Red Bull X-Alps 2015, day 8: Maurer still in the lead, the battle continues

Exhaustion is beginning to take its toll but at the front of the race, the battle shows no sign of letting up as Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1) made a last ditch effort to catch race leader and three time champion Christian Maurer (SUI1). It almost worked.

Before dawn Guschlbauer hiked up to a high pass on the border between Italy and France. From there he made a 15km flight which put him in a good position for the next Turnpoint of Mt Blanc. As he gained valuable ground, it looked as though Maurer was stuck in dead air around the Turnpoint of Annecy and was unable to get away.

But it’s no accident that Maurer has won the race three times and by mid afternoon, he had escaped Annecy and had 35km on Guschlbauer, as they both now began the last stage of the route south along the Alps Maritimes.

Sebastian Huber (GER) also displayed some remarkable flying prowess. He began the day on the wrong side of Mont Blanc. He was south, but needed to be north. In between was a 4,800m mountain. Hiking to 2,300m he launched at 10am, flying close to the sheer rock faces on the southern side to find rising pockets of warm air. In this way he managed to skirt around the Mt Blanc massif. Air space over Mt Blanc in summer means athletes cannot fly over its glaciers, so it was a long and spectacular flight for Huber.

Further back, a whole host of athletes were in the air making the best of the day. Aaron Durogati (ITA) led the chasing-pack flying at top speed to the Matterhorn Turnpoint, flying wingtip-to-wingtip with Antoine Girard (FRA2) and Gaspard Petiot (FRA4). Durogati has pulled his Led Lenser Night Pass for this evening in a bid to escape their clutches. It allows him to hike through the night.

The good flying day comes after a day that saw difficult and windy conditions and two athletes having to retire with injury. Tom de Dorlodot (BEL) hurt his foot after a take-off went wrong, while Toma Coconea (ROU) was dragged over rough ground moments after landing, leaving him with a broken elbow and a lost tooth. Coconea is famous among fans – he’s the only athlete to have competed in every edition of the Red Bull X-Alps since 2003 and is known for his incredible endurance. In one 29 hour period earlier this week, he ran 150km non-stop!

“He is already preparing for 2017," said his supporter Daniel Pisica. “His body and mind are still strong."

After Alex Villa’s elimination yesterday morning for being the last ranked athlete, this leaves 27 athletes still racing to reach Monaco. They have until 12:00 on Friday 17 July to get there. Will they succeed?