The route for the 2009 X-Alps race has been announced. Organiser Hannes Arch says it is the most technically challenging route yet.
For the first time, instead of beginning at the Dachstein glacier at 2,653m, athletes will begin at the bottom of the valley in the beautiful setting of Mozart’s hometown, Salzburg at only 424m.
The race will start with the ascent to the Gaisberg (1,265m) from where competitors will hopefully get to continue the course beneath their wings. They will then have to round turnpoints in Germany (Watzmann), Austria (Grossglockner), Italy (Marmolada), Switzerland (Matterhorn), France (Mt Blanc) and Monaco’s Mt Gros, before hopefully gliding onto the beach at Monaco, 818km in a straight line from the start.
Only 5 of the 30 athletes enjoyed the moment of landing on the Cote d’Azur in 2007’s event …
There have been record numbers of applicants for the 2009 event, and organisers are still hard at work selecting the successful participants. The list will be posted on www.redbullxalps.com very soon.
