Red Bull X-Alps 2025: Route revealed
There is literally an X in the Red Bull X-Alps this year as the course loops through the Alps in a figure eight – and it's the longest ever
19 March, 2025, by Cross CountryThe route of Red Bull X-Alps 2025 has been unveiled – and it’s the longest ever at 1,280km. It follows a huge figure-of-eight course around the Alps, beginning in Kitzbühel, and, like in the 2023 race, finishing in Zell am See, Austria.
However, for the first time since 2019, the route goes deep into France with a turnpoint at Les Deux Alpes. This will likely delight French followers but it adds considerable distance and challenge to the return journey.
At the centre of the courseline is St Moritz – the ‘X’ of the route – which pilots have to pass on the outward and return legs. New features also include three mandatory via-ferrata climbs – two in Italy and one in France.
Race director, Ferdi Vogel said: “This is an extremely challenging route for athletes. They have to cross the main chain of the Alps four times, there are tricky airspace issues as well as strong valley winds and difficult landing options in many places. The route has never been this complex or difficult.”
Like 2023, the Red Bull X-Alps 2025 kicks off with a Prologue and start in Kitzbühel – Kirchberg. The route begins by heading due south, crossing the main chain of the Alps for the first time.
At Sexten Dolomites, pilots must sign a signboard in the city centre of Sexten before they climb to the summit of Toblinger Knoten (2,617m). The route then heads due west across northern Italy to another climb, the Heini Holzer via-ferrata and two turnpoints in an area famous for its paragliding – one situated next to the Kuhleitenhütte in Merano 2000, the other a short glide away in Schenna.
Pilots then head west to the X of the route, St. Moritz, passing complex terrain with limited landing options. St. Moritz is the point where pilots cross the main Alpine divide for the second time. The next turnpoint is Disentis Sedrun, at the watershed of the Rhone and Rhine rivers.
From there the route continues its westward direction to the peak of Niesen (2,362m), the home site of eight time winner Chrigel Maurer, and then on to the Mont Blanc turnpoint, which can only be reached by a via ferrata. In 2023 this is where the route turned around, but pilots must now push 100km deeper into France to the ski resort Les Deux Alpes – the most western turnpoint.
At this point pilots turn east for the return journey and face the longest open-distance section, almost 250km, to Ascona-Locarno and then to Bellinzona.
Then the route passes the X-Turnpoint in St. Moritz a second time before crossing the main Alpine divide for the fourth time to Lermoos – Tiroler Zugspitz Arena, Austria and Germany’s tallest mountain, the Zugspitze. The final section will see pilots hike and fly to Schmittenhöhe and the landing float of Zell am See.
Race co-founder Ulrich Grill said: “I’m really excited to present this route. It’s a huge step-up and with an X at its heart is a fundamentally different – and more challenging – route to previous years. The via ferrata climbs add an element of adventure, keeping with the spirit and history of Red Bull X-Alps as the world’s toughest adventure race.”
The race starts on 15 June and is preceded by a one-day Prologue on June 12 which takes place in the mountains surrounding the resort of Kitzbühel – Kirchberg.
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