We still can't believe what we've seen at this year’s Red Bull X-Alps. It has been a historic race!
They say records are meant to be broken and that's what the Red Bull X-Alps 2023 is all about. For the first time, first athletes have reached goal in less than 7 days and there has been an all-time record number of participants landing on the float: 23 in total!
Congratulations to the winners and all the rest behind them. They have kept us hooked to the live tracking following their feats!
Tanguy Renaud-Goud has reached the Red Bull X-Alps goal in 10th position! He’s been the 2nd rookie to step on the float of the fastest race in history. He made a spectacular landing by skimming the water of the lake before touching down perfectly on the blue float.
The 25-year-old rookie started the world&39;s toughest adventure in a flawless way. The first 4 days he was all the time in the leader group, keeping pace with the legends, at times challenging them and sometimes even climbing to first place!
On day 3 he made a move and took a solo route for the first time passing by Piz Buin. He started out alone in the south and worked out well for him. He soon rejoined the leader gaggle and stayed there all day. Days 4 and 5 were a bit complicated, he couldn’t get enough altitude, doing many top lands, hiking very steep and snowy peaks, sometimes without food nor water. But he always managed to re-route, positioning himself quite well in the rankings and staying with the others into goal.
The last days he recovered positions, made great and long flights, sprinted on the via ferrata and demonstrated his impeccable hiking, taking-off and launching skills! (Even during that close call emergency landing). He has done an amazing job and we couldn’t be prouder of him! Will he prove it to us again in two years&39; time?
Take a look at his crazy statistics:
What a brave woman! Celine Lorenz sprained her ankle a couple of days before the prologue started but that never stopped her. Without hesitation, she finished her preparation in the field and set off on her X-Alps adventure, covering a total of 1326 km. The German rookie made magnificent flights, reaching altitudes of +3100m, which allowed her to make huge progress.
694.5 km separated her from the goal on day 7 when she had to make a difficult decision. Together with the race doctor, she decided to withdraw from the race after twisting her ankle again during a 20 km walk into TP 6, Fiesch in the Aletsch Arena. She tried to continue in the race but along with a pre-existing injury to her ankle, it became too painful to continue. Her ankle was much worse, and her feet were blistered. Heroic decision!
Anyway, she is our champion! We are so proud of her. Now it is time to rest and recovery soon.
Celine total statistics:
What a surprise! Logan Walters started the race like a true champion, following in the footsteps of the great local X-Alps legends and even finished 1st on the first day! Gradually he dropped down the ranking around position twenty, which is the exact final position in which he ended the race.
Much of the first days were spent hand in hand with fellow Niviuk athlete Yuji Emoto (JPN), whether spending time together walking, running or flying. Now that&39;s teamwork! At the end he was in a constant battle with James Elliott (CAN) and Elisabeth Egger (AUT4), but we managed to overtake them and be the first of the second pack to reach goal. Well, or rather, kite until goal, as his big landing in the water did not go unnoticed at Zell am See!
The American rookie had some difficult days, he even said: “Crazy last few days. Conditions that beat me to the ground”, but he was also “feeling good and had amazing flights to glaciers. I’ve been pushing and trying hard. I love it this is the best adventure ever”. With this feeling he went forward without stopping for a second. That&39;s the attitude of a champion, which is what you are, Logan!
Look at his amazing statistics:
Yuji Emoto’s effort does not go unnoticed either: just like all the other athletes, he did not rest for a second, hiking and reaching the highest summits, pushing on and on as much as his strength and the weather conditions allowed him. And this got him to be the last athlete to make goal, landing perfectly on the float on the final day, and turning him into the first Japanese to ever finish the race.
His final 23rd position has been quite stable throughout the race, keeping his physique and mind where it should be. He even overcame a forced break of 12 hours due to airspace restrictions, planning a great strategy and walking the whole night spending his night pass. His amazing endurance performance and perseverance is what has made him succeed!
Yuji said the race had two very different parts for him: the first days with nice weather conditions what seemed quite a “vacation” to enjoy flying and the Alps; and the last days, when he experienced “the real X-Alps”, having to continue with very strong conditions, many windy take-offs, top landings, and lots and lots of hiking all the summits he had to cross.
Yuji wanted to participate in the race because: “It is the most beautiful and biggest competition, so I wanted to face up to this challenge, and the dream was to reach goal”. So, dream came true. Very well done, you are a legend!
Yuji’s breathtaking total statistics:
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