France’s Yann Martail has won the 2010 Paragliding World Cup Superfinal. Petra Slivova is the Women’s champion.
Yann won the two-week competition flying an Ozone R10.2 – the paraglider that has dominated the competition circuit all season.
The competition saw two good tasks in its final days. Friday 1 October was an 80.3 km race to goal won by France’s Jacques Fournier onboard an R10.2. Petra Slivova (CZ) won among the women. She flies a Niviuk Icepeak.
The final day, Saturday 2 October, was a relatively short 39.8 km elapsed time task. It was won by Ozone pilot Charles Cazaux who crossed the line in one hour one second.
Petra won the day again among the women. Her performance put her 64 points overall ahead of rival Seiko Fukuoka Naville – enough to give her the Women’s title.
Overcast skies and tricky conditions meant organisers set the final short task.
The competition had seven valid tasks over 11 days, with 133 pilots, including 16 women, competing.
France won the Nations competition – unsurprising perhaps given the big number of French pilots in the Superfinal. They had 22 pilots in the comp.
Behind them were traditional Alpine nations Italy and Switzerland.
Slovenia came fourth. The country’s four pilots include the Valic brothers, both flying for the glory of Niviuk on prototype Icepeaks – the only glider so far that has come close to knocking Ozone’s two-line R10.2 off its winning perch.
In fifth place was Team USA. The seven pilots flew strongly to show that they are now a true force on the international stage.
As well as individual and nation winners, the competition itself came out on top. After a difficult year with poor conditions at many of its events, pilots gave it a big vote of confidence when they voted decisively to stick to the Superfinal format of competition.
Organisers said:
A strong majority voted that the format should be five selection events and a Superfinal so this will be the format until the end of 2013.
That means the Superfinal format is set to continue for the next three years at least.
With the Serial Class debate live again in FAI / CIVL competitions, that opens the way for the two comp formats to completely diverge. The Paragliding World Cup heading off to Open Class and the Superfinal, with FAI / CIVL continental and World Championships perhaps taking the Serial Class route and banning comp gliders.
Whatever happens, it looks like the Paragliding World Cup has crossed a bridge and finally put its difficult two-year transition, which saw it change formats from world tour to a continental selection system plus Superfinal, behind it.
Congratulations to the winners, organisers and all the comp pilots for a great competition that saw top-end paragliding at its best.
A full round-up of the Superfinal including interviews with winners – and losers – will feature in the next issue of Cross Country magazine, out on subscription in November.
THE WINNERS: YANN MARTAIL
The Superfinal 2010 champion Yann Martail, 35, is a member of the French paragliding team and also a paragliding instructor, based in the French Alps.
After he started flying in 2002, a moment he has described as a “revelation”, the sport quickly became all-consuming.
Once qualified as a pilot he set out to organise his life around flying. In 2008 he quit Paris for the Alps and made his home in Aix-les-Bains where he concentrated on flying and competing as much as he could.
Tenth in the British Open in 2006 he was 11th at a Pre-World Cup in Italy in 2007, sixth at a Pre-World Cup in 2007, 12th at the British Open in 2008 and eighth at a Paragliding World Cup leg in France 2009.
As well as comps, he topped the French B-League in cross country flying in 2006 and was third in the National A-League in 2007.
He blogs at yannmartail.blogspot.com.
WOMEN’S CHAMPION: PETRA SLIVOVA
Petra Slivova. Photo: Martin Scheel / azoom.ch
Petra Slivova has had a great year. She won the European Paragliding Championships in Austria and has now scooped the Womens’ Superfinal trophy too.
Cross Country magazine interviewed her in issue 130. Here are some edited highlights. The full interview is available through xcshop.com as a back issue, or through Zinio.com.
Petra, how long have you been flying comps?
I flew my first Europeans in 1996, in Norway. At the time I was a very motivated young pilot but I didn’t know how to fly and as a result I broke my back. After that I started to use my brain during competitions.
You often battle it out with Elisa Houdry for the women’s top spot. How is your rivalry with her?
Sure, we are friends, and it is just a game. We are rivals during the task but not on the ground. A month before the Europeans I visited Annecy, and Seiko, Elisa and I spent some nice time flying and partying together. Also, Elisa and I are now both part of the Niviuk family.
You live and fly in the Czech Republic. What’s it like?
We live in the Krkonose mountains. There is no big ridge, just lots of hills. You always have to cross valleys and flying here is not so easy. Around the mountains are flatlands, so there’s a good mix – it’s good for training. This year I have flown mainly tandems with clients, and not too much solo XC.
You’re a fulltime instructor?
My main job is to be a mother, and it’s a great job, just not much time for other things. Besides that we have a paragliding school and tandem business. So I’m the boss! If there aren’t enough instructors or pilots, then I do real work and fly or teach.
The R10 really dominated this year. Why didn’t you fly one?
I’ve always flown a glider that is one year behind what the guys fly. I prefer them to try it first, and if the glider is nice and at least a little bit safe, then I take it too.
Only Seiko flies an R10.2, none of the other women are on them. Why do you think that is?
I think we want to be sure that it works, that it’s safe, and then we might take a two-liner too. I think there are so many R10s because Ozone has a good marketing strategy. I think the two-liner from Niviuk, the Icepeak 4 [has] similar performance.
In Brief
Name: Petra Slivova
Age: “I’m a 70s child, but I’m staying 27!”
Lives: 150 km north of Prague, “in the middle of nowhere”
Started flying: 1993
Wing: Niviuk Icepeak 3
Sponsors: Merrell, Niviuk, and our paragliding school pgcentrum.cz
Titles: Three European Championships, two World Championships, two PWC titles, Superfinal 2010
SUPERFINAL 2010 RESULTS
Overall
1 Yann Martail (FR), Ozone R10.2, 5,477 points
2 Jurij Vidic (SL), Ozone R10.2, 5,408
3 Jean Marc Caron (FR), Niviuk Icepeak 4, 5,389
Women
1 Petra Slivova (CZ), Niviuk Icepeak, 4,236 points
2 Seiko Fukuoka Naville (FR), Ozone R10.2, 4,162
3 Elisa Houdry (FR), Niviuk Icepeak 3, 3,917
Nations
France, 19,785 points
Italy, 18,253
Switzerland, 18,120
Full results: Paragliding World Cup Superfinal 2010
• Got news? Send it to us at news@xccontent.local
Subscribe to the world’s favourite hang gliding and paragliding magazine
