70.25km to 102.13km, offering a mix of technical flying through mountains, along ridge lines and across the flats.

But it wasn’t easy. Baptiste took an early lead winning the second task, a day where pilots faced strong winds and stable conditions and patience paid off. The third task rewarded pilots who prioritised altitude over speed and Justin Puthod took that win.

Task 4 brought the longest course of the competition so far, with pilots taking on a demanding 97.1km route that zigzagged between the mountain ranges and across the valley several times. The task combined long ridge runs with multiple flatland crossings, rewarding both efficient gliding and tactical decision-making.

The day’s victory went to Andy Tallia, adding another impressive World Cup performance following his Superfinal victory earlier this season. Task 5 promised to be one of the biggest challenges of the week. With forecasts predicting excellent conditions, a very high cloudbase and strong lift throughout the day, the task committee set an ambitious course of more than 100km, including a demanding section that required significant altitude to complete.

But as the day unfolded, conditions didn’t quite deliver what had been expected. Cloudbase remained lower than forecast, and with very few clouds forming, pilots had little visual guidance. Rather than long climbs to high altitude, the race evolved into a fast-paced ridge-running contest. Honorin Hamard managed to master the demanding conditions to claim the task win – but it was otherwise a disappointing performance for Honorin, who finished overall in 121st place. Violeta Jiménez secured the women’s victory.

The penultimate task was another challenging day in strong conditions. The day’s victory went to Roger Aeschbacher while Violeta Jiménez continued her impressive form by taking another women’s victory. More than ten pilots landed just short of goal at the end of speed section.

The final task was a 70.25km sprint against predicted afternoon thunderstorms with exceptional flying. With 6m/s thermals, efficient transitions, the leaders completed the course in 1h 30m, averaging nearly 47 km/h over the optimised task. It was won by Ferdinand Vogel and Daphnée Leropoli respectively. Ozone won the teams podium, followed by Flymaster and Niviuk.

Gemona, “the land of Prosecco, pizzas and paragliding” is a popular flying site situated in north east Italy near the border with Slovenia, approximately 100km from Bassano. With its local mountains Cuarnan and San Simeone, Gemona offers reliably good flying conditions in summer over a mix of Alpine and flatland terrain. Situated on the southern edge of the Alps with a view of the Po Valley it is surrounded by the Julian and Carnic Alps and the Belluno Dolomites to the west.

The next Paragliding World Cup is in Sopot, Bulgaria, Sopot from 05 to 12 September 2026.

RESULTS

Overall

1. Baptiste Lambert, FRA, Ozone Enzo 3 / Sub, 4,445.5
2. Martin Jovanoski, MKD, Ozone Enzo 3 / Sub, 4,401.4
3. Roger Aeschbacher, SUI, Ozone Enzo 3 / Sub, 4,396.5

Female

1. Alexia Fischer, USA, Ozone Enzo 3 / Sub, 4,155.2
2. Elisa Deutschmann, GER, Ozone Enzo 3 / Sub, 4,126.7
3. Violeta Jimenez, USA, Ozone Enzo 3 / Sub, 3,672.1

Teams

1. Ozone
2. Flymaster
3. Niviuk