Michael Pohl and 18-year-old Christoph Bessei, were awarded iPod Touches from Austrian paraglider manufacturer Nova, who named them ‘Pilots of the Year’. Nova make the award annually for extraordinary achievements in paragliding, commitment and attitude.
Michael Pohl on his Nova Triton 20 (EN D) was placed third out of 3,446 pilots in the worldwide ranking of XContest.org in the ‘sport’ category. The 43-year-old engineer from Villach had ten flights of 100+ km, eight of them more than 150km and two 200+ km.
Christoph Bessei has been a member of the Nova Juniors Team for two years, having joined when he was just 16. He flies an EN C Factor, and finished third In the junior ranking of the DHV XC league and 26th in the senior ranking (29 years upwards). He also came 5th in the 2010 Juniors Challenge, the DHV’s rookie competition, qualifying him for the German Paragliding League, and 3rd in the Sports class of the XC Open in Piedrahita, Spain.
In addition to his competition and cross country successes, Chris has also been involved in a high profile project flying paragliders with peregrine falcons.
Nova general manager Wolfi Lechner said, “In 2010, it was very hard to make a decision. Many pilots have shown outstanding achievements and would have deserved the award. We are very happy to also name a junior as Pilot of the Year. With our Junior Pilots team we are supporting young, promising talent and we are really pleased to see how they develop. In the name of Nova, I would like to thank Micha and Chris, but also all the other enthusiastic Nova pilots. Good luck for the next season and enjoy paragliding.”
