PWCA - 2017 World Cup Superfinal ::: Roldanillo

2018-01-22 11:44

2017 SuperFinal Podium Photos - Roldanillo, Colombia
Open Class Podium - Nicola Donini (2nd) - Michael Sigel (1st) - Joachim Oberhauser (3rd)

Womens Class Podium - Méryl Delferriere (2nd) - Laurie Genovese (1st) - Klaudia Bulgakow (3rd)

Team Class Podium - AirG Products (2nd) - Ozone (1st) - Woody Valley (3rd)

Click The Images To Enlarge -
The first World Cup of 2018 begins in Bright, Australia on 17th February

2018-01-21 11:44

25 Years Of The Paragliding World CupThose of you that have been reading the commentary during the 2017 Superfinal in Roldanillo, Colombia will have realised that we are now celebrating 25 years of the Paragliding World Cup.

As a tribute, and a mark of respect to the late (and very great) Xavier Murillo - the founding father of the whole thing - we assembled as many of the previous world cup winners that we could find in this competition [it made an impressive 29 people - still competing and here in this superfinal].

They all got together on the takeoff for a 25 year celebration photo

Click The Image To Enlarge - Or HERE To Download A Copy
Also, during this competition, some material came our way regarding the very first Paragliding World Cup held in March 1992 (and the test events in 1991) - all of these historic events were covered in detail by World Cup partner 'Cross Country Magazine' and we are pleased to be able to share it with you - Click Here To Read The Cross Country articles

The first World Cup of 2018 begins in Bright, Australia on 17th February

2018-01-20 19:23

What an amazing day - it culminated in a really tense battle to get to goal which was won by Michael Siegel - it wasn't enough for the day though so congratulations to Pierre Remy who won today's task and Atsuko Yamashita who won the women's class - the winning team for the day was Woody Valley.

The results are now available online.

The Paragliding World Cup would like to congratulate our overall winners in the 2017 Suprfinal - Michael Siegel (Open), Laurie Genovese (Women) and Team Ozone (Teams).

It is worth an extra mention that we have two women in the Open Class results - Laurie Genovse (6th overall) and Méryl Delferriere (10th overall)

The prizegiving will be at 21:00 - congratulations to all our competitors.

2018-01-20 19:05

No tribute to 25 years of the Paragliding World Cup, would be complete without a big thank you to the thousands of incredible pilots who have taken part and made it the amazing competition that it is today. But the last word in this tribute has to go to the person without whom the whole venture would never have been possible. This tribute is dedicated to the late, great Xavier Murillo, who will fly high forever in our hearts.

2018-01-20 19:05

To read about more of the early World Cups in our partner Cross Country magazine have a look at: pwca.org/remote/xcmag

2018-01-20 18:57

So, who went for a swim in the very first final of the World Cup in Owen's Valley in 1992? The answer: Richard Gallon the Paragliding World Cup's living legend!

2018-01-20 18:16

The Pilot Dinner will start at 19:00 - the Prizegiving will be held at 21:00 in Headquarters.

2018-01-20 18:10

This incredible Super Final would not have been possible without the help of Thorsten Beisiegel and his team at Meteocolombia for their amazing work. We owe them a big thank you for making it possible for us to set tasks dodging the storms. If you want to contact them for weather information in Colombia: info@meteocolombia.com.co

2018-01-20 17:35

So the winning tactic today from 2017 Super Final winner, Michael Sigel, was getting a fantastic climb at the end over a brown ploughed field. 'To win,' Michael told me, 'you need to fly well, have a good glider, oh and a few miracles help!'

2018-01-20 17:19

The world of competitions is the best way for a young pilot to progress. It will allow you to improve your skills beyond limits that you could never otherwise overcome, travel and fly around the world, discover beautiful places and special people. Before starting I really recommend that you are fully prepared. From theoretical knowledge to wing control, training and SIV manoeuvres. Buy the best equipment you need and let's have an adventure! The comp will take care of the rest!

2018-01-20 17:19

Today's comes from Italian Champion, Marco Busetta from Etna Fly in Sicily.

2018-01-20 17:18

To coincide with the new PWCA App, we are also launching 'Thought for the Thermal', a few words of advice each day from one of our more experienced pilots about competition flying.

2018-01-20 17:14

So if this amazing, nail biting end to the 2017 Super Final, which took the leaders more than 4 hours to complete, has tempted you into the world of competition flying, our Thought for the Thermal today is for you.

2018-01-20 17:11

Until everyone comes back with their trackers, some of which are currently being extracted from the deep mud in the middle of 3m high sugar cane fields, we can't be sure of the ladies scores but it looks as if Laurie Genovese will be first lady, but will she be in the top 10 overall?

2018-01-20 17:01

Everyone has landed, mostly on the opposite side of the river and ravine from the road, so a little bit of suspension bridge building may be required before we can get the pilots back and the scores to you!

2018-01-20 16:56

Who will claim 3rd place? For the moment we can't say between Charles Cazaux who landed short but started off in 4th place this morning and Joachim Oberhauser who set off in 6th place but got to goal.

2018-01-20 16:52

Nicola Donini came in 2nd 2 minutes later confirming his 2nd place on the podium.

2018-01-20 16:52

So just to recap on this nail biting, intense finish. Everyone who got ESS, got into goal. Michael Sigel was first across ESS and can thus very comfortably claim his Super Final Champion crown.

2018-01-20 16:46

With only 7 pilots left in the air and only 6 in goal today, the ice cream seller is looking mightily disappointed and the ants are looking mightily indifferent. As for the cow pats.....

2018-01-20 16:45

Cody Mittanck has just got ESS and is definitely going to make it - commentators curses excepted.

2018-01-20 16:44

Dominik Breitinger was 68th this morning so making it into goal just behind the leaders will really help, but can he make it. He's in a climb on 9:1 so he is making sure that he's going to comfortably make it.

2018-01-20 16:41

Well after a quick pause to redo my lipstick, let's see who is going to be next in.

2018-01-20 16:40

Charles Cazaux sadly didn't make it and landed just before Zarzal.

2018-01-20 16:40

Dominik Breitinger and Cody Mittanck are almost within reach of goal but it'll be tight.

2018-01-20 16:39

That was amazing, that was a worthy last task, what action right to the last!

2018-01-20 16:38

What a finish Joachim Oberhauser is going in on 4.5:1 so he should make it.

2018-01-20 16:38

Pierre Remy is in goal.

2018-01-20 16:37

Nicola Donini is in goal, great woops of joy from Yassen, what a finish.

2018-01-20 16:37

Nicola Donini is at 62 m above the ground - ooooh this is so close. 500m from goal and so low.

2018-01-20 16:36

Even Yassen has gone quiet in front of the leaderboard in HQ watching to see if they can make it into goal and get their time points which are so essential for their podium places.

2018-01-20 16:35

Nicola Donini and Pierre Remy have got ESS within a second of each other but are very low.

2018-01-20 16:35

What an amazing finish, everyone is holding their breath in front of the leaderboard here. Yassen has just summed it up 'This is proper entertainement'

2018-01-20 16:34

Who's going to be next across? Nicola Donini and Charles Cazaux are fighting for 2nd place.

2018-01-20 16:33

Michael has got plenty of height to get to goal to validate his time points.

2018-01-20 16:33

Michael Sigel got Ess in 4:16:45

2018-01-20 16:32

Michael Sigel is at 352m and just crossing ESS

2018-01-20 16:32

Michael Sigel is much higher and getting Ess.

2018-01-20 16:31

Nicola Donini, Pierre Remy and Joachim Oberhauser and Charles Cazaux have stopped to climb.

2018-01-20 16:31

The leaders are racing across Zarzal.

2018-01-20 16:30

Michael Sigel is on less 9:1 so he should make it without having to stop and climb

2018-01-20 16:29

He's in a climb but can he beat Michael Sigel in with enough of a margin to win the comp.

2018-01-20 16:29

Nicola Donini's glide ratio is dropping dropping he's on 12:1 it's dodgy as to whether he'll make it. He's at 255m.

2018-01-20 16:28

Nicola Donini is 1 km out

2018-01-20 16:27

The 4 to the east are all on Ozone Enzo 3s. Michael Sigel is on a Gin Boomerang 11.

2018-01-20 16:26

Michael Sigel in the middle of the valley is higher but 2 km further back than the others.

2018-01-20 16:26

The crowds are watching the tracking avidly in HQ, who is going to be first, and win the title of 2017 Super Final Champion.

2018-01-20 16:25

Michael Sigel is higher in the middle of the valley than the 4 to the east.

2018-01-20 16:24

This is so close between Michael Sigel (1st overall this morning) at 620m and 5km out. Joachim Oberhauser (6th overall) at 370 m, Charles Cazaux (4th) 316m and Nicola Donini (2nd) 431m.

2018-01-20 16:21

5 km to go!

2018-01-20 16:21

Michael Sigel and Nicola Donini are neck and neck to ESS, whoever gets there first wins this 2017 Super Final

2018-01-20 16:20

For those of you watching this on the PWCA App ESS is the green circle.

2018-01-20 16:19

It's not over yet for Michael Sigel, he's got a climb!

2018-01-20 16:19

Yassen Savov is jumping up and down with excitment in HQ. This is an epic battle!

2018-01-20 16:18

Dominik Breitinger and Hans Kristjan Gudmundsson on the mountains to the west.

2018-01-20 16:17

Michael Sigel overall winner this morning in the middle of the valley.

2018-01-20 16:17

So we have 3 groups all racing to ESS. Nicola Donini, Joachim Oberhauser, Charles Cazaux and Pierre Remy to the east.

2018-01-20 16:15

Michael Sigel is low, less than 300m off the ground.

2018-01-20 16:14

The end race is on. This is amazing.

2018-01-20 16:14

With the conditions here trying to find thermals on your own, as Michael Sigel is having to do will be really difficult.

2018-01-20 16:12

Federico Nevastro was with them but he landed to collect mushrooms.

2018-01-20 16:12

Nicola Donini is at 801m above the ground with 10 km to ESS and 2 World Champions, Charles Cazaux and Pierre Remy, to help him on his way.

2018-01-20 16:10

Michael Sigel is on his own at 546 m and 9.7 km to ESS.

2018-01-20 16:09

Overall winner this morning Michael Sigel is over flying the ground hog gaggle who have all landed by the river, which 2 days ago I said ALWAYS works - oopsy!

2018-01-20 16:07

The gang of 4 are high and climbing, being in a gaggle will really help.

2018-01-20 16:06

Nicola Donini, Charles Cazaux, Joachim Oberhauser and Pierre Remy have just got a climb over some buildings.

2018-01-20 16:04

This is amazing, It looks as if the lead gaggle who have taken the turn point and headed to the east side of the valley have escaped the landing carnage in the middle of the valley by being in a more sheltered position.

2018-01-20 15:57

Nicola Donini is also still flying.

2018-01-20 15:56

Also still flying Stephane Drouin, Cody Mittanck, Franz Erlacher, Gleb Sukhotskiy.

2018-01-20 15:56

Wow, a lot of pilots have landed. Out of those in the lead in the comp still flying: Charles Cazaux, Michael Sigel, Torsten Siegel, Jean Marc Caron, Pierre Remy.

2018-01-20 15:54

Honorin Hamard in 3rd position overall has landed with them.

2018-01-20 15:53

A lot of pilots have landed trying to get the last turn point in the middle of the valley. The sea breeze Pacific wind coming in has really put paid to the thermals.

2018-01-20 15:51

Pierre Remy, Charles Cazaux and Nicola Donini are going to the east of the valley, they are low but in a climb. They are now well away from the others.

2018-01-20 15:49

Oopsy, the curse of the commentator, Tim and Antoine have landed.

2018-01-20 15:48

Tim Rochas has got the turn point. Everyone around our Leader board in Ecole de Parapente des Baronnies in the Drome in France are cheering him on.

2018-01-20 15:45

Antoine Gerin-jean has got the turn point. Everyone at Aerogliss in St Andre in the South of France (owned by his parents) and Evolution at Tignes where he works as a ski instructor, are glued to our Live leaderboard.

2018-01-20 15:42

World Champions Pierre Remy and Charles Cazaux along with Nicola Donini and Antoine Gerin-jean are about to get the last turn point.

2018-01-20 15:40

Joanna Di Grigoli isn't far behind the leaders. She's just back from Brazil where she was trying to beat her own 400 km record. She didn't break her previous best but had two nice flights - 330 and 338 km. Big respect!

2018-01-20 15:37

Luca is sat next to me with fingers and toes all crossed that his son Nicola will make the right decisions today.

2018-01-20 15:36

This is what Luca had to say about flying in Roldanillo: It is very varied, flats and mountains, very technical. Some days are early with constant conditions. Other days you have to use a different strategy, more patience, don't push in front. Sometimes the weather and terrain are difficult to read. Have to really understand the conditions to make the right decisions here.

2018-01-20 15:34

A very stressed Luca Donini is sat with me watching the live tracking. His son Nicola is in the lead group and lying second overall. He is the only pilot today who can beat Michael Sigel for first place.

2018-01-20 15:32

Joachim has won 4 PWC tasks including one in the 2016 Super Final where he was in the top 10 in 3 tasks. Definitely a pilot who is hungry for a podium place in this competition.

2018-01-20 15:30

He is very experienced flying here, loves the place and conditions. He was 10th at the Worlds here in 2015.

2018-01-20 15:28

Joachim Oberhauser has been flying really well in this competition. Top 10 in 6 out of 8 tasks!

2018-01-20 15:27

Anyway, back to whose enjoying the conditions in the middle of the valley speeding towards the last turn point.

2018-01-20 15:25

Andreas Malecki has just checked back in with some 'big bad words about the conditions today'.

2018-01-20 15:24

Joachim Oberhauser lying 6th overall this moring is pulling away from the gaggle in 2nd place.

2018-01-20 15:22

Charles Cazaux is breaking away, this is his type of flying, he's flown a lot in Australia. He's one of only 8 pilots who have qualified for and competed in all the Super Finals since Super Final time began, his many years of experience will also be helping him today.

2018-01-20 15:17

What an amazing race south across the valley, to the last turn point before ESS. They've all got plenty of height, they are in little climbs.

2018-01-20 15:15

Honorin told me, 'It's not just about winning, I fly to have fun, it's been really great here, good weather, great friends to fly with'. At the very least he'll go home with wonderful memories of the locals, the kids who ran to meet him and show him their new puppy when he landed out. Honorin definitely gets a place on the podium of great sports.

2018-01-20 15:13

Honorin's strategy today (he led for most of the competition but dropped down to 3rd place), fly conservatively to conserve his podium place, he could be anything between 9th and 2nd.

2018-01-20 15:11

Wow, the top 4 overall are in the lead Michael Sigel, Charles Cazaux, Honorin Hamard and Nicola Donini, this really is going to be a battle royal for the podium places.

2018-01-20 15:08

Atsuko Yamashita loves flying with so many expert pilots, it's a great opportunity to progress. She flies with a lot of high level pilots in Japan. She would love to see another PWC in Japan but isn't sure that the weather is stable or strong enough. When the weather is good, it's very good, but when it starts to rain….
Note from the Commentary: the food in Japan, whatever the weather, is well worth sitting in the rain for…

2018-01-20 15:05

A lot of the ladies are up with the leaders today Silvia Buzzi Ferraris, Atsuko Yamashita and Laurie Genovese.

2018-01-20 15:04

Manuel Brechignac is right up with the leaders too today, looks like Mum and Dad cheering him on from beside the pool in Roldanillo has really worked.

2018-01-20 15:03

Just a reminder that the top three ladies overall as we go into the end game of this amazing Super Final are Laurie Genovese (5745), Meryl Delferriere (5676) and Klaudia Bulgakow (5260).

2018-01-20 15:02

Méryl Delferriere is up with the leaders taking the 3rd turn point, looks like all those butterflies in her tummy are carrying her along!

2018-01-20 15:00

A gaggle of about 15 have taken the 3rd turn point.

2018-01-20 14:59

Looks like that is exactly what he is doing in today's difficult conditions.

2018-01-20 14:58

Charles is a consistently good pilot. He is one of the pilots that Honorin Hamard admires the most, this is how he described Charles: Strong mental attitude, in little thermals on the flats he's lethal, he can spend hours in the air and still find a way to fight for the last little thermal of the day.

2018-01-20 14:57

Remember, a pilot's number signifies their place in last year's Super Final.

2018-01-20 14:57

Charles was 3rd in the last Super Final. Is he going to be the most consistent pilot in the competition? He's the only pilot ever to have won both the Worlds and Super Final.

2018-01-20 14:55

Charles Cazaux is in the lead taking the 3rd turn point. If he does well today he could go from 4th to 2nd place overall.

2018-01-20 14:52

Nicola Donini took the route staying in the mountains, going behind Roldanillo which hasn't worked so well. He is quite far behind Michael Sigel's group which marched across the flats to the turn point.

2018-01-20 14:49

Brad Gunnuscio has come out of the mountains and is joining the group that came across the flats led by Charles Cazaux.

2018-01-20 14:48

It was very shaded with light lift, leaving the pilots scratching and having to be super careful, but the sun has come out now so lets hope the rest of the course is a bit easier.

2018-01-20 14:46

Julien Wirtz, 9th overall this morning, has just checked back in too, not a great day for the leaders. This is going to really change all the scores.

2018-01-20 14:45

On no, Xevi and last years SF winner Aaron Durogati have just landed by turn point 3.

2018-01-20 14:42

5th overall, Xevi Bonet Dalmau, is with the group pushing out into the flats 2 km from the 3rd turn point.

2018-01-20 14:41

He started comps in the era when it was more of a photographic competition than a paragliding competition. He loves the progress in the performance in the gliders and the new equipment like the trackers. But above all he loves flying with friends he has known for years.

2018-01-20 14:40

Jacques is one of the real characters of French flying. Very experienced. Very technically oriented, one of the few people on the planet (or in the air) capable of keeping PWC scoring maestro Ulric Jessop on his toes.

2018-01-20 14:39

Jacques Fournier is in a group hedging their bets just in front of Roldanillo.

2018-01-20 14:38

SIV instructor Brad Gunnuscio is taking the mountain route.

2018-01-20 14:37

2016 French champion Jonathan Marin is cutting across the flats.

2018-01-20 14:36

The leaders now have the choice of following the mountains to get the turn point or cut across the flats.

2018-01-20 14:31

There are Hibiscus plants with bright pink and yellow flowers the size of dinner plates growing wild on the hill sides.

2018-01-20 14:31

Everything grows here, and everywhere, there are large clumps of grass growing in abundance along the power lines!

2018-01-20 14:30

Needless to say pink panther, Yassen Savov on his white and pink Enzo 3, is with the leaders as they come back across the jungle covered hillsides towards Roldanillo.

2018-01-20 14:27

World Champion Pierre Remy is with the leaders in the mountains halfway back to Roldanillo from the second turn point. The pilot quality in this Super Final is absolutely amazing, 18 World Cup winners, 11 women's winners, World and European Champions, the world's distance record holders.

2018-01-20 14:24

Joachim told me this morning that he's happy with his place, he's been flying conservatively, what happens today, happens. A strategy which seems to be working well today.

2018-01-20 14:21

Joachim Oberhauser (currently in 6th place overall), is with the leaders coming back along the mountains to turn point 3.

2018-01-20 14:18

Xevi was feeling good before launch, very motivated. 'It's going to be so, so, so tough today'. His strategy is going to be to try to attack but with this level of pilots that will be very, very difficult. The fight for third place will be very intense.

2018-01-20 14:17

Xevi Bonet Dalmau, currently in 5th place is up with the leaders as they start to go north to the 3rd turn point.

2018-01-20 14:15

Big brazilian Rafael Saladini has just come to check in after another bad day. 'My nightmare is over' he told us handing his tracker back in. He's not flying as well as he would like, but for the best of reasons. His wife Paula is due to have their first baby in May. So in 18 years time we could be watching a young Saladini or Wyss fighting for a Super Final podium place!

2018-01-20 14:10

This is amazing, father and son duo Luca and Nicola are leading the competition. Will they come out into the flats or stay in the mountains?

2018-01-20 14:08

Charles told me this morning, today is going to be very interesting. Placed in the top ten he has all to play for, today is a day for keeping a (very) calm head.

2018-01-20 14:07

Charles Cazaux, currently lying in 4th position overall, is just passing Bolivar, 3km behind the leaders.

2018-01-20 14:04

The leaders have now got turn point two and need to go back north. They can either stay in the mountains using the followers as thermal markers or try the flats.

2018-01-20 14:02

Guy Anderson is the only one still trying a route in the flats.

2018-01-20 14:01

Honorin is following the leaders as they all fly past Bolivar about to get the turn point, everyone is staying in the mountains.

2018-01-20 13:59

Honorin about Luc's flying: he has an amazing ability to read the sky and flies really precisely, he always finds great lines which allow him to control groups and to attack later. He is really inventive, a skill which he uses in all aspects of flying.

2018-01-20 13:58

We don't have much news about Luc Armant currently lying 7th, his tracker is off line.

2018-01-20 13:56

Paragliding races combine the full on racing conditions outdoors of races like the Paris Dakar, with the tactics of a cycle race where they work together as a peloton but are always looking for that moment to brake away, with the skills required to navigate round turn points and interpret the weather seen in sailing races like the Vendée Globe.

2018-01-20 13:55

Paragliding isn't just about how well you can fly your paraglider, it's about how well you can concentrate, and keep concentrating for every second that you are in the air. Over a ten day comp it isn't that easy.

2018-01-20 13:55

Nicola is leading, Michael Sigel is with him, this is going to be so close. Today is going to be a very conservative day with no room for mistakes.

2018-01-20 13:52

No matter what their positions they'll be cracking open the champagne tonight I think!

2018-01-20 13:51

However no matter what happens today, Nicola has had an amazing Super Final with 3 task wins, which 'for me is just as good as winning the whole thing,' he told me on launch this morning.

2018-01-20 13:49

Nicola Donini is with his Dad. Nicola was feeling very, very nervous on launch this morning, very worried that he would bomb out which would be a disaster for his overall score of second place. But he knew he would need to push out if he was to stand a chance of beating current leader Michael Sigel.

2018-01-20 13:46

Luca Donini is showing current 2nd overall son Nicola the way. It's been wonderful this week to see Father and son landing together in the goalfield.

2018-01-20 13:45

They do seem to be finding thermals in the greyness on the mountains.

2018-01-20 13:44

Guy started off the 2017 XC season well with a 250 km flight from Milk Hill in England. (The current UK record is 275 km flown by Mark Waga Watts in August 2014). On the 19th June 2017, Guy Anderson set a new 127km UK record triangle from the XClent tow site in the Cotswolds, England under his ZENO, so he is no stranger to flat(ish) land flying.

2018-01-20 13:42

Guy Anderson seems to be staying out of the mountains. He's at 529 m above the ground and heading out into the flats.

2018-01-20 13:40

The humid cloudy skies here are very different to what Manu is used to, he works as a ski, snowboard and paragliding instructor for Evolution at Tignes in the French alps where they currently have 5 metres of snow!

2018-01-20 13:37

Manuel Brechignac's parents are with me by the pool scanning the grey skies.

2018-01-20 13:35

Halfway across they stopped to climb, so maybe the conditions aren't that disasterous.

2018-01-20 13:34

What an amazing sight, lots and lots of gliders (half the field) coming streaming across the green, banana covered hillsides behind Roldanillo, with a very cloudy, shut down sky.

2018-01-20 13:28

Meryl was 1st French lady in the 2017 French Nationals in Laragne and has certainly got a paragliding podium filled future ahead of her!

2018-01-20 13:26

Meryl has taken this competition by storm, she's been in the top ten overall in the last 2 tasks.

2018-01-20 13:24

Her strategy today is to change nothing and just fly normally.

2018-01-20 13:23

Meryl Delferriere, lying second lady overall this morning, is up with the leaders as they fly back to Roldanillo. She told me she felt as if she had every Columbian butterfly in her tummy before she took off this morning!

2018-01-20 13:21

Rafael Saladini is low on the hills at the front with the leaders, he's had baby blues since the start of the comp. He told me the main thing the Brazilians have learnt is that team Brazil need to learn to fly in weak conditions!.

2018-01-20 13:19

The cirrus is spreading out. The cumulous is disappearing. The weather needs to change for anyone to make it.

2018-01-20 13:16

The crowds in Samuel's home village of now Internationally famous Bom Jesus, 20 km from Pico do Gaviao near Pocos De Caldas, are holding their breath. Nobody dares go for a siesta.

2018-01-20 13:15

Samuel is out in the flats. In the 2016 SF he was one of the most talked about pilots, he frequently made different decisions to the other pilots and to the big gaggle and it was great to see his alternative routes working.

2018-01-20 13:13

Samuel Nascimento has taken the lead across the foothills, he's world distance record holder (564 km) and the only Brazilian pilot to have won a Super Final task. Is he saving the best for last again in this Super Final?

2018-01-20 13:11

This task is once again separating the pilots out nicely.

2018-01-20 13:05

Julian Robinson is at the front.

2018-01-20 13:04

Alfredo Studer is out in front of the hills, resisting the temptation to land in Hiueroncito for an ice cream.

2018-01-20 13:03

At the moment there is thick cirrus shutting everything down. It's going to be slow going and require a lot of patience.

2018-01-20 13:02

I asked Richard about the most amazing day in his life. It was launching from 5000 m up Aconcagua, he got a thermal which took him nearly up to the summit, then, still dressed in tight pink climbing lycra, he got mistaken for a transvestite that night in Mendoza - a story which doesn't need to be fully recounted!

2018-01-20 12:58

Samuel Nascimento and Richard Pethigal are in the lead racing back towards Roldanillo.

2018-01-20 12:57

Just a reminder that anyone, whether an individual or a business, can become a Paragliding World Cup Partner. To become part of our big paragliding family and help support the continued success of paragliding competitions around the World, contact the Paragliding World Cup Association.

2018-01-20 12:56

Our partner XC Magazine, has some stunning photos from around the World. The one of Luc 'In the Core' (July 2017) is definitely a favourite. Well done to Luc, winner of the 2017 Coeur de Savoie Paragliding World Cup on his Enzo3, and to Paragliding World Cup president and photographer, Goran Dimiskovski, who provides our partners with some excellent photographs.

2018-01-20 12:56

Luc Armant currently lying 7th, is with the group gaining height at the turn point.

2018-01-20 12:52

Yassen Savov is doing a Yassen and going for it, he's already out over La Union and heading south.

2018-01-20 12:51

Some of the pilots have carried on into the cylinder to get height.

2018-01-20 12:50

The conditions at the moment are weak with lots of shadow, but it is working.

2018-01-20 12:49

Klaudia Bulgakow currently 3rd lady overall has taken a route further out with Tim Bollinger. They are currently flying over La Union to be united with the others.

2018-01-20 12:47

Michael Sigel was very calm on launch wandering about with his head phones on well after the first pilots had launched!

2018-01-20 12:46

Race leader Michael Sigel and Xevi Bonet Dalmau are right with the leaders.

2018-01-20 12:45

The top ten have got the first turn point, now they are turning round and going south to the next turn point.

2018-01-20 12:43

On the other hand, Richard Pethigal told me, one thing he has learnt from this competition is that his glider doesn't like getting wet. HQ smelt like a dog kennel last night there were so many soggy gliders laid out to dry.

2018-01-20 12:42

Cody Mittanck is at the front. He told me, 'The task setting is amazing here, every day we seem to just get the task in around the storms.' Fortunately it doesn't look too stormy today.

2018-01-20 12:39

The thermals have mobile cores. When you are on your own in the plains it is really difficult to find the core of the thermals on your own, therefore it is much more efficient to stay with the gaggle.

2018-01-20 12:39

There is a lot of choice and decision making as to whether to go out into the flats or stay in the moutains. It is a big playground here with lots of variety. The plains work well, if you cross onto the east side the terrain is hilly with little valleys. There are 3 types of terrain here which all work differently and at different times.

2018-01-20 12:38

Clement gave a good description of the flying here: The thermals are never strong here, 2-3 m/s average, not like in the Alps. The valleys work very well later. There is a big hesitation at the beginning to go out into the valley. The pacific air comes in later making the mountains dangerous late on. This is called La cola - katabatic wind which makes the air descent in the mountains.

2018-01-20 12:38

The lead gaggle are going their separate ways. Clement Latour is more in the flats

2018-01-20 12:35

Tim Bollinger looks in danger, he's low at 134m above the vilage of Higueroncito (which I think translates as 'come and buy your ice creams here').

2018-01-20 12:33

Will today see Nicola Donini, lying 2nd overall, do what his father Luca did here 5 years ago, win four Super Final tasks? Nicola has already won tasks 2, 3 and 9 in this Super Final!

2018-01-20 12:32

Maxime chose to go via the mountains to get to goal. I would have liked to do that too but I stayed with the rest of my group to mark the others as I had a really good day to discard if the route chosen by our group turned out to be bad or unlucky, which was the case in the end.

2018-01-20 12:31

Maxime wasn't a danger for my overall score (Luc was lying in 1st place overall) but there was Pierre Remy and Ulrich Prinz in my little group who could beat me overall if they did a really good score that day. Nobody behind us was a real danger because they were too far behind to get enough points.

2018-01-20 12:31

On the last day I was in the little group of 5 or 6 pilots who had managed to get a 10 minute lead over the 'peloton' with Maxime Pinot 2 minutes ahead of us. (Maxime was on a Boomerang 11 and Luc was on an Enzo3).

2018-01-20 12:31

'After eventually winning the first task by flying aggressively in front without any other strategy than following my instinct, then I focused on winning the competition and changed my strategy toward trying to keep the lead without risking too much.

2018-01-20 12:30

For the first few days of the race pilots don't really mark. As Torsten Siegel told me at the 2016 SF, they are more interested in being in a thermal with as many good pilots as possible rather than actually marking. (However) we did see some great tactical flying on the last day in Coeur de Savoie last spring from overall winner Luc Armant. Luc explains:

2018-01-20 12:30

Today is definitely going to be one of very close marking amongst the top 10.

2018-01-20 12:29

La Nina (wet) is not to be confused by El Nino (dry). Unfortunately, we are in a La Nina (little girl) cycle at the moment. This is a cooling of the Equatorial Pacific which occurs at irregular intervals and brings lots of rain to the Andes which we have experienced in this Super Final and has made the launch and walk outs very muddy.

2018-01-20 12:29

Unfortunately thanks to a certain 'little girl' the weather conditions have been quite difficult this week, but experienced task setting has pulled amazing tasks out of the bag that in the downpour first thing in the morning, we would have never thought possible.

2018-01-20 12:26

1993 World Cup winner, Richard Gallon, told me this morning, this last task is going to be 'very crazy' when you look at the unbelievable quality of pilots in the top ten.

2018-01-20 12:25

Julien Wirtz summed up today, this is going to be amazing, 117 of the world's best pilots, half of whom don't care about their scores because they've blown it already so will just be going for it and the other half who want to keep their places at the top end of the scoreboard and will be flying very conservatively. A lot could change in the scores today.

2018-01-20 12:24

Luke Nicol summed up how a lot of the pilots feel at this stage in the race. Their score is no longer relevant because they have bombed out so many times. Luke's strategy towards the end has changed to pushing out more and just having fun, take risks, for a lot of pilots it doesn't matter anymore if they get low and, above all, don't be a sheep!

2018-01-20 12:24

Everyone is staying in the mountains at the moment and very close together.

2018-01-20 12:22

Talking of which lets see how they are all doing.

2018-01-20 12:21

If we needed to change the name of the Super Final, I think 'Sky Gods R Us', would be quite fitting!

2018-01-20 12:21

There is a lot of cloud but it is above hill height, it's flat calm in the swimming pool at the moment so let's see how they get on in this last decisive task of this amazing 2017 Super Final, bringing together 18 overall World Cup winners and 11 women's World Cup winners.

2018-01-20 12:17

The big challenge is how long to stay in the mountains, when to break out into the flats.

2018-01-20 12:17

Today's task is a 94 km zigzag task up and down the valley.

2018-01-20 12:15

The Start is open!

2018-01-20 12:13

Oh and you have got just enough time to install it before the window opens in 4 minutes time (search for PWCA in the app stores).

2018-01-20 12:11

On the World Cup App, the Start is in red, the turn point cylinders are in blue and ESS is in Green. The 'follow' button lets you keep up with your favourite pilot.

2018-01-20 12:10

Just a reminder that to make it much easier for everyone to follow World Cup competitions, we now have a shiny new World Cup App which is available for iOS and Android devices (search for PWCA).

2018-01-20 12:10

In fact launch today could be described as the paragliding version of Glastonbury music festival!

2018-01-20 12:09

The state governor arrived under a massive armed guard at 11.45, unfortunately as he hadn't bought the new PWCA App he didn't realise that the window opened at 10.45 so there was nothing but mud left when he arrived.

2018-01-20 12:06

For those of you marvelling at the enthusiasm for this Super Final with so many supporters on launch, having hacked into the Colombian police network to bring you the Commentary, I can now reveal that half of them are plain clothed 'Intelligent Colombian police'.

2018-01-20 12:06

With it being Saturday there were once again lots of spectators on launch, at a rough guesstimate I would say there were twice as many paperazzi as onlookers.

2018-01-20 12:05

The pilots have all taken off into the mist from the lush green hills above Roldanillo. The nil wind made for a few interesting launches.There was sun on launch, low cloud at hill height and cirrus higher up out in the valley which isn't helping.

2018-01-20 12:03

The lowest Michael Sigel can score is 6590, so only Nicola Donini can beat him. Nicola needs to score more than 984 points to win overall. Anyone in the top ten could move up to get a podium place. Anyone in the top 15 could get a top ten place. Laurie Genovese and Meryl Delferriere could theoretically still get onto the overall podium and the title of First Lady is still all to play for.

2018-01-20 11:06

The task has been updated - todays race is now a 93.61 km Race to Goal The window will open at 11:10 Local Time and the Start is at 12:15

2018-01-20 11:04

The top ten overall winners as we go into the last task of this amazing competition are: Michael Sigel (5879), Nicola Donini (5837), Honorin Hamard (5811), Charles Cazaux (5804), Xevi Bonet (5797), Joachim Oberhauser (5755), Luc Armant (5751), Laurie Genovese (5745), Julien Wirtz (5734) and Ernesto Hinestroza (5722).

2018-01-20 11:03

The Super Final is all about today, who can win this last decisive task?

2018-01-20 10:59

A provisional task has been set - todays race will be a 93.61 km Race to GoalThe window times and start time are not yet declared - an update will be published when they are set

2018-01-20 08:33

Its the final day here in Colombia. The transports are just leaving for takeoff and the results are still close enough that almost anything could change them today.

We should have task news at about 11:00 - more then...

2018-01-19 19:22

It wasn't the longest task in the competition but it has been the most distant goal. Despite that 91 pilots made the goal today.

The results are now availble online.

We have just one more day to go and we start again tomorrow at 08:30 - tune in for the final race...

2018-01-19 17:47

So today's winning tactic. Francisco kept in the mountains when the others went out into the valley. He decided against the flats as there were no clouds. In the mountains there was a bit of rain but he could see some nice looking clouds that he could use to get to Ess. 7 km from goal, the other group caught up with him but he left lower than them and got Ess first.

2018-01-19 17:44

The goal bus, powered by icecream, has finally got back to HQ, bringing with it today's fastest across ESS, Francisco Javie Reina Lagos.

2018-01-19 15:46

In the meantime, we need the buses to trundle back from the goal field to give you today's scores, in the land of manana, that may take some time.

2018-01-19 15:44

Tomorrow after the last day, the grand finale, we'll be able to tell you whether or not this 2017 Super Final has beaten that record.

2018-01-19 15:42

The 2016 Super Final in Brazil where 10 out of 10 tasks were flown, with almost 1000 points available each day. Adding all the individual totals together, the pilots notched up an impressive 96,831 km over 10 days. The earth's circumference is 40,075 km, so they were flying almost a quarter of the way round the Earth every day for ten long days – two and a half times round the World in total!

2018-01-19 15:42

So which was the World Cup with the most tasks and longest distance flown altogether?

2018-01-19 15:41

The fatigue is beginning to show amongst the pilots, mainly evident by the burnt noses and lack of clean t-shirts left. However this is not the longest competition we've had as I found out in my rummage through the archives for facts and figures for our celebration of 25 years of World Cup history.

2018-01-19 15:37

Everyone has now landed at the end of a great flying day.

2018-01-19 15:24

Not only has Bill measured the gliders extremely proficiently but he has also had to pick a considerable amount of unidentified objects and squashed insects out of the them.

2018-01-19 15:21

After flying the task every day, Bill has then given up his evenings to measure the gliders, a long and technical task.

2018-01-19 15:20

Everyday the winners gliders are measured, to make sure the gliders aren't being trimmed out of their specifications which would make them go too fast and be dangerous.

2018-01-19 15:17

Well done to World Cup committee member Bill Hughes who has just made goal.

2018-01-19 15:07

As World Cup Technical Delegate, Ulric Jessop so rightly said at the beginning of this Super Final, 'We've got an incredible cast and stunning stage, one of the best paragliding venues in the world'.

2018-01-19 15:04

Laurie got to goal today 2 minutes ahead of 2nd overall Honorin Hamard. With leadout points taken into account this is going to be very close for the podium places which will be decided after tomorrow's last task in this absolutely amazing 2017 Super Final.

2018-01-19 15:01

Leading lady Laurie Genovese lying 3rd overall came into goal 6 minutes after fastest across ESS today, Francisco Javie Reina Lagos and current overall leader Michael Sigel

2018-01-19 14:56

Russel's 'eyesight of a mole' found Guy after 2 days of helicopter searching in the desert in 2012. Great to see them both flying in the comp together today.

2018-01-19 14:56

It's always an education to fly with Russell, and a pleasant surprise to land in the same goal field before he's managed to pack-up.

2018-01-19 14:55

I love this quote from Guy's Skywing's Pilot profile in 2013: Who do you most admire in the sport? The incomparable Russell Ogden, who despite having the eyesight of a mole, still manages to always see the thermal first.

2018-01-19 14:54

Russell Ogden (2:41) and Guy Anderson (2:44) have both made goal.

2018-01-19 14:49

World Cup veteran Richard Gallon has just made goal. He's flying with a very innovative wind screen to keep the wind off, very aerodynamic. For the moment it doesn't have windscreen wipers. He is thinking about adding a heater and a heads up display so that he can watch a film in the air.

2018-01-19 14:47

Clear the cars (and cows) from the goal field - Honorin is coming in to land and doesn't want another car landing ticket, as he still hasn't paid the one he got at the Worlds!

2018-01-19 14:46

Honorin Hamard who has led so much of this Super Final has crossed Ess and is making it into goal a lot later today than he would have liked.

2018-01-19 14:45

It looks as if Méryl Delferriere, first lady into goal today might be in the top ten overall again today. She was 9th = Overall yesterday.

2018-01-19 14:43

It looks as if Michael Sigel is once again amongst today's leaders which will consolidate his overall lead. He's been in the top ten in 5 out of 8 tasks so far.

2018-01-19 14:41

Luc told me this morning that he needs to fly conservatively now as he has already discarded too many tasks. So Luc you call that flying 'Conservatively'.

2018-01-19 14:39

It looks as if Luc was next at 2:33:50, he has just landed in goal.

2018-01-19 14:35

It looks as if Luc Armant was first across Ess (2:33:50) and has now made goal.

2018-01-19 14:34

Francisco Javie Reina Lagos is 1.2 km from ESS in the lead.

2018-01-19 14:32

Honorin is working a fairly flat slope. Michael Sigel is on final glide to ESS.

2018-01-19 14:32

Michael Sigel and Honorin Hamard are neck and neck with the leaders, both in the hills. Honorin is really low.

2018-01-19 14:30

Brad Gunnuscio is with the group in the hills. He was 2nd in the recent very successfu Pre World Cup at the new Zapotiltic site in Mexico organised by our partner Alas del Hombre.

2018-01-19 14:28

The lead gaggle have divided into two groups, one staying in the hills and the other group further out in the flats led by Tim Bollinger.

2018-01-19 14:26

And to prove what wonderful close flying family we are in the World Cup, Zak Hargraves, who was Safety Director during that memorable search in Sun Valley is here in Roldanillo cheering Guy on!

2018-01-19 14:24

Guy started flying in 1992 and did a few British Opens back in the 1990s but wasn't very good at taking turn point photos so opted for vol visa instead (hike and fly staying in posh hotels). He started flying PWCs in 2011. His accident in Sun Valley in 2012 'made me focus on how lucky we are to enjoy this beautiful game'.

2018-01-19 14:23

Guy Anderson is up with the leaders.

2018-01-19 14:22

2nd = yesterday. Francisco Javie Reina Lagos is still in the lead.

2018-01-19 14:20

The whole island of Iceland is holding its breath, Hans Kristjan Gudmundsson is heading out into the valley on his own. 15 km to ESS, he's high at 811 m and in a climb.

2018-01-19 14:16

Aaron has had a disappointing summer having chosen to compete in the X-Alps at the expense of the Worlds on his home turf, he then had to withdraw from the X-Alps in the early days due to a knee injury. This Super Final hasn't really been his competition, he's currently lying 67th overall.

2018-01-19 14:13

Defending Super Final champion Aaron Durogati is right up with the leaders today.

2018-01-19 14:11

Francisco Javie Reina Lagos has gone much further into the hills.

2018-01-19 14:10

It looks as if Gin Seok Song and Bastien De Luca are heading out into the flats. The rest are carrying on along the hills on the east side of the valley.

2018-01-19 14:08

Stephane Drouin, one of our more senior pilots, who is officially 41 years old (and has been for at least the last 10 years!) is also up with the leaders.

2018-01-19 14:00

Just a few km separate the top 50 pilots!

2018-01-19 13:57

Julien is currently in 9th position and really in need of a climb at 170 m above the ground, this is nail biting.

2018-01-19 13:56

Julien described the conditions here as always easy, it's rarely too strong. It always seems flyable here. The landscape is a mix of mountains and plains. Take off is straightforward. There are lots of easy places to land. The people are friendly which makes retrieve easy. However, in a competition there are lots of traps. The cycles are short, you see other pilots climbing but by the time you get to them the cycle has finished. There are often thermals near the ground but sometimes they don't work making it easy to mess up a task and land early.

2018-01-19 13:54

Julien Wirtz is also up with the leaders, he's been in the top 10 in 3 tasks so far.

2018-01-19 13:50

Gin Seok Song and Maxime Pinot have gone out from the mountains and the lead gaggle to have a bit of a Boomerang 11 confab away from the others!

2018-01-19 13:47

Jonathin told me, 'It's great to be able to fly every day (he told me that just before it started raining 2 days ago!). There is no classic schema, you need to adjust your plan and strategy all the time.'

2018-01-19 13:46

2016 French Champion Jonathan Marin is in the lead.

2018-01-19 13:44

There are currently 7 pilots flying Gin Genie Race 4 harnesses in the race, they are all delighted with them and hopefully mass production will start in February.

2018-01-19 13:43

Idris Birch is also with them. He's part of Gin's harness design team and finding his new Gin Genie Race 4 harness great, very stable, excellent aerodynamics.

2018-01-19 13:40

Maxime Pinot is in the lead, Michael Sigel is just behind him and Honorin Hamard is with them, this is an amazing all star race!

2018-01-19 13:37

Going deep into the mountains hasn't worked for Yassen and he has sadly dropped back quite a few places.

2018-01-19 13:36

Well I don't see any sign of Theo dropping down a gaggle today - but mustn't speak to soon!

2018-01-19 13:36

Theo also told me that he is finding the pilot quality across the whole competition way better than any competition he has ever been in before. If you drop into the 2nd gaggle it isn't the end of the World as they frequently leapfrog the lead gaggle. Everyone here thinks and knows they can win because they are all so good.

2018-01-19 13:35

Wow, Theo is in the lead! For once my Commentators Curse hasn't worked, he's in fact gained quite a few places!

2018-01-19 13:32

And where is young Theo at the moment? Ah yes, I see him, right at the front with the leaders, as usual. They are just about to head into the mountains, having overtaken Yassen.

2018-01-19 13:29

It's best to have no expectations results wise, just go there to have fun. Try and stay with the leaders and learn from them.

2018-01-19 13:29

Today's Thought for the Thermal comes from our youngest pilot Theo Warden. Theo has taken the World Cup by storm this year, coming in the top 10 in his first two World Cup tasks!

2018-01-19 13:28

To coincide with the new PWCA App, we are also launching 'Thought for the Thermal', a few words of advice each day from one of our more experienced pilots about competition flying.

2018-01-19 13:28

A very similar sentiment to our Thought for the Thermal today.

2018-01-19 13:27

Also with the group taking the turn point on the west side of the cylinder is Icelandic hero. winner of task 5, Hans Kristjan Gudmundsson. 'I not expecting another win, just enjoying learning from the best, it's a great environment and ambience here in Colombia,' he told me this morning.

2018-01-19 13:23

With the group to the west of the turn point is Samuel Nascimento. If we tried to beat the PG World record of 564km set in Brazil on 15/10/2016 by Samuel Nascimento and Rafael Saladini, we would be collecting pilots from the Gulf of Panama! Hopefully they won't be going that far today!

2018-01-19 13:20

They now need to go directly south to ESS in 36.2 km.

2018-01-19 13:19

Yassen Savov is still in the lead just ahead of the group to the east on the edge of the mountains.

2018-01-19 13:18

So we currently have two groups, one in the flats and one on the mountains to the east.

2018-01-19 13:17

It is pretty still out in the flats at the moment.

2018-01-19 13:17

Current race leader Michael Sigel is with this group.

2018-01-19 13:15

There is a group right in the middle taking the turn point on the west side of the cylinder.

2018-01-19 13:14

Yassen Savov is in the middle of the cylinder trying to get onto the mountains on the east side of the valley.

2018-01-19 13:14

There are lots of gaggles on the flats trying to get the first turn point. Keiko Hiraki is with them, she is one of the legends in this competiton and amongst the women who have won the most Women's Paragliding World Cups since Super Final Time began. In 1st place Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILLE (12), Keiko Hiraki (7), 3rd = Klaudia BULGAKOW and Elisa Houdry with 4 each.

2018-01-19 13:09

Also sticking to the moutains today is Yuki Sato Colombé. Yesterday Yuki had a 4km walk out through deep mud, great X-Alps training, she came back smiling and summed up the day, 'I hate walking'.

2018-01-19 13:07

Yassen is pulling away all the time.

2018-01-19 13:07

Today it is just so critical when the pilots come out of the mountains and into the valley. The pilots have had a southerly wind so far but that may change to a northely wind for the last part of the race.

2018-01-19 13:04

Yassen Savov is out on his own, and just got the first turn point right in the middle of the valley.

2018-01-19 13:04

Also back in the mountains is Peter Nägele. He also landed out in one of the earlier tasks in a very muddy soya field and is still picking soya beans out of his glider!

2018-01-19 13:01

Torsten told me laughing, his strategy for the rest of the competition was going to be to attach a tow rope to young Gin work colleague Michael Sigel.

2018-01-19 12:59

There have been lots of great retrieve stories in this competition. Aaron Durogati, Torsten Sigel and Marc Wensauer had to become boy scouts and build a bridge across a river to escape a field of giant sugar cane to get home one day!

2018-01-19 12:58

There have been lots of great retrieve stories in this competition. Aaron Durogati, Torsten Sigel and Marc Wensauer had to become boy scouts and build a bridge across a river to escape a field of giant sugar cane to get home one day!

2018-01-19 12:57

Also staying in the moutains and away from the sugar cane fields is Torsten Siegel.

2018-01-19 12:57

Laurie started flying in 2006. Her Dad took her tandem flying when she was a kid then she started flying on her own at 14 yrs old. She's a paragliding instructor in the summer and physio in the winter. 'Basically I break them in the summer and mend them in the winter' she told me.

2018-01-19 12:56

Staying in the mountains is first lady Laurie Genovese, who is the talk of this competition with four top ten OVERALL days out of 7 tasks!

2018-01-19 12:52

Also in the group pretty much on the course line: Dominik Breitinger, Clayton Resende and Miguel Diaz Ruiz.

2018-01-19 12:51

There is a group much more on the course line: Italian champion, in the top ten 3 x so far in this competition, Marco Busetta.

2018-01-19 12:49

Yassen is in a much better climb than the others, he's leading the comp, could this be his day? He's right in the middle of the valley with 10 km to go to the turn point.

2018-01-19 12:47

Yassen has got a climb and is in +3 and 516m above the ground. What did I say about that diet of agony and ecstacy!

2018-01-19 12:46

Charles Cazaux and Yassen Savov are in the middle of the valley and low.

2018-01-19 12:45

As Alfredo told me, one small wrong decision here, 1 turn in the wrong direction makes a big difference in these weak conditions and with this level of pilot, let's see how he gets on today.

2018-01-19 12:44

Alfredo Studer is with the group still in the mountains whilst the others are all making their way out onto the flats to get the turn point.

2018-01-19 12:42

Yassen is lying in 4th position for task wins ever in the World Cup with a grand total of 12, after Stefan Wyss (21), Hans Bollinger (15) and Alex Hofer (13)).

2018-01-19 12:41

Yassen Savov is leading the field out of the mountains onto the flats. He always gives us a diet of agony and ecstasy at any comp he is in, definitely one to watch today!

2018-01-19 12:39

Further back in the mountains than the others is French pilot Russell Ogden, as always wearing flying gear from his favourite clothing company Primark.

2018-01-19 12:36

Cristiano Ricci is also right out in the valley. He told me how much he enjoys the really high pilot quality in the World Cup. He's really noticed the Brazilian pilot quality has improved because there have been lots of World Cups there.

2018-01-19 12:33

Felix Rodriguez Fernandez is the only one out in the valley currently leading the race.

2018-01-19 12:28

So given the conditions there should be lots of time and lead out points today.

2018-01-19 12:27

There is a maximum of 67.5 lead out points if nobody gets to goal, 70 if only 1 person gets to goal. 160 if 70 % or more get to goal, rising to 162 if 90% or more are in goal. Therefore, until the last pilot has landed, the lead out points and thus the task winner can't be calculated and given in the Commentary during the race.

2018-01-19 12:26

Lead out points reflect how much of the task a pilot was with the leaders.

2018-01-19 12:26

Judging by the epic conditions today there should be lots of time points.

2018-01-19 12:25

If there are no pilots in goal, there are no time points. With everyone in goal there are 477 time points.

2018-01-19 12:25

Each pilot's score is made up of 3 parts. Time points (how fast they got to goal), points they only get if they get to goal. Distance points (how far they flew). Lead out points (how much of the time they were with the leaders).

2018-01-19 12:24

None of these will be a problem today so we should get another 1000 point task.

2018-01-19 12:23

The average distance of all the pilots flown must be more than half the nominal distance (50 km) for it to score 1000 points. If it is less, then the task will be devalued.

2018-01-19 12:23

If more than 10% of the pilots present are unable to take off due to the weather conditions this really starts to affect the scores and make the day out of less than 1000 points, which will result in pilots discarding it.

2018-01-19 12:23

The nominal time is set at the beginning of the competition, 1 hour 15 minutes. If the winner takes less than this to get to goal, then the task will be devalued.

2018-01-19 12:23

Just a reminder about how the scoring works.

2018-01-19 12:19

The pilots are all very close together on the hills behind Roldanillo so it is difficult to see who will be collecting up all the lead out points which are more heavily weighted in this initial part of the race.

2018-01-19 12:14

Joanna has been coming to Roldanillo since 2005 and has seen the town evolve from a dark scary place to a town full of vibrant life which now feels very safe.

2018-01-19 12:14

Just a word about Roldanillo from Joanna Di Grigoli.

2018-01-19 12:11

Through the gently fluttering palm leaves in the plaza in Roldanillo the sky looks perfect for paragliding, blue with fluffy cumulous clouds everywhere.

2018-01-19 12:04

They can go via the mountains on either side of the valley or straight down the flats in the middle.

2018-01-19 12:03

The idea of this task which goes directly south with just one turn point is to give the pilots lots of choices.

2018-01-19 12:03

That doesn't look a very interesting task I hear you say. Let me explain.

2018-01-19 12:02

The Start is Open and they are off for task 9 of the 2017 Super Final.

2018-01-19 12:02

The PWCA App has the Start clearly shown in red and the turn points in blue, with Ess in green. The 'Follow' button lets you follow your favourite pilot on the tracking and leaderboard.

2018-01-19 11:59

Just a reminder about the PWCA App, written by Ulric Jessop. It has four pages: Live Action (what is happening now), Latest Task (the last task which has been scored), Latest Overalls and 2017 Results. It is now available for iOS and Android devices (search for PWCA).

2018-01-19 11:58

2 minutes to the Start. The Start is really important, (shown in red on the App) a good start is key and gives confidence and the right frame of mind for the rest of the course.

2018-01-19 11:55

The top 5 pilots in a World Cup and the top 2 pilots in a Pre PWC get As.

2018-01-19 11:53

More than 40 pilots competing here have got an A! It is extremely difficult to get an A. In 2018 for example, only the top 5 French pilots in the French nationals will get an A, France is currently the highest ranked nation. Only the top 5 pilots in a World Cup and the top 2 pilots in a Pre World Cup get As, so they are certainly not easily come by.

2018-01-19 11:53

The top 5 from last years Super Final competing and definitely worth watching are: Aaron DUROGATI, Charles CAZAUX, Michael SIGEL, Xevi BONET DALMAU and Jean Marc CARON.

2018-01-19 11:52

The winners of each 2017 World Cup are here: Luc ARMANT (Coeur de Savoie, France), Stephane DROUIN (Nis, Serbia), Alfredo Studer (Disentis, Switzerland), Rafael SALADINI (Pico do Gaviao, Brazil) and Honorin HAMARD (Guayaquil, Ecuador).

2018-01-19 11:50

We have 8 pilots here who have qualified for and competed in all the Super Finals since Super Final time began (2009) ! Jean Marc CARON, Charles CAZAUX, Luca DONINI, Stephane DROUIN, Andreas MALECKI, Yassen SAVOV, Julien WIRTZ and Keiko Hiraki.

2018-01-19 11:50

This is an amazing competition to celebrate 25 years of the Paragliding World Cup with an all-star cast of sky gods.

2018-01-19 11:49

Laurie Genovese continues to be one of the big stories here, 4 out of 7 tasks in the top 10 OVERALL! She is currently lying 3th OVERALL. Everyone here would so love to see her on the podium amongst this phenomenally high level of pilots. Well done also to young French first lady Méryl Delferriere 9th = OVERALL in Task 8.

2018-01-19 11:48

So Michael Sigel is 1st after 7 tasks with 5141 pts, Honorin Hamard (5109), Laurie Genovese (5057), Charles Cazaux (5056), Nicola Donini (5023), Xevi Bonet (5023), Ernesto Hinestroza (5021), Jean Marc Caron (5013), Torsten Siegel (4994) and Luc Armant (4993).

2018-01-19 11:47

With two possible 1000 point task days to go, today Friday and tomorrow Saturday, the Super Final has turned into a nail biting duel between Michael Sigel on a Gin Boomerang 11 (5141pts) and Honorin Hamard on an Ozone Enzo 3 (5109). Michael went into the lead yesterday after a 6 minute victory over the others in the innovative Concentric Circles task.

2018-01-19 11:47

Well done to task 8 winners: Michael Sigel, Francisco Reina Lagos, Laurie Genovese (first lady) and top team Air'G Products.

2018-01-19 11:45

The start opens in 15 minutes time, the pilots are currently in position ready to go as soon as the Start Opens.

2018-01-19 11:07

Everyone has taken off and the radio commentator didn't pause once for breath throughout 117 paraglider launches.

2018-01-19 11:04

Yassen Savov and Richard Pethigal have just taken off, no doubt we'll catch up with them later round the race course.

2018-01-19 11:03

So who will win the Yellow underwear in this World Cup task today?

2018-01-19 11:02

There is a fast and furious radio commentator from one of the local stations on launch today, making the World Cup sound like the Tour de France.

2018-01-19 10:55

The pilots are launching no problems today. There is low cloud at hill height in front of launch but plenty of sun, so everyone is staying up easily.

2018-01-19 10:53

We had the entire Roldanillo police force on the case this morning to get my Internet access to work, they even brought me a table and chairs, ideal for coffee cups and sandwiches.

2018-01-19 10:51

Once again the Commentary is being brought to you courtesy of the Colombian Policia National's Internet connection on launch.

2018-01-19 10:49

The conditions look great, with sun and cloud, should be a good one.

2018-01-19 10:48

The pilots are launching for a 86 km race south with 1 turn point in the middle of the valley to spread everyone out.

2018-01-19 10:46

On the Roldanillo launch the French team with their cartographic table cloth are packing away their briefing, brushing the crumbs off the Andes and getting ready to launch.

2018-01-19 10:35

The task has been updated - todays race is now a 86.32 km Race to Goal The window will open at 10:40 Local Time and the Start is at 12:00

2018-01-19 09:58

A provisional task has been set - todays race will be a 86.32 km Race to GoalThe window times and start time are not yet declared - an update will be published when they are set

2018-01-18 18:43

Our last pilot landed in a very remote place - she had a long walk out but everyone is now back at HQ.

The results are now online.

With only two days to go there is everything to fly for - we start again at 08:30 tomorrow - see you then.

2018-01-18 16:51

Cameraman Philippe Broers flies a top of the range wing (Boomerang 11), not only does he manage to keep up with the best of them, but takes some amazing footage for World Cup TV at the same time! Having done a full day's top level flying, he then spends all night editing to produce some of the most stunning films ever made of our sport. Helmets off to Philippe - undoubtedly one of the great heroes in the world of paragliding.

2018-01-18 16:51

In 25 years of World Cup media, the most watched film ever on Paragliding World Cup TV was rather controversial so I've changed the pilot's name. Phoenix Rodriguez's infamous X rated 'Fire Flight', during the last Super Final in Roldanillo in 2012, got a staggering 60,000 hits.

2018-01-18 16:51

In the Commentary during this Super Final we have been celebrating 25 years of the Paragliding World Cup.

2018-01-18 16:41

A big thank you to all those of you who have supported and contributed to the live commentary over the past year. Hopefully it's now much easier to read on mobiles and tablets thanks to our new World Cup App which, if you haven't already done so, you can install on any Android or iOS device (search for PWCA in the App stores).

2018-01-18 16:40

If you go on an SIV course with somebody like Seiko Fukuoka at Airlinks Academy in Annecy you will learn to cope with many of the potentially dangerous situations we face in competitions.

2018-01-18 16:39

Learn how to avoid going into a spin.

2018-01-18 16:39

Each time you change your wing, go on an SIV course! Learn how to recover from a cravat which is the most common problem we face after a collapse.

2018-01-18 16:39

Go on an SIV course to properly understand your wing, how to handle it, this is the only way to really fly safely.

2018-01-18 16:36

Given the current wings, I've tried to go for 2 liners for the Thought for the Thermals. However, today's is a bit longer but very important. It comes from World and Super Final Champion Charles Cazaux. As I thought it may cause reserve bad Karma, I didn't post it during the race.

2018-01-18 16:36

To coincide with the new PWCA App, we are also launching 'Thought for the Thermal', a few words of advice each day from one of our more experienced pilots about competition flying.

2018-01-18 16:36

I think Charles Cazaux's description of the flying today was one of the best: it was like flying with sardines, they all flew together like a big shoal of fish.

2018-01-18 16:30

The other happy person on the goal hillock was the ice cream seller - he sold enough ice creams today to take early retirement!

2018-01-18 16:28

There was a touching moment in the goal field when Russel presented Michael with first prize - an enormous, brown, ugly stick insect! There were hugs and laughter all round.

2018-01-18 16:26

At the beginning Michael and Russell Ogden went half a km north into the cylinder before Michael changed his mind to go south. Michael pushed as much as possible knowing that there might be another group going in a different direction much faster. In a concentric circles task you can't just follow.

2018-01-18 16:16

On launch Michael told me it would be a difficult day and that with Concentric Circle tasks it is all down to luck!

2018-01-18 16:14

In the goal field whilst we were trying not to get eaten by the giant ants and also trying not to stand in a monster sized cow pat, I managed to ask today's winner Michael Sigel, his strategy.

2018-01-18 16:12

Apolgies for the irratic commentary from the goal field today, we got there only to find the giant ants had eaten the internet connection!

2018-01-18 16:11

Everyone has now landed.

2018-01-18 16:10

Klaudia Bulgakow has unfortunately landed just inside Ess.

2018-01-18 15:49

A small group tried the south-easterly side of the valley. Klaudia Bulgakow is the only one of them still in the air with 10 km still to go.

2018-01-18 15:47

The last of the northerly group are now arriving in goal.

2018-01-18 15:38

The task split into two groups: the south-westerly group were faster (and more numerous). Pilots from the northerly group have just arrived in goal, led by Andreas Nyffenegger, Christoph Trutmann and Guy Anderson.

2018-01-18 15:36

Michael Sigel pushed out by himself for a good climb in the valley. After that he had an unassailable lead.

2018-01-18 15:30

The next gaggle is arriving in goal with another just crossing ESS behind them.

2018-01-18 15:21

With Michael Sigel winning so handsomely and Honorin Hamard landing out, I think we can expect a change at the top of the rankings.

2018-01-18 15:19

We now have 47 pilots in goal with the next gaggle on its way to ESS.

2018-01-18 15:18

So the top ten are Michael Sigel, Julien Wirtz, Martin Rebord, Nicola Donini, Jean Marc Caron, Laurie Genovese, Hugo Laronze, Joachim Oberhauser, Marco Busetta and Cody Mittanck.

2018-01-18 15:17

Méryl Delferriere isn't far behind.

2018-01-18 15:16

Laurie Genovese was very fast again, arriving in 6th place.

2018-01-18 15:15

Now everyone else is arriving in goal within seconds of each other, led by Julien Wirtz.

2018-01-18 15:14

Michael Sigel has blitzed everyone with a 6 minute lead.

2018-01-18 15:00

The leaders to the south are going for a final top up of height before going for goal.

2018-01-18 14:58

The ones from the north are making good progress with Andreas Nyffenegger in the lead still.

2018-01-18 14:56

The big question everyone is asking between Ant bites is where is Honorin Hamard,

2018-01-18 14:55

Michael Sigel is climbing in a thermal on his own comfortably high in sight of goal and should make it in no problem.

2018-01-18 14:53

Michael Sigel is in the lead with 5km to go. Honorin Hamard looks far back but his tracker has been off line for 20 mins so he could be doing a vintage Honorin once again

2018-01-18 14:48

The leaders coming from the south are over Roldanillo and now have to turn out into the flats to get to goal.

2018-01-18 14:46

Virtually total cloud cover and lots of shade everywhere

2018-01-18 14:44

Andreas Nyffenegger is leading the group from the north, they are further behind but have the wind behind them for this last leg to Ess

2018-01-18 14:42

Michael Sigel and Felix Rodriguez Fernandez are with him

2018-01-18 14:42

Marco Busetta is in the lead coming back along the mountains to Roldanillo.

2018-01-18 14:40

There is very little wind but lots of sun shade cycles switching off the thermals.

2018-01-18 14:35

Both groups north and south have got the turn point. The group coming from the south have 12 km to go to get to goal.

2018-01-18 14:28

He got the sack from his first job, which was in a doughnut factory, for seeing how much jam they would take before exploding. He would definitely have been an inventor or an explorer if he wasn't in the wine business.

2018-01-18 14:28

Guy Anderson is the owner of one of the most innovative wine suppliers in the market, he also has a penchant for foie gras and toffee sauce (together).

2018-01-18 14:24

Leading the slow charge north Guy Anderson and Jouni Makkonen.

2018-01-18 14:22

Those going north are just passing Orbando.

2018-01-18 14:21

Most of those who took the route south east to get onto the hills on the east side of the valley haven't had much luck and have virtually all landed.

2018-01-18 14:20

The gaggle going south west are going to get the turn point first.

2018-01-18 14:19

1st French lady Méryl Delferriere is with the group going south west. She flew her own glider XC with her father when she was only 13 years old.

2018-01-18 14:16

Michael is currently lying second in XContest flying his Gin Boomerang 11 with flights: 533.77 km, 514.98 km, 482.01 km, 413.52 km, 285.86 km and 117.43 km.

2018-01-18 14:14

Michael Sigel is in the lead (but has had the wind behind him for this leg) and is 1 km from the turn point - the outer circle - turn point 2.

2018-01-18 14:12

Gin has been away from the World Cup for a while, he is absolutely amazed by the speed the pilots now fly ' if you stop to do just one extra turn you get left behind,' he told me 'my strategy today is going to be not to turn!'

2018-01-18 14:08

Allly told me it's very technical here. Speed isn't as important as thinking. It's important to have a strategy as to whether you are going to use the mountains or the valley. It's important to think about the time of day. There are different layers of wind here, low down it can be in one direction, higher up it can be in a completely different direction.

2018-01-18 14:06

In the group struggling north into a head wind are Allly Palencia and Gin Seok Song. A lot of their group have already landed.

2018-01-18 14:03

Task 5 was the first time that an Icelandic pilot has won a World Cup task. Everyone in Reykjavik is once again riveted to our Liveleader board today! And apologies to everyone in Iceland for my misspelling of their capital city in task 5's commentary.

2018-01-18 14:02

In the group going south east is Hans Kristjan Gudmundsson who won task 5 so convincingly - are we going to see more of the same from him today?

2018-01-18 14:00

For 10 km he flew at between 400 and 600m above the deck. A route choice which paid off, giving him a 77 point lead which none of the others could overturn and he was crowned King of the comp 5 days later.

2018-01-18 14:00

In Ecuador he analysed the choices as being: go up wind to find an easier route across the terrain or proceed in little hops, in a crab like fashion, making the most of lee side thermals. He took the birds flying into consideration, and chose the riskier second option.

2018-01-18 13:59

So how does Honorin do a 'Vintage Honorin'? In task 2 in Ecuador, we saw him once again making bold, daring decisions which paid off. He seems to have a second sense as to how the wind is going to work around the relief and to then make a rapid analysis of all the options, what's possible and choose the fastest.

2018-01-18 13:58

Are we going to see Honorin do another 'vintage Honorin' today?

2018-01-18 13:58

Race leader Honorin Hamard is with Felix.

2018-01-18 13:57

Along with his brother Raul, Felix is one of acro's founding Godfathers and cousin of acro champion Horacio Llorens.

2018-01-18 13:57

Felix told me 'The main thing is to have fun, fly with friends, get to goal but not take risks.'

2018-01-18 13:56

Felix Rodriguez Fernandez is taking the moutain route south west.

2018-01-18 13:54

Just a reminder that pilots are not allowed to land during the race to have a picnic, go to the loo etc, then take off again and continue the race. Once you land that is where you are scored to. If you have to land for safety reasons, as there is a problem with your glider, a problem with one of your lines etc, you must phone or radio the Meet Director for permission to take off again for the rest of the flight to count.

2018-01-18 13:53

It looks as if Dora has landed high up.

2018-01-18 13:53

The group going south west have the wind behind them so look as if they are in the lead but will have to go back into wind for the 2nd part of the task.

2018-01-18 13:48

Dora Goksal was leading the group going south west back over Roldanillo but has just landed.

2018-01-18 13:45

Weather wise we have quite a low cloud base, there are small cloud streets, a little bit of blue sky showing through, there is a high veil of cirrus especially to the south which might switch off the lift a bit.

2018-01-18 13:43

This is really spreading the pilots out. One group going north in the valley to take the outer cylinder (tp 2) north of Obando, another group going to the mountains to take the turn point south of Bolivar.

2018-01-18 13:39

The wind is from the north east.

2018-01-18 13:36

If Yassen does the same today and gets to goal it could be a great strategy.

2018-01-18 13:34

In task 9 in the 2016 SF Yassen Savov, in the concentric circles task, took a very different downwind route to everyone else putting him ahead in the critical first part of the race, giving him 109.5 lead out points, putting him at least 6 places ahead of those he landed beside.

2018-01-18 13:33

Yassen Savov's route directly south seems slightly better, at this critical point for lead out points.

2018-01-18 13:32

Needless to say Yassen Savov is going in a different direction altogether, directly south.

2018-01-18 13:31

Christoph Trutmann is going north west.

2018-01-18 13:30

Deonir Spancerski is going west.

2018-01-18 13:29

Yesterday's leader Xevi Bonet Dalmau is going north.

2018-01-18 13:28

Torsten Siegel is going north east.

2018-01-18 13:27

Honorin Hamard is going south west.

2018-01-18 13:26

Tim Bollinger is heading out north east.

2018-01-18 13:25

If you are watching this on the new PWCA App you will be able to see that they have all taken the red start cylinder and are now going to the green goal cylinder before heading out in any direction they want to the second turn point which is the big blue cylinder.

2018-01-18 13:21

The Start opened 15 minutes ago but due to the dense valley full of banana trees, the tallest bamboo I have ever seen and thick jungle vegetation we have to traverse to get back down every day the Commentary is running on Colombian time today.

2018-01-18 12:44

They are all off now. 15 mins to the Start

2018-01-18 12:39

The last 10 pilots are taking off.

2018-01-18 12:39

There is sun in the valley. If you can get off the task looks good.

2018-01-18 12:35

This is going to be a very difficult day.

2018-01-18 12:34

There are about 30 pilots on launch still to go with less than 30 mins to the Start.

2018-01-18 12:33

Those who have just taken off are not climbing and are sinking out towards Roldanillo.

2018-01-18 12:32

Lots of pretty gliders litter the cloudy sky in front of launch and lush green hill sides.

2018-01-18 12:30

Pink panther Yassen Savov is off after a frustrating wait on launch.

2018-01-18 12:28

Finally we can see the greenery on the hills across the valley.

2018-01-18 12:27

The window is open

2018-01-18 12:26

The window is closed.

2018-01-18 12:25

The police are running for their umbrellas

2018-01-18 12:24

They are launching but it is raining now.

2018-01-18 12:24

Guy Anderson is sitting by his glider still optimistic but we need to hurry. Start is in 40 mins

2018-01-18 12:21

The police are enjoying the salsa music whilst I continue to tap into their Internet connection!

2018-01-18 12:20

A quarter of the pilots are off, the rest are waiting in the mist on launch.

2018-01-18 12:07

A concentric circles task, or more aptly called, a 'cake task', by technical paragliding expert Sebastian Ospina, which translates into French as 'le pudding task' has been set.

2018-01-18 12:05

Lead out point baggers so far in this Super Final: Honorin Hamard, Maxime Pinot, Laurie Genovese, Nicola Donini, Jonathan Marin, Luca Donini, Tim Bollinger, Michael Sigel, Jean Marc Caron, Marco Busetta, Federico Nevastro, Xevi Bonet Dalmau and Pierre Remy

2018-01-18 12:05

In second place overall Michael Sigel, followed by, Xevi Bonet, Laurie Genovese (first lady), Charles Cazaux, Torsten Siegel, Ernesto Hinestroza, Jean Marc Caron, Luc Armant, and Nicola Donini.

2018-01-18 12:04

Current overall leader Honorin Hamard has kept his lead. He is 16 points ahead after 7 tasks so it is still very much all to play for with 3 possible 1000 point days left. A mere 120 points separate the top 10.

2018-01-18 12:04

Well done to yesterday's winners: Xevi Bonet, Nicola Donini, Felix Rodriguez, first lady Laurie Genovese and top team Air G'Products.

2018-01-18 12:03

Whilst we wait for the mist to lift here's a reminder of the scores.

2018-01-18 12:02

After forgetting their trackers yesterday Julien Wirtz and Honorin Hamard were first to collect them today.

2018-01-18 11:56

The task has been updated - todays race is now a 61.93 km Race to Goal The window will open at 11:50 Local Time and the Start is at 13:00

2018-01-18 11:55

Window is closed.

2018-01-18 11:55

There is zero visibility on launch due to the cloud.

2018-01-18 11:54

Take-off is a mud bath after all the rain.

2018-01-18 11:52

We still have a lot of low cloud at take-off.

2018-01-18 11:51

The pilots are launching for a 62 km concentric circles task.

2018-01-18 11:50

Apparently we have members of 'Colombia's Intelligent police force' on launch to look after us today.

2018-01-18 11:48

Once again a big thank you to the Colombian police on launch for letting us use their Internet connection.

2018-01-18 11:46

Good morning from a very soggy Roldanillo launch.

2018-01-18 11:29

This is a hard task to depict on a map (concentric cylinders are often hard to interpret). From the takeoff the pilots have to fly all the way to the goal (400m cylinder) and then fly away from the goal to a point on the big cylinder 23km away - but they can do this in any direction they choose - then back to the goal line in the center of the map. It should be interesting

2018-01-18 11:23

A provisional task has been set - todays race will be a 61.93 km Race to GoalThe window times and start time are not yet declared - an update will be published when they are set

2018-01-18 09:36

The shuttles have been postponed until 10:00 - then we all go up the hill

2018-01-18 08:52

There is a blue hole over Roldanillo. The buses are preparing to leave at 09:30.

2018-01-18 08:05

It was raining heavily as we walked to HQ earlier. It has stopped now but there is mist and low cloud on the hills. Threre is a good chance that it will clear up in an hour or two but, for now, the transports have been postponed for a while. More news will be here as soon as it is announced.

2018-01-17 17:59

The last pilots are now back - we managed to avoid the heavy rain in goal by minutes and we got 76 into goal today. The results are now available online. The buses will leave tomorrow at 08:30 and we should be in for another day of flying...

2018-01-17 16:58

Another remarkable event took place today. To celebrate 25 years of the Paragliding World Cup we did a photo shoot at launch of all the World Cup winners taking part in this competition, 29 altogether. Look out for it in our partner magazines: Parapente Magazine and Cross Country Magazine.

2018-01-17 16:54

Two other remarkable flights definitely deserve a mention, even though nobody made goal. Bodo Genz flew 194.8km in the World Cup in Granada, Spain, in 2000. Mark Watts flew 175 km in the Sun Valley, USA, World Cup in 2012.

2018-01-17 16:53

In Venezuela in 1996 10 pilots, led by Peter Brinkeby, made a 123.49km goal, less that 15km short of the current record of 137 km!

2018-01-17 16:53

The following day 18 pilots made a 126 km goal, with Jack Brown winning again.

2018-01-17 16:52

So who were the World Cup's big distance achievers over the last twenty five years? The longest task ever completed was in 2010 in Chelan, 137 km. Jack Brown was the only pilot in goal, time to end of speed: 6:18:27.

2018-01-17 16:52

Although today was a relatively short task by World Cup standards (69 km), we have had a lot longer.

2018-01-17 16:50

As for overall leader Honorin Hamard and ladies leader, Laurie Genovese, (lying in 3rd place oveall) we'll have to wait for the final results to see whether or not their scores will change after today's amazing task.

2018-01-17 16:47

Winner in task 2 and 3, Nicola Donini, will consolidate his place by coming 4th across ESS today and move back up from his drop down to 17th place after bombing out yesterday - but he was in good company, he and his Dad landed in the same field!

2018-01-17 16:43

Felix Rodriguez Fernandez was 88th this morning so today will really help him.

2018-01-17 16:42

Discards will play a part in how Xevi Bonet Dalmau's overall score will change - he was 9th this morning and 2nd across Ess today.

2018-01-17 16:39

So how are today's scores going to affect the overall positions? Clement Latour started off 86th this morning so his fast time will really help his score.

2018-01-17 16:29

Quite simply he really concentrated on staying higher than everyone else. He also got a lucky thermal at the point when the others didn't which allowed him to get ahead and go faster.

2018-01-17 16:27

So what was Xevi Bonet Dalmau's tactic for flying ahead of the others for so much of today's task?

2018-01-17 16:24

We are also very lucky to have such an experienced pilot as Meet Director. Pal Takats, apart from being an acro legend and holding the Guinness book of records for Infinity Tumbling in a tandem (140 Revolutions), has also taken part in the X-Alps twice (7th in 2017). He broke the Chilean XC record by flying 304 km and overflew Mount Fuji in Japan in 2016. Oh and he drives like a Columbian!

2018-01-17 16:16

Luchio from international paragliding guiding company Sky Nomads, is probably one of the most experienced competition organisers in the paragliding world, having already organised World Cups, Super Finals and World Championships.

2018-01-17 16:16

General Organiser Luchio Jimenez, despite running very calmly on Columbian time, is doing an amazing job organising this top of the range competition.

2018-01-17 16:14

Well done to the organisers for having faith in today, using the whole window, fitting the task in very neatly between two monsoons!

2018-01-17 16:06

All the pilots have now landed and it is absolutely tipping it down in Roldanillo, with rivers running down the streets.

2018-01-17 15:41

Given the monsoon conditions this morning, who would have thought we would have such a good task with 70+ pilots in goal.

2018-01-17 15:37

Honorin Hamard was 8th = across Ess less than 2 minutes behind the leaders.

2018-01-17 15:35

Pilots are still coming in to goal despite the approaching rain and hungry insects.

2018-01-17 15:28

Well done to Laurie Genovese first lady and 9th across Ess I think.

2018-01-17 15:20

Just a reminder that the pilots must cross the goal line to get their time points, landing short just before the goal line and throwing your instruments over the line won't do, the Flymaster trackers can spot a parabolic flight trajectory and the sound of the stamping of feet and fists in the back ground!

2018-01-17 15:17

Luc Armant, today's Thought for the Thermal has just arrived comfortably in goal.

2018-01-17 15:16

The beer and ice cream sellers are willing them on, seeing a sale with every wing which lands in the long goal field grass.

2018-01-17 15:15

The pilots trying to make goal now are really struggling. One has already landed between Ess and goal.

2018-01-17 15:14

There is massive rain storm over Roldanillo.

2018-01-17 15:13

Allly Palencia is just coming into goal low with Manuel Brechignac.

2018-01-17 15:10

Theo Warden is in the goal field sporting his Cross Country magazine top, looking anxiously at his tracker to see whether he made the line.

2018-01-17 15:09

Clement Latour, Xevi Bonet Dalmau, Felix Rodriguez Fernandez, Nicola Donini was the order across ESS.

2018-01-17 15:06

They are coming into goal thick and fast now, over the trees to the west, over the road to the east. Simon Pellissier very nearly took out 3 paparazzi.

2018-01-17 15:05

Caipirhina powered Rafael Saladini has done the same but was even closer to the line than Xevi - he landed right on it!

2018-01-17 15:03

Xevi Bonet Dalmau has just scrapped into goal very low .

2018-01-17 15:02

The leaders are just coming in to goal.

2018-01-17 15:01

45 have got Ess pretty much all together!

2018-01-17 15:00

They have all crossed Ess with Clement in the lead.

2018-01-17 15:00

There is a big gaggle on Xevi and Clement's tail. The order appraoching Ess is Clement Latour, Nicola Donini, Xevi Bonet Dalmau, Alfredo Studer, Felix Rodriguez Fernandez.

2018-01-17 14:56

In the goal field where the ants are making a 2 lane insect motorway through the grass and have just made a diversion into my bag of sandwiches.

2018-01-17 14:53

Xevi Bonet Dalmau and Clement Latour have just come into view of the goal

2018-01-17 14:52

Could this be Seb's first top 10 task in this competition?

2018-01-17 14:50

Sebastian Ospina is in the top 10, everyone in the Cross Country magazine head office has put down their glasses of very expensive Prosecco to watch.

2018-01-17 14:47

Rafael Saladini is in 3rd place, the Caipirinha strategy obviously worked today!

2018-01-17 14:46

Clement Latour is in the lead with Xevi Bonet Dalmau 3 km ahead of the rest.

2018-01-17 14:43

The top 20 have got the last turn point.

2018-01-17 14:34

Task committee member and Sponsored by XC Magazine, Sebastian Ospina, is with the leaders, he knows this area very well.

2018-01-17 14:30

Leading lady Laurie Genovese is once again with the leaders, they are coming out from the mountains and about to get the last turn point.

2018-01-17 14:28

The sky is looking great 50 % cloud cover.

2018-01-17 14:27

Nicola Donini and Xevi Bonet Dalmau have taken the turn point. There is a group coming down the middle of the valley who will act as thermal markers for them.

2018-01-17 14:24

The small groups out in the valley are doing better as the sun has now come out.

2018-01-17 14:20

The conditions are improving in the valley but the big group by the antennas are committed to taking the same route as leads Xevi Bonet Dalmau and Nicola Donini

2018-01-17 14:14

The following gaggle are low over the antennas on the hill after Roldanillo.

2018-01-17 14:13

Xevi Bonet Dalmau is way out in the lead

2018-01-17 14:12

In the evening the square comes to life with stalls selling everything from multi coloured popcorn to fruit salad to all shapes and sizes of crisps and chips!

2018-01-17 14:09

In the vibrant plaza there are stalls selling Chontaduro, a little red fruit, half chilly half tomato, that none of us have been brave enough to try yet!

2018-01-17 14:05

Everyone in the square is looking at the sky, there is a big chance there will be an accident with people walking into the palm trees as no one is looking where they are going, all eyes are on the sky.

2018-01-17 14:02

A big group are flying over the palm trees in the square in Roldanillo.

2018-01-17 13:55

Felix Rodriguez Fernandez has gone further into the mountains. This is where he who dares wins.

2018-01-17 13:54

The sky is very black especially the further you go back into the mountains up towards launch.

2018-01-17 13:54

We've just watched Xevi Bonet Dalmau flying fast over the swimming pool at HQ in Roldanillo.

2018-01-17 13:50

Just a reminder about the new PWCA App. We would be most grateful for as much social media coverage as possible for our new World Cup App to keep up our Worldwide presence. Most people watch us on mobiles or tablets, the App gives them the best possible viewing experience and can be easily installed for the price of a beer on all iOS and Android devices (search for PWCA in the App stores).

2018-01-17 13:48

Today's Thought for the Thermal comes from Luc Armant who is leading the competition at the moment: 'A very quick trick: open your eyes 360 degrees 100% of the time!' Seems to be working for Luc today.

2018-01-17 13:47

To coincide with the new PWCA App, we are also launching 'Thought for the Thermal', a few words of advice each day from one of our more experienced pilots about competition flying.

2018-01-17 13:46

On the course line the clouds are taking over again. It is shaded out all along the route. The pilots are going to have to be very patient and take every climb that they can.

2018-01-17 13:44

The Super Final also saw the creation of 'Legends' or for us mere mortals, 'Sky Gods', thus those who have won the Super Final or the Worlds always have a place in the Super Final.

2018-01-17 13:44

Previously your place came from your overall score across all the World Cups that year giving those who had the time and money to go to all the events a big advantage.

2018-01-17 13:44

The first Super Final under the current system was in Poggio Bustone in Italy in 2009. The main reason for the Super Final system was so that pilots wouldn't have to go to all the rounds to win overall. Now they just have to do one World Cup to qualify for the Super Final.

2018-01-17 13:44

Why the Super Final system?

2018-01-17 13:44

In the Worlds/Europeans, pilots can communicate by radio with their national team, if they are in a sufficiently big nation to have a team. During the SF there is no pilot to pilot radio communication.

2018-01-17 13:43

In the Worlds/Europeans each nation has an allocation of pilots. In the Super Final it is strictly by pilot quality. E.g. there are 28 French pilots in the SF, France the top nation in the Worlds, had an allocation of 6 pilots.

2018-01-17 13:43

The Worlds/Europeans are national team events, the Super Final is individuals.

2018-01-17 13:43

What's the difference between the Super Final and the World/ European Championships?

2018-01-17 13:42

Also up at the front is Charles Cazaux the only pilot to have ever won both the World Championships in 2011 and the Super Final in 2009.

2018-01-17 13:38

Pierre is having an amazing year, 1st in the Worlds and in the French Open in Laragne in 2017.

2018-01-17 13:36

Pierre Remy is one of the leaders in the task at the moment.

2018-01-17 13:34

Just a reminder about the overall places. Honorin Hamard continues to maintain his lead overall. Honorin (3674 pts), Michael Sigel (3662) and Laurie Genovese (2649), first lady and third overall. Top team Ozone.

2018-01-17 13:33

Michael Sigel is at the front and 2nd overall in the race.

2018-01-17 13:32

Anything which is working is very very weak, less than 2m/s

2018-01-17 13:31

A lot of pilots are getting very low on the front ridge and landing. There is a lot of shade once again, the clouds look quite dark at this point in the task.

2018-01-17 13:30

A few pilots have gone east back towards the mountains and have landed.

2018-01-17 13:29

There is about 80% cloud cover at the moment, but there are some nice sunny blue patches.

2018-01-17 13:27

The leaders have all chosen the route along the front of the ridge.

2018-01-17 13:22

Virtually everyone has now got the first turn point.

2018-01-17 13:21

Having got the first turn point the leaders are now heading further into the mountains to get a better route before heading south to the last turn point.

2018-01-17 13:18

A lot of the pilots used the ROLDANILLO OPEN last week to practice for the Super Final. Gleb Sukhotskiy (3rd overall), Brad Gunnuscio (4th), Jouni Makkonen (6th), Peter Nägele (7th), Cristian Andres Agudelo Escobar (9th) and Henry Alexander Alcazar Rincon (11th). Bénédicte Saury was first lady.

2018-01-17 13:17

Benedicte Saury is up with the leaders. She did well in the Open here in the week before the Super Final, first lady in 3 tasks.

2018-01-17 13:15

The top 10 have now got the first turn point.

2018-01-17 13:14

Remember that they don't have to follow the actual course line or go into the centre of the cylinders.

2018-01-17 13:14

It's going to be interest to see what route they take now. The direct route in the flats hasn't worked that well over the last few days due to lots of shading.

2018-01-17 13:12

There is an easterly wind. It is quite shaded in the flats, but the slopes are working well keeping everyone in the mountains.

2018-01-17 13:10

Xevi Bonet Dalmau has taken the lead.

2018-01-17 13:09

This is Vagnor's first time flying in Roldanillo so he doesn't have any expectations he told me. But apparently he said that just before he did his 524km flight!

2018-01-17 13:08

Vagner was one of the '500 Club', in the autumn, a group of 6 Swiss (including Michael Sigel) and 2 Brazilian's who went tow launching in the north east of Brazil the country where the sun rises over a landscape of mega XC possibilities.
Vagner flew 524 km on his Ozone Zeno.

2018-01-17 13:06

Vagner Campos is also out in front above the ridge.

2018-01-17 13:05

When I asked Clayton about the most amazing thing he had done he recounted a long story in Spanish which had all the Brazilians in tears laughing, but nobody would translate if for me other than to say that he is single!

2018-01-17 13:04

In front of the rigde which borders the valley Clayton Resende is one of the leaders.

2018-01-17 13:03

Tim Bollinger has broken away and has gone behind the ridge that the others are on.

2018-01-17 13:02

Samuel Nascimento told me on launch that the conditions here are not good for the Brazilians, low cloud and weak thermals. They are going to change their strategy and drink more caipirinha for the rest of the competition!

2018-01-17 13:00

It's good to see the big Brazilian Rafael Saladini up with the leaders.

2018-01-17 12:59

In task 1, 3 and 5 Cody landed just short of goal, pushing too hard he has used up all his discards so is going to have to fly very conservatively for the rest of the competition. However I think he may have decided to scrap that idea today.

2018-01-17 12:56

Cody Mittanck is one of the leaders in the hills.

2018-01-17 12:55

So far everyone is taking the line along the mountains except for Cristiano Ricci.

2018-01-17 12:53

These adjustments were incorporated into the 2016 scoring. Further data was used to make more adjustments for the 2017 season to encourage pilots to fly ahead of the gaggle to get a consistent reward. So far no more changes have been made for the 2018 season.

2018-01-17 12:52

The committee also changed the distribution of lead out and time points for safety reasons so as not to encourage pilots to push full bar to ESS at the end of a race.

2018-01-17 12:52

The Paragliding World Cup committee recognised that the reward in no way reflected the endeavour and that the pilot who had led out for virtually the whole task should have been the winner.

2018-01-17 12:52

In the final scores, Marko was tenth, with only 26 leadout points more than the following gaggle.

2018-01-17 12:52

About 15 km from goal the gaggle over took him. Marko, who had been leading the whole way, crossed ESS 12th, 4 minutes behind the first pilot.

2018-01-17 12:51

A major factor in the recent increase in lead out points came following task 1 in the Paragliding World Cup in Bir, India in 2015. Marko Novak flew almost the whole task (nearly 100km) several kilometres in front of the gaggle, alone.

2018-01-17 12:51

They will then catch up with the others, who are very kindly marking the thermals ahead of them and all arrive in goal together. But the lead out point baggers will have an unbeatable bonus from the start – crafty or what!

2018-01-17 12:51

Just after the Start look out for pilots following the course line exactly, really pushing out but risking getting low is a sure sign of a confirmed lead out point bagger, or lead out point addict. They want to be at the front as much as possible along the course line, even if it means risking being low.

2018-01-17 12:50

The lead out points add a big dose of tactics to the race. It's always interesting to see who is 'harvesting lead out points', (especially at the beginning when they are more heavily weighted), a phenomenon of pilot we call a 'lead out point bagger'.

2018-01-17 12:49

Don't forget that in this first part of the race the lead out points are much more heavily weighted than later on in the race.

2018-01-17 12:48

Now that the Start is open the pilots have to fly north east to the first turn point, the route choices being once again mountains or flats.

2018-01-17 12:47

Fortunately both managed to top land and take them in time to get to the Start.

2018-01-17 12:46

The big drama on launch today was race leader Honorin Hamard and Julien Wirtz taking off without their trackers.

2018-01-17 12:45

The Start is now open

2018-01-17 12:37

So far the rain is not causing problems, they should be able to circumnavigate the rain. There is quite a lot of sun but base is quite low.

2018-01-17 12:35

The pilots are very spread out with 10 minutes to the Start

2018-01-17 11:47

The sun is breaking through and launch is going nicely .

2018-01-17 11:46

There is a lot of cloud at all levels around launch.

2018-01-17 11:43

The trickiest part will be taking off without getting rained on. But so far so dry.

2018-01-17 11:42

Today we have a short 69km task near Roldanillo

2018-01-17 11:39

The pilots are keen to get off as quickly as possible and not get stuck in the mist on launch like yesterday.

2018-01-17 11:38

The window is open, the launch frenzy is on

2018-01-17 11:36

A few wind dummies are taking off but it needs to clear a lot before it becomes taskable.

2018-01-17 11:35

There is once again a lot of cloud around the launch

2018-01-17 11:27

The task has been updated - todays race is now a 68.77 km Race to Goal The window will open at 11:45 Local Time and the Start is at 12:45

2018-01-17 10:46

A provisional task has been set - todays race will be a 68.77 km Race to GoalThe window times and start time are not yet declared - an update will be published when they are set

2018-01-17 09:34

The weather has done that 'Colombian' thing and it is now sunny and looking promising for a task. The buses are leaving for takeoff and we should have task news in a couple of hours - keep watching

2018-01-17 07:59

The weather is cold and misty this morning - there is low cloud on the hills and the atmosphere is damp.

WE are still hopeful that it will clear but, for now, the transports have been delayed to 09:00.

2018-01-16 18:51

Interesting task - the Obando turnpoint was always going to cause problems (and it did) - 60 made goal though.

Everyone is now back and the results are available online - see you tomorrow.

2018-01-16 18:49

OK, so to see who are today's fastest pilots you can now look at the results which are just being put on line.

2018-01-16 17:31

The fastest average speed around a task in the twenty five year history of the World Cup was in Linhares Portugal, in 2010: 48.7 km/h by Gregorio Gonzalez Oliva on an Ozone Mantra R10.2.

2018-01-16 17:30

For a short task it's been a long day. In my look back at the last 25 years, I looked at how fast the pilots few. I discovered that the first time that an average speed of more than 40 km/h (40.2) was reached in a Paragliding World Cup task was in 2009 in Poggio Bustone, Italy at the first ever Super Final, by Luca Donini flying a Gin Boomerang Proto.

2018-01-16 17:25

We're still waiting for one of the goal buses to get back, a police road block caused rather a long delay next to a ditch full of mosquitos!

2018-01-16 16:03

Oh and if you are on that plane which has been circling Cartago airport just north of Roldanillo for the last few hours, you should be allowed to land fairly soon.

2018-01-16 16:01

Don't forget that the commentary, tracking, leaderboard and results are all much easier to read on the new World Cup App which, if you haven't already done so, you can install for the price of a beer (search for PWCA in the App stores).

2018-01-16 15:58

Most of the pilots who landed in goal are now on the buses heading back to HQ so we should have an idea of the winners fairly soon.

2018-01-16 15:51

He optimised his turns at the last turn point. There was a little bit of cumulus above the goal field so he knew it would be buoyant, he took that into consideration when deciding when to go on final glide.

2018-01-16 15:49

So what was Charles Cazaux 's winning tactic?

2018-01-16 15:28

Overall leader Honorin Hamard came into goal 3 minutes behind leader Charles Cazaux

2018-01-16 15:15

The sky above the airport is full of gliders

2018-01-16 15:14

Another 15 are crossing the runway into goal.

2018-01-16 15:13

For Michael Sigel just packing up, today can only be described as stressful. After being stuck on launch he was late for the Start, but this paid off as the lead gaggle went down half way round.

2018-01-16 15:10

Another 4 gliders are coming across the grey skies into the muddy airfield.

2018-01-16 15:08

The top 21 are packing up next to the roasting hot black tar on the runway.

2018-01-16 15:07

Laurie Genovese has just landed in goal, there has been a problem with her tracker but I can confirm she is standing on the runway in front of me.

2018-01-16 15:04

The Gin team are doing a team hug Michael Sigel and Torsten Siegel

2018-01-16 15:03

Méryl Delferriere first lady today has just touched down gracefully in goal.

2018-01-16 15:01

Luc Armant and Aaron Durogati have just crossed the line with wing tips touching.

2018-01-16 14:59

The top 10 are crossing the goal line.

2018-01-16 14:58

The ice cream seller has just set his stall up in the middle of the runway.

2018-01-16 14:57

Charles Cazaux, Michael Sigel and Gleb Sukhotskiy are getting end of speed

2018-01-16 14:56

The leaders are just coming into view, nice and high no problems today

2018-01-16 14:55

The leaders have just got the last turn point.

2018-01-16 14:53

For those of you who missed the Commentary for task 5, there were cockroaches the size of cats in the goal field. (OK very slight exaggeration, but I couldn't think of anything else starting with a C).

2018-01-16 14:49

I am just stepping out onto the runway to await the first pilots.

2018-01-16 14:47

The last few planes are being put back in the hangar.

2018-01-16 14:44

Hum, I wonder how we would get on trying to ask the control tower at London's Heathrow airport to do that.

2018-01-16 14:43

We can now see the leaders coming into view. The control tower has been instructed to stop planes landing for the next 2 hours.

2018-01-16 14:42

Fortunately today's goal field is a lot more civilised than on previous days. In fact it is an airport - today's commentary has in large part been sent to you from a luggage carousel!

2018-01-16 14:37

Michael Sigel and Tim Bollinger last to take off today are in the lead, what an amazing day.

2018-01-16 14:35

Benedicte made us all laugh when she landed out in the rain earlier on in the week, she text to say there was no rush to collect her, 'I don't rust and I don't shrink either!

2018-01-16 14:33

Benedicte Saury is just 2 km short of turn point 2

2018-01-16 14:31

This task is really splitting everyone up. There is a group at the back still valiently trying to get the second turn point.

2018-01-16 14:29

Honorin Hamard is the only competitor to have been in the top 10 in each task so far.

2018-01-16 14:29

Halfway through the competition and only 66 points separate the top 10! It is still very much all to play for!

2018-01-16 14:29

Overall Honorin Hamard (2954pts) is in the lead, followed by Nicola Donini (2944), Joachim Oberhauser (2923), Charles Cazaux (2912), Michael Sigel (2910), Laurie Genovese (2904), Ernesto Hinestroza (2903), Torsten Sigel (2899), Jean Marc Caron (2893) and Luc Armant (2888).

2018-01-16 14:28

Just a reminder of the overall scores so far.

2018-01-16 14:27

Laurie Genovese is at the front, she is having an amazing competition.

2018-01-16 14:24

Peter Nägele is in the group about to make turn point 2, he told me this morning that today there would be no room for mistakes because you won't have time to catch up, let's see if his group can catch up with the leaders as they all head along the mountain range.

2018-01-16 14:21

Rémi Bourdelle is about to start on this last leg north, this morning he told me at this point in the course they would be really watching the leaders carefully and it would be impossible to make route choices before they got there, everything would depend on the conditions.

2018-01-16 14:17

Just a historical note on this last turn point. This is where task committee member Sebastian Ospina did his first ever flight, on a glider which was less efficient than a bin bag he told me, but all the same he was hooked instantly and has been making a great contirubition the the sport every since.

2018-01-16 14:15

The most efficient route is to go high.

2018-01-16 14:14

This last leg going north along the mountains is going to be difficult but at least the clouds are above hill height.

2018-01-16 14:13

The group who went north are now getting across to the second turn point too.

2018-01-16 14:12

The top 15 have now got the turn point and will be following Tim into the hills.

2018-01-16 14:10

Terrain wise in the flat valley floor they are flying over sugar cane fields, lush green fields full of cows which I am sure are giving off the occasional thermal, papaya trees, palm trees, monster bamboo and bearded (saman) trees.

2018-01-16 14:07

Another group have gone north well off the course line, I'm not sure how they intend to get the turn point.

2018-01-16 14:06

Marco Busetta and Biagio Alberto Vitale have got it too.

2018-01-16 14:05

Tim Bollinger has just got the second point turn, the only one so far.

2018-01-16 14:03

This is not helping the lack of sun causing shade cutting out the thermals.

2018-01-16 14:01

There is a lot of smoke over the course line near where the pilots have landed which is shutting out the sunshine.

2018-01-16 13:56

In Task 5 we saw the same phenomenon as we saw so many times in Pico do Gaviao, the lead group bombing out and the following gaggles coming along later when the cycle had changed and making it to goal. Leaders Tim Bollinger, Michael Sigel and Jean Marc Caron got the top lead out points in Task 5 but none of them made goal.

2018-01-16 13:53

Well having said that the leaders have just landed. Marc Wensauer, Luca Donini, Yael Margelisch, Yongtae Ahn, Nicola Donini and Maxime Pinot

2018-01-16 13:51

A good point that Marc made at the beginning of the comp was that there are no big equipment changes and new wings for the pilots to get used to in this Super Final (unlike last year). We've never had such a level playing field, everyone has had time to become very experienced on two fairly similar wings, the Gin Boomerang 11 and the Ozone Enzo 3, and of course, let's not forget the Zeno.

2018-01-16 13:50

Marc Wensauer is out in front.

2018-01-16 13:48

Maxime Pinot is out in front. He's been doing a lot of hike&fly this year. He told me needs to be more relaxed during races and less stressed about winning, oh and not to think about snakes!

2018-01-16 13:42

The base is at about 2000m,light SW winds, there is still not much sun on the flats

2018-01-16 13:38

Positive as ever, he did then point out that at least from his current position of 3rd last he has the best improvement potential of any pilot in the comp!

2018-01-16 13:34

Rafael told me this morning that after 4 bad tasks he's going to give up paragliding and write a book '1St to Last in 3 months'! Let's hope today makes him change his mind!

2018-01-16 13:30

Followed by Rafael Saladini.

2018-01-16 13:29

Next Stefan Bernhard

2018-01-16 13:29

The leaders have got the first turn point. Well done Felix Rodriguez Fernandez, after a very difficult misty start.

2018-01-16 13:23

Marc Wensauer, Julian Robinson and Russell Ogden are in the lead about to get the first turn point.

2018-01-16 13:21

Yassen Savov, Pierre Remy and Raul Penso are taking a slightly different route to the west but otherwise everyone is sticking together.

2018-01-16 13:06

There is very little wind in the valley.

2018-01-16 13:06

The first half of the race NE to the first turn point is a bit slow but after the turn point they will probably move up a gear with the better conditions.

2018-01-16 13:03

That is exactly what Brad is doing today!

2018-01-16 13:02

Today's Thought for the Thermal comes from SIV instructor, Brad:Remember to have fun. It's the reason you fly, it's the reason you compete. Winning is cool and all but having fun, losing or winning, feels a lot better at the end of it all.

2018-01-16 13:00

Brad Gunnuscio who was one of the last to take off is in the lead!

2018-01-16 12:58

There is more and more sunshine as we continue up the course line.

2018-01-16 12:57

The weather further north looks much better, the clouds are better formed with patches of blue

2018-01-16 12:56

The gaggles are spread out vertically.

2018-01-16 12:53

The route in the mountains is working best. It is very over cast in the valley.

2018-01-16 12:46

There is some sun in the valley, but unfortunately there is 90% cloud cover making it very difficult for the pilots

2018-01-16 12:43

The leaders have already divided into two groups, one heading out into the flats, the other sticking to the mountains on the west side of the valley.

2018-01-16 12:42

It looks as if they have got the Start with the others. What a nail biting launch, the leaders and most of the Swiss team stuck on launch unable to take off due to the low mist.

2018-01-16 12:36

The Start is open. Have Honorin Hamard and Michael Sigel, 1St and 5th overall managed to get to the Start, which has just opened, in time?

2018-01-16 12:16

The window opened they all got off

2018-01-16 12:11

With 20mins to the start Michael Sigel, Honorin Hamard and Tim Bollinger are stuck on launch

2018-01-16 11:57

This is nail biting, race leader Honorin Hamard is stuck on launch due to the mist.

2018-01-16 11:56

An excellent trip was organised yesterday, to what can only be described as Colombia's version of Disney Land but set in a coffee plantation museum rather than the Magic Kingdom!

2018-01-16 11:55

Everyone is keen to get into the air after yesterday's rest day.

2018-01-16 11:52

The waiting continues nobody can take off with the zero visibility on launch.

2018-01-16 11:51

Will there be enough time for the 20 pilots left on launch to get to the Start by 12h30?

2018-01-16 11:48

The window is closed due to orographic mist on take-off

2018-01-16 11:33

What a mellow sight yellow, green, white, orange, pink, blue gliders taking off into the mist.

2018-01-16 11:20

The base is very, very low.

2018-01-16 11:20

The task has been updated - todays race is now a 66.16 km Race to Goal The window will open at 11:30 Local Time and the Start is at 12:30

2018-01-16 11:19

The window is open, the pilots are taking off, Start is 12.30h.

2018-01-16 11:18

The Brazilians have no cartographical tablecloth, but they are certainly not lacking in animated ideas and laughter about how to fly the task.

2018-01-16 11:17

The French have their Parastick team tablecloth which is sadly lacking in baguette crumbs at this competition but not lacking in quality advice about the task thanks to their excellent team coaches: Didier Mathurin and World Cup winner Stephane Drouin, Super Final veteran Julien Wirtz and 2016 French champion, Jonathan Marin along with World and Super Final champion, Charles Cazaux.

2018-01-16 11:16

Although the Super Final does not have nation teams there is a Portuguese and a French briefing about the task every morning. The Brazilians hide behind the banner on the right of launch and the French hide behind the banner on the left of launch.

2018-01-16 11:16

A shorter 66km task zigzagging north up both sides of the valley has been set.

2018-01-16 11:13

All the pilots have their wings laid out on launch, waiting for the low cloud to clear.

2018-01-16 11:11

So a very big thank you to Super Intendente Senior C. Annabis.

2018-01-16 11:09

Today's Commentary is coming to you from the Colombian National Policia network, for which I have just had to have my photograph taken with lots of men with very big guns.

2018-01-16 11:05

Good morning from launch at Roldanillo in Colombia

2018-01-16 10:36

The task has been updated - todays race is now a 66.16 km Race to Goal The window will open at 11:00 Local Time and the Start is at 12:00

2018-01-16 10:19

A provisional task has been set - todays race will be a 66.16 km Race to GoalThe window times and start time are not yet declared - an update will be published when they are set

2018-01-16 08:05

The rest day proved popular. Day 7 of the competition is here and its back to business. The transports will be leaving HQ for the takeoff at 08:30.

ALL PILOTS - Please note - the transports have been instructed to leave on time and not to wait for late pilots. If you are late you will need to make your own arrangements to get to the takeoff.

2018-01-14 20:11

Tomorrow's activity is a trip to a coffee park where we will be able to taste coffee and traditional local food. Cost 60,000 pesos/20 euros approx. If you would like to go please be at HQ at 8.45h return 16h approx.

2018-01-14 18:55

The day shut down at exactly the wrong time (t happens...) so the retrieve has been a bit complex. \the last pilots are now back at base and the scores are available online.

PLEASE NOTE - tomorrow (Monday) is the official rest day so there will be no task. An excursion is planned to a coffee plantation (parque del cafe) - the buses will be leaing at 08:00 and the trip is an all day visit.

2018-01-14 17:30

Everyone has now landed safely and we will have the scores online as soon as Colombian time allows.

2018-01-14 16:49

The award for the stupidest place to land goes to a couple in the 1996 Venezuelan World Cup (when you could compete on a tandem and there was an A and B comp). They landed right in the middle of a cannabis plantation with no way out, surrounded by a 3m high barbed wire fence. The angry owner, brandishing a very large loaded gun, fortunately didn't pull the trigger; if he had, there would be no Technical Delegate, Scores or Commentary in this Super Final!

2018-01-14 16:49

The longest, and most miraculous retrieve ever, was of Guy Anderson, two full days with Russel Ogden in the helicopter lookout seat (which is maybe why it took so long), on the last day of the World Cup in Sun Valley, Idaho, USA in 2012.

2018-01-14 16:48

The most technical retrieve in the last twenty-five years was of Ayse Bayrak, who landed on an island in the middle of a fast flowing river in the South African Paragliding World Cup in 2013!

2018-01-14 16:48

In my look through the World Cup archives for the last twenty five years, I also had a bit of a look at the retrieves.

2018-01-14 16:46

Apparently a rather large snake and Iguana were also reading the commentary this afternoon about swamps being a great place to find thermals whilst they were lazing about and were there to great Maxime!

2018-01-14 16:40

Apparently Maxime (I really hate snakes) Pinot was also following my advice about swamps giving off themals and landed in one.

2018-01-14 16:35

There are only ten pilots still flying...

2018-01-14 16:31

Today's winning tactic from Icelandic champion Hans Kristjan Gudmundsson was to go for the river, (having read my Commentary in his flight deck I presume), knew it would be a good thermal trigger. He climbed out at the river which put him high and with the wind behind him to make goal.

2018-01-14 15:44

The music is pumping in the goal field it's party and beer o clock.

2018-01-14 15:28

Manuel Brechignac and Peter Nägele have just come in to goal.

2018-01-14 15:27

Benedicte Saury can't stop laughing in goal, 'this is the best day of my life,' she told me.

2018-01-14 15:26

Benedicte Saury summed up today hard work but fantastic. Laurie Genovese patience pays off. Well done ladies.

2018-01-14 15:18

Gin Seok Song, Franz Schilter, Stanislav Mayer, Victor Sibirtsev, Benedicte Saury, Keiko Hiraki, Dmitriy Samigullin are just coming in to goal.

2018-01-14 15:17

Then Allly Palencia and Hugo Laronze

2018-01-14 15:16

A group of 14 are all coming into goal. Massive cheers, led by Arnaud Baumy.

2018-01-14 15:16

Rémi Bourdelle is next into the field of cow pats and biting insects, but when you've made goal who cares even if there are crocodiles in the field!

2018-01-14 15:15

Honorin Hamard is coming into goal, having caught up after a bad route choice earlier on.

2018-01-14 15:14

Deonir has done so well this year, a real step up and often in the top ten, from last year thowing his reserve in the Super Final.

2018-01-14 15:14

Deonir Spancerski is just behind Denis.

2018-01-14 15:13

Denis is just about to do a loop of happiness above our heads.

2018-01-14 15:13

Denis Chouraqui is going to be next in.

2018-01-14 15:12

In fact I think Hans will be packed up and half way through a well earned ice cream by the time the others make it in. What a day for the whole Icelandic nation to be proud of.

2018-01-14 15:11

There are lots more about to come in, they are high enough to make it but Hans has a very convincing lead.

2018-01-14 15:10

Massive cheers from Reykjavic to Roldanillo!

2018-01-14 15:09

Well done Iceland!

2018-01-14 15:09

Hans Kristjan Gudmundsson is just coming into goal.

2018-01-14 15:08

He's off line so no idea who it is.

2018-01-14 15:08

One glider is approaching goal an orange and black Enzo

2018-01-14 15:07

There is an enormous cauliflower shapped cloud in front of goal with little gliders flying in front of it.

2018-01-14 15:03

So far the only pilot across Ess is Andreas Nyffenegger, but he has landed short of goal.

2018-01-14 15:01

There are a few pilots high in the middle of the valley who will have the wind behind them and might make it, hopefully before we get bitten to death in the long grass in the goal field.

2018-01-14 14:59

There is a group to the east but they aren't high enough and are having to go cross wind.

2018-01-14 14:58

From goal it looks as if some of the following gaggle might make it.

2018-01-14 14:57

A lot of people have landed, and I personally think they have had a very lucky escape as the goal field is full of biting insects and the most enormous cow pats I have ever seen.

2018-01-14 14:54

There are crowds waiting on the hillock beside the goal line. The paparazzi are clicking away The ice cream sellers produce is melting.

2018-01-14 14:52

There are no thermals because the storm behind has cut out all activity. The wind is breaking up all the thermals.

2018-01-14 14:50

If somebody hangs back they may get to goal. There is a strong cross wind from the west.

2018-01-14 14:48

A lot of the leaders are very low.

2018-01-14 14:48

Andreas Nyffenegger looks to have got Ess.

2018-01-14 14:47

Julian Robinson and Alexandre Jofresa were very near Ess but have landed.

2018-01-14 14:46

Cristiano Ricci and Luca Donini are struggling to get end of speed

2018-01-14 14:43

While there is climb there is hope. A few of the colourful specks in the distance are climbing.

2018-01-14 14:42

From the goal field the leaders have just come into view. It is black behind them. Lightning has just struck a hill off to the side of the course line. But their gliders are lit up by the sunshine touching the colourful top surfaces.

2018-01-14 14:36

Nicola Donini who is in the lead overall isn't having a great day either.

2018-01-14 14:30

It looks as if Honorin's short cut didn't work too well, he's back in 50th place.

2018-01-14 14:28

The pilots are taking the last turn point which is the outer circle of the first turn point.

2018-01-14 14:25

It is raining south of Roldanillo but that shouldn't be a problem.

2018-01-14 14:24

Around goal there are a lot of big cumulus clouds but nothing too threatening.

2018-01-14 14:23

They have to go via turn point 5, but it is en route to Ess so they will all be thinking about their glide ratio. How low can they go? .

2018-01-14 14:20

It looks as if both groups are going to merge. The race for Ess is on!

2018-01-14 14:19

Michele Boschi is leading a group just behind Honorin.

2018-01-14 14:17

The main gaggle are in the middle of the valley led by Clayton Resende.

2018-01-14 14:16

Honorin is totally on his own to the east of the valley.

2018-01-14 14:12

Michele Boschi, Honorin Hamard and Stefan Bernhard have taken the same route as Seb. How are they going to get on?

2018-01-14 14:10

Oh no, Seb has just landed.

2018-01-14 14:08

Sebastian Ospina is cutting along the front of the hills to the east. Everyone in the XC magazine head office has put their wine glasses down and are holding their breath.

2018-01-14 14:04

To the west, Clayton Resende, Cody Mittanck and Idris Birch are leading a very big gaggle.

2018-01-14 14:03

The goal-charge is divided into two groups. To the East, in the mountains, we've got Sebastian Ospina, Honorin Hamard and Arnaud Baumy.

2018-01-14 14:01

There are no problems with the storm clouds at the moment, there is one high cloud 10 km from goal which hopefully shouldn't discharge any rain.

2018-01-14 13:55

In the lead at the moment Owen Shoemaker, Tim Bollinger and Dominik Breitinger.

2018-01-14 13:54

Those coming back from the 4th turn point heading south are taking the same route as those going to the turn point, using the followers as thermal markers.

2018-01-14 13:52

A big thank you as well to World Cup President Goran DIMISKOVSKI and his team who put so much time and effort into helping and supporting first time organisers provide us with such amazing new venues.

2018-01-14 13:50

Jouni Makkonen is up with the leaders. Well done to all our PreWorld Cup winners joining us here in Columbia.

2018-01-14 13:50

The winners of each fully valid Pre PWC get a Super Final place: Jouni Makkonen (Pre PWC in Bright, Australia), Gleb Sukhotskiy (Pre PWC in Yutsa, Russia), Felix Rodriguez Fernandez (Pre PWC in Pegalajar, Jaén, Spain), Bertrand Chol (Pre PWC in Zapotiltic, Mexico), Aaron DUROGATI (Pre PWC in Porterville, S.Africa)

2018-01-14 13:48

Quite a few of the pilots here qualified for the Super Final though the Pre PWCs.

2018-01-14 13:47

1st lady in tasks 1 and 2, Laurie Genovese also seems to be heading for the hills.

2018-01-14 13:45

We're trying to work out why Gleb, Michael and Tim have gone so far in to the turn point.

2018-01-14 13:43

Michael Sigel and Tim Bollinger have also got turn point 4.

2018-01-14 13:42

Gleb Sukhotskiy has just got the 4th turn point and is about to to head south west to the last turn point.

2018-01-14 13:40

There is the sound of loud thunder at Roldanillo, time to put Mackintoshes and wellington boots on for those of us sunbathing by the pool.

2018-01-14 13:38

Tim Rochas is also up with the leaders. He had a great task 3, he flew a lot of it just above his team coach Stephane Drouin! Tim was 7th = well ahead of Stephane! His new Enzo 3 speaks for itself! As for Stephane (who told me the story) he was just so pleased to see the youngsters doing so well - what a great sportsman!

2018-01-14 13:34

Tim Bollinger has taken the lead again.

2018-01-14 13:33

As Honorin Hamard (currently lying 2nd overall) told me this morning 'Nicola is taking the time to gain height above the lead group before going for it, he's dominating the lead gaggle and attacking from above rather than below with is really interesting.'

2018-01-14 13:30

Winner of tasks 1 and 3 and in the lead overall, Nicola Donini, is with the leaders at the moment.

2018-01-14 13:28

There is rain building to the SW of Roldanillo but the task line to the north all looks fine.

2018-01-14 13:26

In the lead at the moment and all taking pretty much the same line are Rafael Moraes Barros, Guy Anderson, Dora Goksal, Téo Bouvard and Idris Birch.

2018-01-14 13:25

The first 35 have got the 3rd turn point and are now heading north east to the 4th turn point.

2018-01-14 13:22

Michael Sigel (another pilot flying a Gin Genie Race 4 harness) has just got the 3rd turn point.

2018-01-14 13:20

Charles Cazaux explained to me, near the swamps in the middle of the flats by the river, can work. Where there is dry ground you need to look for wet areas to give contrast to provide thermal triggers. The river which meanders through the flats can give off thermals where there are meanders.

2018-01-14 13:19

The field has now spread out completely. Those to the north will be in a better position to go to the 4th turn point to the north east. Charles Cazaux is one of the leaders, slightly to the south of the course line.

2018-01-14 13:16

Only 35 pilots got to goal after task 3, the last valid task. Having put task 3 down to the Great God of discards, a lot of pilots will be flying more conservatively today with at maximum, only one discard left. Some pilots really can't afford another poor day from a discard point of view.

2018-01-14 13:15

Felix Rodriguez Fernandez has just reported back, it is pretty difficult today with lots of cloud and weak conditions.

2018-01-14 13:14

Closely followed by Jonathan Marin on an Ozone Enzo 3 with an Exoceat harness and Yassen Savov on an Enzo 3 with a WoodyValley XR7 harness.

2018-01-14 13:11

Talking of which, Tim Bollinger has made a break for it, he's 1 km ahead of the others on his Gin Boomerang 11 with Genie Race 4 harness!

2018-01-14 13:08

There are currently 7 pilots flying Gin Genie Race 4 harnesses in the race and mass production will start in February.

2018-01-14 13:07

The big news harness wise for this competition is the Gin Genie Race 4.

2018-01-14 13:07

As you can see from the scores, we are starting to add the pilot's harnesses on the results page.

2018-01-14 13:06

The Start cylinder is clearly marked in red and the FOLLOW button on the Leader Board is proving very popular. (Touching a pilot's name on the Leader Board shows where they are on the tracking).

2018-01-14 13:04

Just a reminder that the World Cup App, written by Ulric Jessop, has four pages: Live Action (what is happening now), Latest Task (the last task which has been scored), Latest Overalls and 2017 Results. It is now available for iOS and Android devices (search for PWCA).

2018-01-14 13:03

When you start to compete make sure that there are always better people than you in the competition. If you are the best in the competition, think about stepping it up a little bit, unless of course you are a Super Final champion!

2018-01-14 13:02

So today's Thought for the Thermal comes from task committee member Sebastian Ospina.

2018-01-14 13:01

To coincide with the new PWCA App, we are also launching 'Thought for the Thermal', a few words of advice each day from one of our more experienced pilots about competition flying.

2018-01-14 13:00

Seb has a lot of experience flying competitions here. He was 1st in 2017 in the 2nd Colombian Open. 1st in the 2016 Colombian Open. 1st in the Colombian Championship 2012 in Jan 2013.

2018-01-14 12:59

Sebastian Ospina (also sponsored by Cross Country Magazine), is up at the front.

2018-01-14 12:57

The top 25 have got the turn point and are all turning to cross the valley flying north west to turn point 3.

2018-01-14 12:55

The first three have got turn point 2, Hans Kristjan Gudmundsson, Torsten Siegel and Gleb Sukhotskiy.

2018-01-14 12:54

Luke Nicol, sponsored by our partner Cross Country Magazine is one of the leaders today. This is his first Super Final so he'll have a few good stories to tell his sponsors.

2018-01-14 12:51

There is a layer of light cirrus today which isn't helping. There a very light southerly wind. The rain has really slowed everything down but we are hopefull that they should make it round.

2018-01-14 12:46

Although Laurie lost her 1st lady position in task 3, she had the most original retrieve ever. She was rescued by a motor bike going along the railway line with a board attached to stabilise it to the opposite rail and for carrying fruit and veg! Laurie put her glider ontop of the potatoes and jumped on the back of the bike and was in goal in no time!

2018-01-14 12:44

Laurie Genovese is out in the lead.

2018-01-14 12:43

Brad Gunnuscio has just reported back. Although he landed early, the welcome on the ground was amazing, kids running to see him from every direction, and a lift straight back to HQ, what more could one want? Well Goal if one was being really picky!

2018-01-14 12:34

The route choice using the mountains on the east of the valley has also put them in a much better position to get turn point 2, the big cylinder to the east.

2018-01-14 12:32

Tim Bollinger, Jean Marc Caron, Luca Donini, Xevi Bonet Dalmau and Yigit Yildirim have got the first turn point.

2018-01-14 12:31

The group who flew east across the valley and then used the mountain chain to fly north, look as if they are going to get the turn point first.

2018-01-14 12:29

If you follow the course line from the Take-off, you will see that it crosses the red Start Cylinder, then goes to the smallest circle in the middle, then east to a much bigger circle.

2018-01-14 12:27

They are flying to a turn point north east of Roldanillo. This is NOT a concentric cirlces task. They need to go to the inner circle then go east, over the village of Contente which will keep them all happy.

2018-01-14 12:24

Stephan Kruger, Marco Busetta and Erico Oliveira have stayed in the mountains by launch so are coming from the west side of the valley.

2018-01-14 12:23

Cristiano Ricci is following the river.

2018-01-14 12:21

Those taking a route more in the plain are Vagner Campos, Owen Shoemaker and Allly Palencia.

2018-01-14 12:19

Leading the charge in the middle Jose Rebelo, Yassen Savov and Marc Wensauer.

2018-01-14 12:18

Furthest to the east in the mountains is task setter Sebastian Ospina.

2018-01-14 12:16

The start is open. The start cylinder has really spread the pilots out, some choosing to take the start more in the mountains on the east side of the valley, others more in the plains.

2018-01-14 12:14

Top teams overall after 3 tasks: Woody Valley, Ozone and Air'G Products.

2018-01-14 12:13

First ladies overall after 3 tasks Meryl Delferriere (2142), Laurie Genovese (2100), Yael Margelisch (2054).

2018-01-14 12:12

Overall after 3 tasks Nicola Donini (2236), Honorin Hamard, (2233), Joachim Oberhauser (2211).

2018-01-14 12:11

Whilst we wait for the start to open I'd like to congratulate the winners so far. Well done to task 3 winners: Nicola Donini, Jonathan Marin, Honorin Hamard, first lady Meryl Delferriere and top team Ozone.

2018-01-14 12:09

The main consensus seems to be to get as far away from the cloud covered mountains as possible - very wise!

2018-01-14 12:08

So, the first tactical decision is where to take the Start. Remember they don't need to go into the middle, just cross the red Start line.

2018-01-14 12:06

The red circle on the App, centred around La Union is the start which is going to open in 10 minutes at 12.15

2018-01-14 12:04

For those of you looking at the task in total confusion, just a word of reassurance, I have only just worked it out too, so let me explain.

2018-01-14 12:01

The bumpy road on the way down played havoc with my keyboard and any flabby bits of my body were doing very painful passive gymnastics.

2018-01-14 12:00

Apologies for the erratic commentary this morning. All those banana leaves were once again playing havoc with my internet connection.

2018-01-14 11:49

There were about 1000 motor bikes in the car park on launch, and for once in this commentary, that is not an exaggeration!

2018-01-14 11:46

It was an amazing sight watching the sun kissed gliders floating off over the banana and orange tree plantations.

2018-01-14 11:44

There were once again massive crowds on launch. They ooohed and aaaahed as one with every take off.

2018-01-14 11:42

An optimistic 81 km task has been set. It is cloudy in the mountains but a lot bluer in the valley.

2018-01-14 11:02

The task is set - todays race is a 81.16 km Race to Goal The window will open at 11:00 Local Time and the Start is at 12:15

2018-01-13 17:44

For those not yet joined into the SuperFinal WhatsApp group - the link is HERE

2018-01-13 15:22

All Pilots please note - another new waypoint has been added to the competition.

The various fle formats are available here :-

Roldanillo, Colombia 3.wpt

Roldanillo, Colombia 3.cup

Roldanillo, Colombia 3.kml

Please ensure you have these new waypoints in your instruments by tomorrow (LIVES will be updated automatically)

2018-01-13 15:00

The task was stopped before the start so it is officially 'cancelled' and will not score.

We will try again tomorrow morning.

2018-01-13 13:37

The task was stopped by Radio - all of the competitors are landing in the Stadium. Official stop times will be posted as soon as we have them

2018-01-13 12:47

The task has been updated - todays race is now a 65.15 km Race to Goal The window will open at 12:15 Local Time and the Start is at 13:15

2018-01-13 09:43

A provisional task has been set - todays race will be a 65.15 km Race to GoalThe window times and start time are not yet declared - an update will be published when they are set

2018-01-13 08:39

Three tasks behind us and the weather is staying good. The transports are all on the way up the hill and the organisation are close behind them.

We should have task details at about 11:00 so keep watching....

2018-01-12 19:00

It was an interesting task - 30 mins from the end a storm grew in the valley but, fortunately, it was never close enough to threaten the task. We had 32 making the goal but another 18 landing just short of the line. Everyone is now back at HQ and the results are available online now.

Pilots please note that buses will leave HQ at 08:30 tomorrow morning - please be prompt.

2018-01-12 17:34

On that fluffy little note, all the pilots are now accounted for and we'll have the scores ready as soon as Colombian time permits!

2018-01-12 17:33

The Cross Country Magazine sticker on Honorin's helmit is so true. Warning: Driver May Be Distracted By Little Fluffy Clouds!

2018-01-12 17:30

Honorin saw lots of pretty little cumulous clouds to the east and followed them rather than the mountains to the west which looked darker due to the shade from the storm clouds.

2018-01-12 17:28

So what was Honorin's thinking behind going east in the concentric circles part of the course?

2018-01-12 17:27

At the end, just before ESS, efficient thermalling was key. He knew that due to the 100% cloud cover there would be no thermals between ESS and goal so his glide ratio had to be enough to get him to goal rather than just ESS. As soon as he saw 7:1 to goal he went for it.

2018-01-12 17:22

He flew with the leaders but didn't take risks.

2018-01-12 17:21

Nicola Donini has just reported back. So what was today's winning tactic to get across ESS first?

2018-01-12 17:00

Nicola Donini has just reported back. So what was the winning tactic today?

2018-01-12 16:25

Big Congratulations to Barbara and Stephan Wyss, one of the greatest gentlemen in our sport over the last twenty-five years. Stephan has had a task win for every day of his little baby daughter's life (21)!

2018-01-12 16:24

In this celebration of quarter of a century of Paragliding World Cups we've looked back, let's look forward. As for the youngest future winner of the Paragliding World Cup, my money is on it being Sara Wyss who is 21 days old today!

2018-01-12 16:22

Whilst we wait for the, by now, rather soggy pilots to to make it back to HQ on Colombian time, let me go back once again to our memories of 25 years of the Paragliding World Cup.

2018-01-12 16:17

The nominal time is set at the beginning of the competition. Here it is 1 hour 15 minutes. This is the minimum length of time that a task must take for it to score 1000 points. If the winner takes less than this to get to goal, then the task will be devalued. Nicola Donini took 3 hours to get to goal today so the task is fully valid from a time point of view.

2018-01-12 16:17

The nominal distance here is 50 km so, as long as the average distance flown was more than 25 km, which is clearly the case as half the pilots got to ESS (79 km), the task will be valid from a distance point of view.

2018-01-12 16:13

How does nominal distance work? The average distance flown by all the pilots must be more than half the nominal distance.

2018-01-12 16:12

Two things make a day fully valid. The nominal distance and nominal time.

2018-01-12 16:10

With a lot fewer pilots in goal today (23), will the task be a fully valid 1000 point day?

2018-01-12 16:07

Yury has now landed, sadly a bit short of ESS.

2018-01-12 16:03

Oh dear, HQ has just been struck by lightning. The great Sky God of Commentaries is so not cooperating today!

2018-01-12 15:59

Yury is 222m above the ground with 3 km to go to ESS.

2018-01-12 15:57

Yury Mishanin, Russia's very own 007 is the only pilot still flying - I think Britain's Mr Bond would be very impressed.

2018-01-12 15:55

It is now raining in Roldanillo and there are loud rumbles of thunder.

2018-01-12 15:45

Well done to Yael Margelisch, first lady in goal today.

2018-01-12 15:42

22 pilots have now made goal. 10 have landed between Ess and goal.

2018-01-12 15:40

The next 5 across Ess who have now made goal are: Luc Armant, Torsten Siegel, Ulrich Prinz, Joachim Oberhauser, Yongtae Ahn.

2018-01-12 15:38

The first 5 are now in goal: Nicola Donini, Honorin Hamard, Michael Sigel, Jonathan Marin and Charles Cazaux.

2018-01-12 15:37

Nicola has just made goal. It is nail biting to see who else is going to make it. Ess to goal is so not easy.

2018-01-12 15:35

Nicola Donini yesteday's winner, once lead out points had been taken into account, has just crossed ESS.

2018-01-12 15:34

There are no thermals around the goal field as the storm cloud has blocked out all the sun.

2018-01-12 15:33

Xavier is 18m off the ground and probably not going to make goal.

2018-01-12 15:32

The first 5 are low and struggling against a head wind from the south.

2018-01-12 15:31

Xavier has just crossed Ess first today.

2018-01-12 15:27

Xavier Pujol Barricarte is in the lead again today.

2018-01-12 15:26

The leaders are now 10 minutes from goal. 3 km from ESS. As Xavier Pujol Barricarte told me yesterday, this is the point when all eyes are fixed on their glide ratio on their varios to see when they can straight line it to goal.

2018-01-12 15:18

Pal Takats is an acro legend (3 overall World Cup Champion titles) and was a judge at the Acro GAME in 2017. (The Acro GAME is a new concept thought of by Felix Rodriguez Fernandez's cousin Horacio Llorens. The idea is to make acro events, faster moving and more audience and media friendly). Pal was the first ever performer of an infinity tumble with passenger and Guinness Record holder of Infinity Tumbling in tandem (140 revolutions!!!!!).

2018-01-12 15:18

I briefly mentioned our meet director, Pal Takats earlier, he is undoubtely one of the most interesting people in the competition.

2018-01-12 15:15

The storm is in the mountains above launch on the west side of the valley. The competitors are on the east side of the valley. Today has certainly been a lot more humid.

2018-01-12 15:13

At the goal there is high cirrus, giving some shady patches. The cumulus is working nicely but the pilots are fighting a head wind.

2018-01-12 15:11

How do the level calls work? Level 1 = everything is good, conditions are safe. Level 2 = conditions are becoming dangerous and there is a risk of them worsening or that they look bad further down the course. Level 3 = the conditions are dangerous.

2018-01-12 15:10

So far there have been no level 3 calls from the pilots

2018-01-12 15:09

There are the first rumbles of thunder over Roldanillo. The sky is looking very black. The Meet Director and Technical delegate are monitoring the situation.

2018-01-12 15:03

The group in the mountains are now coming out onto the flats, but they have been overtaken by a group who stayed on the edge of the flats and didn't venture into the mountains, led by Francisco Javie Reina Lagos.

2018-01-12 14:56

Today's Thought for the Thermal comes from Aaron DUROGATI, the only pilot ever to have won 2 Super Finals: Do lots of training, don't get stressed, just enjoy it. You compete because you love flying so a competition is just more of the same game. Land with a big smile – any other way is just wrong.

2018-01-12 14:54

To coincide with the new PWCA App, we are also launching 'Thought for the Thermal', a few words of advice each day from one of our more experienced pilots about competition flying.

2018-01-12 14:54

A sentiment shared by defending Super Final champion Aaron Durogati who gave us today's Thought for the Thermal.

2018-01-12 14:51

Samuel is the first Brazilian ever to win a Super Final task - and is still grinning about it a year later! Definitely a pilot who follows the philosophy, 'smile and whole World smiles with you', wonderful!

2018-01-12 14:49

Samuel Nascimento is still out in front. In the 2016 SF he was one of the most talked about pilots, he frequently made different decisions to the other pilots and to the big gaggle and it was great to see his alternative routes working.

2018-01-12 14:47

In the afternoon the sun hits the west facing slopes on the east side of the valley making them great thermal triggers.

2018-01-12 14:46

It looks like heading for the hills is once again the popular choice - on the east side of the valley.

2018-01-12 14:45

Virtually everyone has now got the last turn point - the small circle in the middle, and are heading south to ESS and goal.

2018-01-12 14:39

Samuel Nascimento is in front, thank goodness that they have declared a 2 week public holiday in Brazil so that everyone in the internationally famous village of Bom Jesus, 20 km from Pico do Gaviao, can cheer him on, where the crowds are currenly going wild in front of our leader board.

2018-01-12 14:35

Honorin Hamard, who used the east part of the cylinder, has caught up with the lead group who used the west part of the cylinder.

2018-01-12 14:34

Another group used the northern part of the cylinder Julian Robinson, Rafael Moraes Barros, Gleb Sukhotskiy, Richard Gallon, Denis Chouraqui and Clement Latour. They have just made it back to the centre (turn point 4) and are heading south to Ess, but behind the group who took the westerly route.

2018-01-12 14:29

Torsten Siegel, Michael Sigel, Jonathan Marin, are in the lead. They went back west using the followers as thermal markers. They have now taken the small cylinder (tp 4) and are heading south to Ess and goal.

2018-01-12 14:25

This part of the task has really split everyone up. Honorin Hamard, Bernardo Medina Sastre and Luke Nicol are using the east part of the cylinder. They just need to get the little cylinder again in the middle then head south to Ess and goal.

2018-01-12 14:19

Cody Mittanck, Sebastian Ospina and Russell Ogden are neck and neck with Honorin but taking turn point 3 (the outer cylinder) to the west. They are using those behind them as thermal markers.

2018-01-12 14:16

Honorin Hamard is in the lead, out on his own, taking turn point 3 via an easterly route.

2018-01-12 14:14

Unfortunately Yassen seems to have landed.

2018-01-12 14:13

Most of the others have gone from turn point 1 back into the mountains and come from the west to take turn point 2 (the little circle) and are then going back out to the bigger circle (turn point 3 using those coming behind as thermal markers).

2018-01-12 14:11

He went straight from turn point 1 through turn point 2 (the little circle) and is continuing in a straight line to turn point 3 - the edge of the bigger cylinder.

2018-01-12 14:06

Yassen is the only one to have got the little turn point (tp2) and now has to go back out again to the bigger cylinder (tp3).

2018-01-12 14:00

Or, go back the way you came, as we saw Honorin Hamard do in Ecuador. 'I used the slower pilots as markers which made it much easier to spot the big cycles and not to lose time. I navigated easily and gained 800m advantage, even though I was flying ahead on my own.'

2018-01-12 13:59

Either go with the wind behind you as we saw Yassen Savov do in the 2016 SF. He took a very different downwind route to everyone else putting him ahead in the critical first part of the race, giving him 109.5 lead out points putting him at least 6 places ahead of those he landed beside.

2018-01-12 13:58

In a concentric circles task there is a small circle in the centre of a big circle. Pilots must go in, out, in and back out. (In to the little circle, out to any point on the big cylinder, in to the little circle, and back out, before going to the next turn point).

2018-01-12 13:57

The next part of the course looks very confusing for the spectators. This is the concentric circles part of the race.

2018-01-12 13:56

Apologies for the tracking problems we are having at the moment. Yassen is in the lead, he has got turn point one and is heading to turn point 2.

2018-01-12 13:47

Chasing Yassen are French and World Champion Pierre Remy, Italian Champion Marco Busetta and Spanish Champion Felix Rodriguez Fernandez!

2018-01-12 13:43

Although we haven't seen Yassen in the last few World Cups, he has been keeping himself busy. 'He flew a whopping 350km straight-line flight from north east Bulgaria, southwest to land on a beach in Greece on the 4th of August 2017. He also flew a 225 km FAI triangle around Sopot a few days later'. Cross Country Magazine October 2017.

2018-01-12 13:38

N.B Roldanillo and the valley floor is at 966m.

2018-01-12 13:37

There is a big mix of clouds today at all levels with quite a low base at 2000m, giving not much room to play in, but there are quite a lot of blue patches.

2018-01-12 13:34

As Maxime Pinot (winner of the 2016 St Andre PWC and winner of 3 tasks in the Super Final) said in an interview on World Cup TV, 'When Yassen gets out in front, there is not much you can do'.

2018-01-12 13:33

Yassen Savov seems to be doing a Yassen and is pulling away from those behind him, he has a half km lead.

2018-01-12 13:28

At the moment there is a light east wind and there are lots of high clouds and a potential for over developement, let's see how the day continues.

2018-01-12 13:24

There is a strong group of Columbian pilots here, the most we've ever had in the Super Final: Local pilot Bernardo Medina Sastre from Roldanillo: Cristian Andres Agudelo Escobar, Henry Alexander Alcazar Rincon and Alejandro SALAZAR who live 50 km from Roldanillo: Edinson Alvarez Suarez from up in the mountains near Bogota and World famous Sebastian OSPINA.

2018-01-12 13:23

Bernardo Medina Sastre is now also heading out into the flats to join Cristiano Ricci.

2018-01-12 13:22

When I asked Federico what was the best thing he had ever done (e.g climbing a big mountain), 'finding 25 kilos of magic mushrooms in one day', he replied without even having to think about it!

2018-01-12 13:20

Virtually all the pilots are sticking to the mountains. Back down the course line Federico Nevastro is a bit out in the flats but I suspect he has stopped for a quick mushroom top up.

2018-01-12 13:18

Yesterday's winner, Nicola Donini, is once again up with the leaders.

2018-01-12 13:17

Yigit Yildirim is up at the front too. He runs a very busy all year round tandem opernation, Reaction Paragliding Oludeniz. World Cups and Super Finals are the only 'holidays' he and fellow tandem pilot Dora Goksal ever get!

2018-01-12 13:12

Yassen Savov is out in front, could this be the day that he gets his 13th task victory?

2018-01-12 13:10

The groups have now merged and everyone is following the same line in the higher terrain except for Cristiano Ricci, the only one out in the flats.

2018-01-12 13:08

Nani Neme, (better known as Super Nanny), the woman behind the massively successful Pico do Gaviao, Brazil World Cup, tells me that a 2 week national holiday has just been declared in Brazil so that they can all cheer on team Brazil who are apparently going to win the top 13 places in this Super Final.

2018-01-12 13:04

Brazilian pilot Cristiano Ricci is out on his own in the flats.

2018-01-12 13:03

Dominik Breitinger is leading the competition out on his own on a spur overlooking the flats.

2018-01-12 13:01

Another group have flown right over La Union and are sticking to the flatter ground, led by Xevi Bonet Dalmau and Erico Oliveira.

2018-01-12 12:59

There is a big group just to the east of them led by Honorin Hamard and Yassen Savov on the ridge above the plains.

2018-01-12 12:58

Felix Rodriguez Fernandez and Raul Penso have gone the furthest into mountains.

2018-01-12 12:56

This task is really splitting the pilots up, I get the feeling we'll have a lot fewer pilots in goal today than the 103 pilots who made it yesterday.

2018-01-12 12:49

Now they need to decide whether to take the high road, along the mountains, to get round the town of La Union, or the low road, across the flats to get to the first turn point.

2018-01-12 12:47

Raul Penso and Marco Busetta have chosen to stay well high in the mountains.

2018-01-12 12:46

There is a middle group led by Cody Mittanck and very undisciplined pilot Russell Ogden, on the middle hills.

2018-01-12 12:44

It looks like pink panther Yassen Savov is 'doing a Yassen', taking a different route, out from the mountains, at the edge of the flats.

2018-01-12 12:42

On the live tracking, quite a few pilots are going through an area of poor coverage for their Flymaster trackers so they are shown as red triangles. Those who have only just gone off line are shown as blue boxes.

2018-01-12 12:40

There are a lot of big, active looking clouds in the sky above the mountains, but the day is allegedly going to improve.

2018-01-12 12:37

The pilots are now flying north up the valley to turn point one - the very big circle/cylinder at the head of the valley.

2018-01-12 12:35

The Start and turn points have cylinders around them to spread pilots out. They use their GPS to confirm that they have crossed the cylinder- they don't need to go to the point in the middle, just cross the cylinder around it.

2018-01-12 12:35

You can see the route the task follows on the live tracking. The line is the 'optimum route', they don't have to follow this but they do have to go to the circles (cylinders) in the correct order.

2018-01-12 12:34

That's the stage we are at in today's competition.

2018-01-12 12:33

The task comprises a virtual start cylinder in the air and time, after which the pilots can cross the start, followed by turn points.

2018-01-12 12:33

A briefing then takes place to explain the task and the weather conditions to the other pilots.

2018-01-12 12:32

So how does a paragliding competition work? A Task Committee of 2 pilots is chosen at registration. Every day the Task Committee and Meet Director set a task which should take the fastest pilot about 2.5 to 3 hours to complete.

2018-01-12 12:31

The Start is open - task 3 has begun!

2018-01-12 12:30

The other big story of the comp so far is, of course, Laurie Genovese, in the top 10 overall on both days, 3rd in task 1 and 9th = in task 2.

2018-01-12 12:30

It was great to see father and son, Luca and Nicola Donini in the top 15 together in task 1 and top 10 in task 2.

2018-01-12 12:29

Top lead out point baggers so far: Honorin Hamard, Maxime Pinot, Laurie Genovese, Nicola Donini, Jonathin Marin and Luca Donini.

2018-01-12 12:29

The current leaders after two tasks are Honorin Hamard, Joachim Oberhauser, Nicola Donini and Laurie Genovese and Woody Valley. However it is still very much all to play for as only 90 points separate the top 40 pilots!

2018-01-12 12:26

Well done to task 2 winners: Nicola Donini, Joachim Oberhauser, Pierre Remy, 1st lady Laurie Genovese (8th overall) and top team Kortel Design.

2018-01-12 12:23

You don't have to be first to cross the start line but in the top third is good. This way you don't play catch up for the first part of the race which is tiring and stressful. On the tracking on the App (search for PWCA in the App stores) the Start cylinder is in red.

2018-01-12 12:22

8 minutes to Start open.

2018-01-12 12:19

There was rain first thing this morning, then when we got to launch visibility was down to the length of 2 banana leafs. However it rapidly cleared, giving nice patches of blue sky and sunshine out on the flats.

2018-01-12 12:17

The pilots are all now sitting on the start line ready to go on two ridges just behind Roldanillo.

2018-01-12 12:15

Finally out of the Columbian jungle, I can now confirm that the start will open in 15 minutes.

2018-01-12 12:09

Sorry for the lack of commentary so far this morning, the enormous banana leafs on the trees near launch were blocking out all our Internet connection.

2018-01-12 12:06

The pilots have all now taken off for task 3 of the 2017 Super Final.

2018-01-12 11:14

An 82 km task has been set using both ends of the Roldanillo Valley with a concentric circle in the middle.

2018-01-12 11:01

Good morning from launch at Roldanillo in Colombia

2018-01-12 10:53

The task has been updated - todays race is now a 81.66 km Race to Goal The window will open at 11:30 Local Time and the Start is at 12:30

2018-01-12 09:39

A provisional task has been set - todays race will be a 81.66 km Race to GoalThe window times and start time are not yet declared - an update will be published when they are set

2018-01-12 08:29

Day 3 is upon us and, as always here in Colombia, everything is looking promising for a task. The transports are well on the way to takeoff and we expect task news at around 11am local time. More news will be along soon in the commentary

2018-01-11 18:46

At the end of another excellent day, the results are now online.

2018-01-11 17:47

All Pilots please note - 5 new waypoints have been added to the competition.

The various fle formats are available here :-

Roldanillo, Colombia 2.wpt

Roldanillo, Colombia 2.cup

Roldanillo, Colombia 2.kml

Please ensure you have these new waypoints in your instruments by tomorrow (LIVES will be updated automatically)

Also please note that, due to technical problems with the telephone company, we have been forced to change the SMS number for this competition. The new number for SMS report back is 573164996515 - please make a note of this.

2018-01-11 16:53

Today's fastest pilot, Xavier Pujol Barricarte has just reported back. His winning tactic was keeping a really close eye on the glide ratio to goal and leaving the thermal and lead gaggle as soon as he saw the glide ratio drop to 9:1 to goal and 7:1 to Ess. He then went for it on full bar.

2018-01-11 16:16

Keiko has just passed Ess and is about to land in goal to join the other 95 pilots who are already there. What an amazing day!

2018-01-11 16:14

Keiko is on an Ozone Enzo 3 with an Exoceat harness. Ozone are currently developing a new Exoceat harness which should make it even more comfortable to fly 100km!

2018-01-11 16:11

Keiko was 1st in the 2013 Super Final in Brazil and the Super Final in 2009 in Italy.

2018-01-11 16:09

She is battling with a strong, cross, westerly wind.

2018-01-11 16:07

We're just waiting for Keiko Hiraki to get to goal. She is 4.2 km from Ess, flying at 44 km/h and 643 m above the ground. Go Keiko.

2018-01-11 15:48

Stefan WYSS sadly (for us) isn't here as he is on very new Dad duty!

2018-01-11 15:47

And the families with the most wins: Tim Bollinger (4) + Dad Hans Bollinger (15): The Valic brothers Aljaz (9) + Urban (5): The Maurer brothers Christian (10) + Michael (1): Nicola Donini (2) + Dad Luca Donini (6) and The Morgenthaler brothers Stephan (6) + Simon (1).

2018-01-11 15:46

In this celebration of 25 years of Paragliding World Cups, I would like to congratulate the pilots who have won the most tasks since we began counting: Stefan Wyss (21), Hans Bollinger (15), Alex Hofer (13), Yassen SAVOV (12), Christian Maurer (10), Jean-Marc Caron (10), Aljaz Valic (9), Peter Brinkeby (9), Denis Cortella (8), Maxime PINOT (8) and Andreas MALECKI (8).

2018-01-11 15:43

There is a maximum of 67.5 lead out points if nobody gets to goal, 70 if only 1 person gets to goal, rising to 162 if everyone is in goal. Therefore, until the last pilot has landed, the lead out points and thus the task winner cannot be declared so patience everyone!

2018-01-11 15:35

85 pilots have now made goal and only 12 are still in the air.

2018-01-11 15:34

Placed 6th - 10th today: Stephane Drouin, Honorin Hamard, Michel Guillemot, Allly Palencia and Erico Oliveira.

2018-01-11 15:32

We're having problems with Maxime Pinot's tracker but we know he is in goal. How will today affect the top 3 from yesterday - Honorin Hamard, Maxime Pinot and Laurie Genovese? Laurie is ahead of Honorin, today, so we could have an overall leading lady, what a great comp.

2018-01-11 15:27

It looks as if the top 5 across Ess today are: Xavier Pujol Barricarte, Nicola Donini, Pierre Remy, Federico Nevastro and Laurie Genovese.

2018-01-11 15:23

Great to see father and son, Luca and Nicola Donini, in goal together

2018-01-11 15:19

You may have noticed Ulrich Prinz crossing ESS 1st on our leader board but showing 10th place in goal, but their place is their time across ESS I hear you protest. This is because there is poor coverage so we aren't working from 1 second tracklogs, but in some pilot's cases, 2 minute interval position fixes. As the units catch up in the goal field, the times get adjusted and we get more accurate readings, so the positions change.

2018-01-11 15:11

Yael Margelisch, first lady in goal today, has just landed.

2018-01-11 15:10

Ulrich Prinz has just landed in goal.

2018-01-11 15:07

The first 10 pilots have landed in goal.

2018-01-11 15:06

The first 40 have crossed Ess within 2.5 minutes of each other.

2018-01-11 15:05

Simon Arnold is looking worrying too at 191m.

2018-01-11 15:04

Ulrich is low, 273m above the cane and sinking like a sugar cube.

2018-01-11 15:03

Ulrich Prinz has taken Ess first.

2018-01-11 15:02

This is so close at the front - after 100km barely a sugar cane field separates the 1st 20.

2018-01-11 15:00

7.4:1 flying at 63 kmph Julian should get Ess no problem.

2018-01-11 14:58

Julian Robinson is at the front too, not bad for his first time flying here!

2018-01-11 14:57

After the End of Speed Section (ESS) they can land whenever they want in goal. If they land before goal they only get distance points. If they get to goal they get distance points plus speed points reflecting how long it took them to get round the course to ESS.

2018-01-11 14:56

There is now a standard of 2km between ESS and goal. Pilots race to the ESS, this is the point when they could have a collapse. So having a requirement that they then fly another 2km means they aren't racing into the ground and having a collapse too low to throw their reserve.

2018-01-11 14:55

For those of you wondering why the race always ends near a village called Ess let me explain. The implementation of End Of Speed Section (ESS) in about 2003 in competitions was one of the biggest improvements ever made in the safety of paragliding competitions.

2018-01-11 14:54

The top 10 have got the last turn point and have 7 km cross wind to go to get Ess. Erico Oliveira, Raul Penso and Martin Rebord are in the lead.

2018-01-11 14:52

Raul Penso is with the leaders. He told me this morning that his strategy yesterday was to do his own thing, that didn't work so today he was going to stay more with the gaggle and wait patiently in the mountains until the flats began to work - a strategy which looks to have worked well.

2018-01-11 14:47

Phew - he's got a climb +2.6!

2018-01-11 14:46

275m off the ground and sinking at -0.6 - Yassen!

2018-01-11 14:45

Yassen is going for it at 318m off the ground and in 2.2 sink - don't do this too us.

2018-01-11 14:44

Tim is 300m higher than the others and in a gentle climb.

2018-01-11 14:43

Owen Shoemaker is catching them up.

2018-01-11 14:42

It's neck and neck for the last turn point between the 3 paragliding Musketeers: Tim Bollinger, Yassen Savov and Maxime Pinot.

2018-01-11 14:39

New comer Theo Warden is right at the front too. He was glad to get yesterday's 1st day nerves over and done with and now settle into the competition.

2018-01-11 14:36

Michael Sigel is right at the front with the leaders, obviously really happy with his new Gin Genie Race 4 harness. It has got a 9cm Koroyd protector which has even better protection values than the old one; no more air intakes on the side - air is taken at the front to reduce drag; it is more stable, especially on bar and is more comfortable due to better geometry.

2018-01-11 14:30

Roldanillo is in an agricultural region with sugar cane being the main crop, in fact, about 90% of the fields the lead gaggle are flying over at the moment are full of 4 m high sugar cane plants, with exceedingly muddy tracks between them.

2018-01-11 14:29

The lead gaggle of 20 have now come out of the higher relief and are crossing the flats.

2018-01-11 14:28

Technical delegate Ulric Jessop feels happy with the change, 'it's shifted the balance in the right direction'. (Actually, he mumbled that in his sleep one night - I gave him minus 162 points for his racy pillow talking skills).

2018-01-11 14:27

We will probably see lead out points playing a bigger tactical part in races as their share has been increased from 117 points (out of a possible 1000 point day), to 162 points. It's difficult to get the right balance between lead out points, time and distance points.

2018-01-11 14:26

They also get distance points for how far they flew and time points depending on how fast they flew round the course.

2018-01-11 14:25

All pilots whether they get to goal or not qualify for lead out points which reflect how much of the race they were with the leaders.

2018-01-11 14:21

Tim Bollinger, is out in front again, he's been a real lead out point bagger today.

2018-01-11 14:18

They are all sticking to the higher relief which will kick off better thermals, the leaders are all more than 700m above the ground and in gentle climbs.

2018-01-11 14:06

They are now on a fast down wind leg with 25 km to go to the last turn point in this 100 km task.

2018-01-11 14:03

Luca is still out in front. I asked him how he managed to win 4 out of the 9 tasks in the 2012 Super Final in Roldanillo: he told me he felt physically and mentally fit and was on great form. He won mainly by pushing out in front, staying high and flying fast, looks like he's doing the same today. I bet everyone else wonders why they didn't think of doing that!

2018-01-11 14:01

They all seemed to have nice climbs in the mountains but are struggling a bit as they come out of the high terrain.

2018-01-11 13:59

Luca Donini has pulled ahead, along with Alexandre Jofresa.

2018-01-11 13:58

Owen Shoemaker is also in the lead gaggle he's a very experienced pilot who has flown in both the Indian and Nepali Himalayas.

2018-01-11 13:56

In the lead gaggle we have: Marc Wensauer, Joachim Oberhauser, Nicola Donini, Antoine Gerin-jean, Russell Ogden, Charles Cazaux, Jeison Zeferino, Luc Armant, Felix Rodriguez Fernandez, Pierre Remy and Luca Donini.

2018-01-11 13:52

The lead gaggle are taking a route to the west of the course line staying in the higher terrain.

2018-01-11 13:51

Father and son, Luca and Nicola Donini are thermaling together just behind the lead gaggle, paragliding, the sport with a wingspan across the generations.

2018-01-11 13:49

The lead gaggle who took the shortest valley crossing have got the turn point first led by Russell Ogden who is trying to show a little bit more 'discipline' today and not rushing off ahead.

2018-01-11 13:47

Andreas Malecki, Franz Schilter and Samuel Nascimento have straight lined it diagonally across the valley and are about to get the turn point.

2018-01-11 13:45

This is amazing, 3 totally different routes to the 3rd turn point. Bernardo Medina Sastre has taken the route along the mountains on the east side of the valley.

2018-01-11 13:42

The next 15 -20 km of the course line have got a lot less cloud, there will be a lot fewer clouds to use as references, the conditions are now much bluer, which could make life difficult for the pilots.

2018-01-11 13:38

Andreas Malecki has also cut the corner across the valley and about to catch up with the leaders.

2018-01-11 13:33

Local pilot, Bernardo Medina Sastre from Roldanillo, has been off line until now and has just come back to life ahead of everyone else, already on the mountains on the east of the valley and it looks as if he is going to get the turn point first!

2018-01-11 13:30

It's neck and neck as to whether the group making the crossing from the mountains led by Michael Sigel and those cutting directly from turn point 2 across the valley led by Tim Bollinger are going to get turn point 3 first.

2018-01-11 13:27

So please, be considerate and respectful of this rule. It's there for clear sportive and safety reasons.

2018-01-11 13:26

If you enter, a thermal at say, 200m above the first pilot you may think that you're much higher, so it doesn't matter if you turn in the opposite direction, but yes, it does matter. It matters because there are normally lots more pilots who enter between you and the first one, so there is bound to be a conflict where the two turning directions meet.

2018-01-11 13:26

Remember - the first pilot in the thermal determines the direction. If you're not first in, please, respect the turning direction, EVEN IF YOU'RE AT A SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT ALTITUDE FROM THE FIRST PILOT.

2018-01-11 13:24

On a serious note, Yassen would like to remind pilots about respecting the turning direction in thermals.

2018-01-11 13:21

Pink Panther, Yassen Savov, on his pink and white Enzo 3 is famous for not staying with the gaggle and just doing his own thing, a way of flying known as 'doing a Yassen'. When I asked his advice to new pilots for a Thought for the Thermal, he replied grinning, 'don't fly like me!'

2018-01-11 13:20

Yassen Savov and Erico Oliveira are cutting the corner and going to take the lead.

2018-01-11 13:18

Samuel Nascimento and Richard Pethigal are out in the middle of the valley but not finding a climb.

2018-01-11 13:16

Luca Donini is in front and nearly back at Roldanillo. He's going to have to make that valley crossing very soon. The 3rd turn point, they are going to is in the mountains to the east of Roldanillo.

2018-01-11 13:13

On the PWCA App, you can go onto the Leader Board page, touch the pilots name, then 'Follow', then go onto the tracking page and see where the leaders are in amongst those going in the opposite direction.

2018-01-11 13:10

It is always difficult to follow the competition when the pilots go in to a turn point then back out the same way, to tell which way everyone is going and to see who is in the lead.

2018-01-11 13:08

It looks as if the leaders are all going back along the way they came, using those still coming towards the turn point as thermal markers.

2018-01-11 13:05

Just a reminder that you can keep up with all the action and your favourite pilots much more easily on tablets and mobile phones via the World Cup App - now available for all iOS and Android devices (search for PWCA in the App stores).

2018-01-11 13:04

Rather apt for how they must all be feeling at the moment about that wide valley crossing!

2018-01-11 13:02

Today's Thought for the Thermal is an African Proverb, 'If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together,' which comes from paragliding philosopher Richard Pethigal.

2018-01-11 13:02

To coincide with the new app, we are also launching 'Thought for the Thermal', a few words of advice each day from one of our more experienced pilots about competition flying.

2018-01-11 13:01

Nobody seems very keen to venture out into the flats to make that crossing.

2018-01-11 13:00

The latest news from the skies is that it's started popping off in the flats, with a lovely blue sky, nice clouds. Base is at 2200m and rising fast.

2018-01-11 12:52

Decision time. Do they go directly east to get onto the mountains as quickly as possible or follow the direct course line?

2018-01-11 12:51

They are all on the mountains on the west side of the valley and need to get to the mountains on the east side of the valley.

2018-01-11 12:49

Jean Marc Caron took the turn point 1st but is further back in the mountains, and thus further away from the next turn point.

2018-01-11 12:46

Luke Nicol and Luca Donini are about to get the turn point in the best position to then head to the 3rd turn point.

2018-01-11 12:45

Rafael Saladini, Marcella Uchoa, Franz Schilter and Richard Pethigal are the only ones in front of the mountains.

2018-01-11 12:43

Tim Bollinger and Rafael Moraes Barros have come a bit out of the hills and are on the edge of the valley, thermalling nicely together.

2018-01-11 12:39

Yury Mishanin has gone the furthest back into the mountains. He is more than capable of making his own decisions, in the World Cup in Serbia in 2017 he won Task 2 by 18 km!

2018-01-11 12:38

Guessing which point in the day the flats start to work better than the mountains is key.

2018-01-11 12:37

The topography around Roldanillo gives lots of choices, which makes it great for setting interesting tasks. The mountains are more reliable places to find thermals, but on the flats there are fewer obstructions, so it is possible to go in a straighter line and therefore faster, but you have to get the thermal cycles right.

2018-01-11 12:35

A group are heading out into the valley: Cristian Andres Agudelo Escobar, Rafael Saladini, Richard Pethigal.

2018-01-11 12:34

He is flying one of the flashy new Gin Genie Race 4 harness and loving the new features: a plastic visor that can be stored for take off and landing; bigger aircone that covers the helmet (less drag); improved cockpit angle and 2 reserves of course (one of which is in front), it's obviously working well for him today!

2018-01-11 12:32

This year Mr Gin is celebrating his 40th year as a free flying pilot!

2018-01-11 12:31

Mr Gin is right at the front too!

2018-01-11 12:31

Tim Bollinger has pulled away from the gaggle. He won the first two tasks in last year's Super Final, one to watch.

2018-01-11 12:27

Dotted amongst the jungle vegetation are very pretty, colourful, little houses with tin roofs.

2018-01-11 12:25

They are flying over hillsides covered in the most amazing vegetation, bamboo the height of 3 storey buildings, banana trees growing blue plastic bags, fields of avocados, coffee and lush green orange trees in neat rows.

2018-01-11 12:22

There is 100% cloud cover in the mountains, and touching the tops, in the valley it is blue with a few clouds, there is very little wind.

2018-01-11 12:18

It looks as if the mountains get everyones vote today, they are all taking a route to the west of the course line.

2018-01-11 12:15

Another bit of pilot news: South African pilot Stephan Kruger has finally arrived after a stressful sejour in the Columbian Embassy in Madrid pleading for a Columbian visa. If the civil servant who changed the visa regulations just after Stephan had bought his ticket would like to go tandem with Stephan, an interesting little flight could be organised!

2018-01-11 12:14

The latest news from the skies is that the conditions are great, climbs everywhere!

2018-01-11 12:13

For those of you worried about Russell Ogden not flying well yesterday, his fellow British flying chums would like to reassure everyone that Russell always bombs on the first day!

2018-01-11 12:12

The great task setting today gives the pilots lots of choices. To get to the 2nd turn point they can either follow the course line south straight down the valley, or follow the mountains on either side of the valley - decision time!

2018-01-11 12:09

The leaders have got the turn point. Alexandre Malcher, Christian Biasi, Charles Cazaux.

2018-01-11 12:09

The leaders are now well on their way to the first turn point. They don't have to go right to the turn point, just cross the cylinder around it.

2018-01-11 12:05

Roldanillo is the ultimate paragliding party town, the buses are covered in pictures of paragliders, the band stand has a modern art metal paraglider covering it, even the water has the Super Final logo on the bottle.

2018-01-11 12:04

There is a massive swarm of gliders milling about under a conveniently placed cloud at the Start just to the south of Roldanillo.

2018-01-11 12:00

The start is now open, task 2 of the 2017 Super Final is on.

2018-01-11 11:59

Apologies for the delay in the commentary, there was a cow blockage on the way down from launch - maybe we are in Switzerland afterall!

2018-01-11 11:25

A free flying shoe has just dropped out of the sky onto take -off if anyone would like to claim it!

2018-01-11 11:00

Simon Pellissier is laying out his glider ready to go.

2018-01-11 10:58

Yury Mishanin, Xavier Pujol Barricarte and Remi Bourdelle are just taking off.

2018-01-11 10:55

The view from launch is so beautiful, ridges covered in banana plantations stretching out to the plains, with a river meandering through the fields in front.

2018-01-11 10:53

Worth watching are top task winners here: Yassen SAVOV (12), Jean-Marc CARON (10), Maxime PINOT (8), Andreas MALECKI (8), Luc ARMANT (7) and Torsten SIEGEL (7).

2018-01-11 10:51

Well done to task 1 winners: Honorin Hamard, Maxime Pinot, Laurie Genovese and to top team Woody Valley, who are all just launching for another great day.

2018-01-11 10:49

Base is 100m above the hill.

2018-01-11 10:48

The task goes around the full taskable area with the same goal as yesterday.

2018-01-11 10:47

Base is higher today. Pilots are launching for a 100km task.

2018-01-11 10:47

'Hola desde el despegue de Roldanillo' which means 'hello from the Roldanillo launch'.

2018-01-11 09:18

The task is set - todays race is a 99.75 km Race to Goal The window will open at 11:00 Local Time and the Start is at 12:00

2018-01-10 19:30

The first day is over and we have had a preety good result. 76 made Goal and an amazing 21 made the End Of Speed but landed just a bit short of the line.

Everyone is now back at HQ and the scores have been processed - the results are now available from the links above.

The SuperFinal is well underway and we start again at 0900 tomorrow morning - see you then.

Meanwhile just a reminder that you can follow all of the action LIVE on your mobile or table by using the Paragliding World Cup App. Search PWCA in the Google Play Store or Apple Store or scan the code below.

See you tomorrow

2018-01-10 18:47

However I forgot to mention that the retrieve is running on Columbian time! So hasta luego for the scores!

2018-01-10 17:15

Everyone has now landed so we should have the scores soon.

2018-01-10 17:08

As for Maxime Pinot's strategy - 'I just followed Laurie'. Then he added, 'You needed to go early to get the next thermal as the cycles were short, it was easy to miss a cycle if you were slow, it was very technical and tactically difficult today.'

2018-01-10 17:03

First lady today, and 4th overall across ESS, Laurie Genovese, has just come in with her Flymaster tracker. She told me 'today you had to take the initiative, the gaggle often stayed too long in the thermal, you had to leave and go even if you were low, pushing ahead was really important.'

2018-01-10 16:53

Lots of pilots are now downloading their Flymaster trackers. It looks as if Maxime Pinot has won the day.

2018-01-10 16:38

Meantime back in the goal field today in 2018, there are lots and lots of happy pilots, the happiest of all being the ice cream seller who is making an absolute fortune!

2018-01-10 15:53

The XC magazine report continues: 'At the first final entry was open to all pilots with no rating required except for a logged proof of thermalling competence. In summary: Generally the pilots enjoyed the airtime and if not, were at least happy to have survived'.

2018-01-10 15:51

So, which pilot in the Final in Owens Valley, and 3rd in the first ever World Cup in Kyushu, Japan in Spring 1992 and competing in this Super Final, in fact he has just landed in the top 30 in goal, had to swim home in that first ever Final in Owens Valley? The answer will be in the last day's commentary.

2018-01-10 15:49

So how was this amazing new event? According to our partner, XC magazine's report at the time: 'Pilots don't usually mind roughing it but to have to walk for hours on end, abandon your glider in a bush and swim across a river to get to home base just in time for the next day's task is a bit much. Others spent the whole night walking.'

2018-01-10 15:48

Uli Wiesmeier, flying a UP Katana, won that first ever final (albeit with a very different system to the Super Final today) in Owens Valley in the USA, in October 1992.

2018-01-10 15:47

I mentioned this morning that this is the 25th anniversary of the first season of the, back then, newly formed Paragliding World Cup! To celebrate the occasion, I shall be bringing you facts and figures from the last twenty five years.

2018-01-10 15:45

Out of the 118 pilots flying today, 103 have now landed - 51 in goal. What an amazing day given the low cloudbase on launch this morning.

2018-01-10 15:29

60 pilots have now crossed Ess. 10 pilots are shown as having landed just short of goal according to our live leaderboard. We'll have more news about their tracklogs and scores once they return their Flymaster Trackers to HQ.

2018-01-10 15:24

Marcella Uchoa has just landed in goal. Marcella scored 911 points in her first ever World Cup task in Pico do Gaviao, Brazil this autumn, that's top pilot country, definitely one to watch.

2018-01-10 15:19

18 seconds separated the next 8 pilots: Sebastian Ospina, Francisco Javie Reina Lagos, Idris Birch, Luca Donini, Méryl Delferriere, Xevi Bonet Dalmau, Christian Biasi and Miguel Diaz Ruiz.

2018-01-10 15:15

8 seconds separated the top 3 places: Michael Sigel, Honorin Hamard and first lady today Laurie Genovese.

2018-01-10 15:12

The sky is full of gliders coming into goal. The first 30 pilots are coming into goal.

2018-01-10 15:10

The first pilot (but not necessarily the fastest) Christian Biasi, has just landed in goal.

2018-01-10 15:08

Well done to first lady Méryl Delferriere, 3rd across ESS.

2018-01-10 15:06

The top 15 have taken ESS within a minute of each other!

2018-01-10 15:05

Michael Sigel and Honorin Hamard are taking ESS neck and neck.

2018-01-10 15:04

Honorin Hamard is in the lead with 1 km to go.

2018-01-10 15:03

The leaders have got the last turn point and are now speeding to ESS.

2018-01-10 15:01

Honorin Hamard has taken the lead again, he's at nearly 1000m above the ground and in a climb.

2018-01-10 14:59

Also competitng are ladies World Cup winners: Yael MARGELISCH (1), Silvia BUZZI FERRARIS (2), Atsuko YAMASHITA (1), Méryl Delferriere (1), Yuki Sato (1), Emanuelle Zufferey (1), Joanna DI GRIGOLI (1), what an incredibly high level!

2018-01-10 14:58

Nicole FEDELE: winner of 2 PWCs and 2012 Women's Super Final winner.

2018-01-10 14:57

Keiko Hiraki: 2013 and 2009 Women's Super Final winner plus 5 other PWC wins.

2018-01-10 14:57

Laurie Genovese: 2014 Women's Super Final winner and PWC winner.

2018-01-10 14:56

Competing Klaudia BULGAKOW: 4 PWC wins plus 2013 Women's World champion

2018-01-10 14:55

11 out of the 14 ladies taking part have already been first lady in a World Cup!

2018-01-10 14:54

Well done to our leading ladies today. Laurie Genovese currently leading the task, Yael Margelisch and Méryl Delferriere are just behind.

2018-01-10 14:52

There are two lines being taken, both to the west of the course line.

2018-01-10 14:51

A small group have broken away at the front, Michael Sigel, Sebastian Ospina, Maxime Pinot and Brad Gunnuscio.

2018-01-10 14:45

Talking of which, big Brazilian Rafael Saladini has just come back in with his tracker. He told me 'I was too agressive for my knowledge of the region'. It was his first day flying here, so he's chalked it up as a practice day and gone away smiling - what a great sports man.

2018-01-10 14:41

There are also lots of overall PWC winners here: Rafael SALADINI (1), Alfredo Studer (2), Stephane DROUIN (2), Luc Armant (2), Andreas MALECKI (1), Felix Rodriguez (3), Richard PETHIGAL (1), Michael SIGEL (2), Russell OGDEN (1), Raul Penso (1)

2018-01-10 14:41

Richard Gallon winner of the 1993 Paragliding World Cup and a PWC.

2018-01-10 14:40

Charles Cazaux the only pilot ever to have won both the Super Final (2009) and the Worlds (2011).

2018-01-10 14:40

Yassen Savov 2012 European Champion and PWC winner

2018-01-10 14:39

Torsten Siegel 2014 European Champion and PWC winner

2018-01-10 14:39

Honorin Hamard 2016 European Champion and 2015 World Champion. Winner of 2 World Cups.

2018-01-10 14:38

Pierre Remy winner of the 2017 World Championships and a PWC.

2018-01-10 14:37

Maxime Pinot winner of the 2014 Super Final and a PWC.

2018-01-10 14:37

Aaron Durogati 2016 and 2012 Super Final winner.

2018-01-10 14:36

This race has so many paraglidng super stars!

2018-01-10 14:34

The top 40 have all now got the 2nd turn point. This is going to be a very close finish.

2018-01-10 14:33

1st lady Laurie Genovese is right up at the front. She was 2nd lady in the PWC Superfinal in 2012 in Roldanillo.

2018-01-10 14:30

Honorin Hamard, Sebastian Ospina, and Yassen Savov have just got the 2nd turn point.

2018-01-10 14:29

Fortunately in the 10 day long Super Final there are plenty of discards. The discard system means that if there are 10 fully valid tasks two and a half poor days will be discarded by each pilot.

2018-01-10 14:26

Russell has landed, what was that about disciple and not rushing ahead!

2018-01-10 14:24

Charles Cazaux, one of the few pilots who has done all the Super Finals since time began (in 2009) is at the front also struggling to find a climb.

2018-01-10 14:21

This is nail biting, Russell so needs a climb, he's at 168m and in zeros.

2018-01-10 14:20

Russell Ogden is really speeding on but he needs to stop for a climb, he's 300m lower than the following gaggle and sinking.

2018-01-10 14:17

Oh dear, Russell's wife Cath has just emailed me to ask Russell to apply his 'mot du jour' to getting their cheesy pink glitter bathroom removed along with that car that he has been going to mend that is rotting in their garage, as for that cruise he has been promising to take Cath on….

2018-01-10 14:15

That certainly seems to be working for Russell today. Right from the start his Super Final plans got off to a smoking start when the plane's engine caught fire lifting off from Nice airport!

2018-01-10 14:10

For Francophile Russell Ogden, rather than a 'Thought for the Thermal', he gave me a mot du jour 'Discipline!' In a long comp like the SF, the most disciplined will win.

2018-01-10 14:09

To coincide with the new app, we are also launching 'Thought for the Thermal', a few words of advice each day from one of our more experienced pilots about competition flying.

2018-01-10 14:09

Russell Ogden is storming ahead too.

2018-01-10 14:07

The lead gaggle of 15 are so close together this is still anyones race.

2018-01-10 14:04

Honorin has been over taken by the group taking the more southerly route, he has now joined them but back in 13th position.

2018-01-10 14:03

The conditions are really great, the sky has opened up, there is cumulus everywhere giving a really fast last part of the race.

2018-01-10 14:01

One of the new comers who took the World Cup by storm in Ecuador is also right up at the front ,Theo Warden. One to watch.

2018-01-10 13:59

The group to the south are catching up with Honorin, working as a gaggle always works better, unless your name is Honorin.

2018-01-10 13:57

Honorin Hamard is right out in front on his own at 1500 m in a 2.5 m/s climb.

2018-01-10 13:55

For those of you wondering what a Boomerang 11/GR4 is, it is a Boomerang 11 with Gin's latest race harness the Genie Race 4, it's super stream lined. We'll have more on that from Michael Sigel later on in the comp.

2018-01-10 13:51

Go first lady Méryl Delferriere on her Ozone Zeno in 10th position at the moment, making a stunning come back after months recovering from a climbing injury.

2018-01-10 13:49

There is total parity between the manufacturers at the front of the race. 4 Boomerang 11s and 4 Enzo 3s.

2018-01-10 13:47

Michael Sigel, who won the 2011 World Cup here is right at the front with Honorin.

2018-01-10 13:46

Pink Panther, Yassen Savov, has stalked into the lead.

2018-01-10 13:44

The objective today was to set a nice long, classical task, great as a warm up with lots of choices. Later on in the week we'll probably see more unusual tasks.

2018-01-10 13:41

The top 20 have now got the turn point. Sooooo close together. This is still anyone's race.

2018-01-10 13:39

Edinson Alvarez Suarez is right at the front with Honorin. Edinson told me this morning he was going to fly 'on Columbian time', taking it nice and slowly! If that's his idea of 'nice and slowly...'

2018-01-10 13:36

There are three groups racing in different lines to get the turn point, this is so close.

2018-01-10 13:34

Well done to the task committee: Felix Rodriguez Fernandez, Sebastian OSPINA and Clement Latour for an excellent task today which has really separated everyone out.

2018-01-10 13:31

Honorin Hamard is about to get the turn point.

2018-01-10 13:27

As for all those who qualified from the World Cups in Switzerland and France.I don't see an Alp, baguette or cowbell in sight, this is going to be very different terrain for them too.

2018-01-10 13:27

One of the big questions here is how versatile are the big Brazilians, who so dominated the Pico do Gaviao World Cup and who qualified in the fairly flat terrain there, going to get on in the bigger terrain here in Roldanillo.

2018-01-10 13:26

Big Brazilian Samuel Nascimento has taken the lead out in the middle.

2018-01-10 13:22

Cloud base is still quite low, but it is improving and there is sunshine all along the course now.

2018-01-10 13:20

The race has now divided into 3 very distinct groups, Honorin in the mountains with Tim Bollinger. Felix Rodriguez Fernandez further out in the flats and a gaggle led by Hugo Laronze right in the middle of the valley.

2018-01-10 13:16

Amongst Honorin's other most notable firsts is that he was 1st to buy the new Paragliding World Cup App - well done Honorin! For those of you lagging behind Honorin because you haven't installed the App, catch up quickly, by going to the Google Play Store or Apple App store, search for PWCA. The App is now available for iOS and Android.

2018-01-10 13:12

Honorin Hamard has got a half km lead.

2018-01-10 13:11

This task has really separated the pilots out, those who followed the mountains like Honorin and those who have straightlined it down the middle of the valley in the flats led by Andreas 'Pepe' Malecki.

2018-01-10 12:58

The Super Final is the only big competition that has eluded Honorin so far. In 2016 he was European Champion and 2015 World champion (in Roldanillo).

2018-01-10 12:57

'Honorin's objectives for 2018 - be the first to fly more than 600 km, oh and win the Super Final,' Parapente Mag (issue 174).

2018-01-10 12:55

The following gaggle are just passing the town of Union.

2018-01-10 12:54

Honorin is hugging the mountains whilst the others have taken a spur leading them towards the flats and are now going to have to make the decision flats or mountains.

2018-01-10 12:52

Honorin Hamard has taken the lead.

2018-01-10 12:51

The pilots are now racing down the valley to the first turn point, with very little separating the first 20.

2018-01-10 12:48

This is going to be one of the highest ranked competitions ever held. 18 previous overall World Cup winners are taking part!

2018-01-10 12:47

Honorin Hamard won the Worlds here in 2015, and current World Champion Pierre Remy, is also competing.

2018-01-10 12:46

We've got some amazing pilots taking part. Michael Sigel won the 2011 PWC here, Aaron Durogati won the 2012 Super Final here – ex World and European Champion Luca Donini won 4 of the 9 tasks in that SF.

2018-01-10 12:45

The 10 day long Super Final is the grand finale. It brings together the top pilots from the 5, seven day events, held throughout the year, plus last year's Super Final, plus the Sky Gods from decades past (Legends).

2018-01-10 12:42

The climbs are going to be very poor at the start but should get better as soon as they get out into the valley where blue patches are appearing.

2018-01-10 12:33

Total cloud cover in the mountains but there are blue patches out in the valley.

2018-01-10 12:32

What a massive gaggle of dots against a grey sky, all low but so is cloud base.

2018-01-10 12:30

The Start is open for the first task of the 2017 Paragliding World Cup!

2018-01-10 12:29

Team Brazil provided an amazing spectacle all taking off together on matching gliders in the colours of the Brazilian flag!

2018-01-10 12:27

Launch went well despite the low base and lack of Internet!

2018-01-10 11:34

The Start is at 12.30.

2018-01-10 11:33

Despite the low base, the organisers are confident that today will be good, with no rain forecast. There is a light wind up launch at the moment.

2018-01-10 11:30

Today's task is 85 km up and down the valley in front of launch with 3 turn points.

2018-01-10 11:29

The weather during the practice days before the competition was very humid and overcast making the northern European pilots feel at home. Today cloud base is at hill height again, window is open. The first pilots are launching.

2018-01-10 11:25

Welcome to the 2017 Super Final in Roldanillo, Columbia. This year we are celebrating 25 years of the Paragliding World Cup, quarter of a century of great competitions!

2018-01-10 10:36

The task is set - todays race is a 84.39 km Race to Goal The window will open at 11:30 Local Time and the Start is at 12:30

2018-01-10 07:17

The first day of the Paragliding World Cup Superfinal 2017 is here and the forecast indicates good flyig conditions. The transports will be leaving for takeoff at 0900 and we expect task news a couple of hours later

As ever we will be using Flymaster Live Trackers in this event and all of the tracking links will be available here on the front page as soon as the task has been set.

We will be featuring Live Commentary all of the way through every task with up to date details on what is happening in the race along with interviews wilth pilots and partners and some history of the Paragliding World Cup.

You can also follow the whole task on the Paragliding World Cup App (for smartphones and tablets) - just scan this code for more details...

More news very soon - enjoy the event

2018-01-09 07:42

Registration day is here and the processes have begun to get ready for the competition

As of now (08:30) it is no longer possible to make any changes to pilot profiles on the website.

Pilots requiring waypoints for the practice day should use the waypoints from the 2015 FAI World Championship - available from Airtribune HERE

Registration will begin at 13:00

2018-01-08 18:46

The Paragliding World Cup Superfinal 2017 begins tomorrow in Roldanillo, Colombia.

All of the team are now on site and the preparations are well under way

Contrary to anything you may find on the local website - tomorrow's official program is :-

09:00 - Transport to taleoff from El Palacio de los Jugos (corenr of the square)

12:30 - Pilots are asked to land by 12:30 at the Stadium

13:00 - 16:00 - Registration (please be prompt - it is a busy day)

16:30 - Everybody meeting in the square outside HQ for a parade to the stadium

17:00 - 18:30 - Opening Ceremony

19:00 - Mandatory Safety Briefing in HQ followed by the opening dinner.

2018-01-04 17:59

Now available, the shiny new Paragliding World Cup App (for Android and iPhone).
Get it at the Google Play Store or for iPhone and iPad you can go to Apple Store.
The app simplifies access to the colourful commentary, revamped live tracking, leaderboard, pilot list (for current and future events) and results.
The app will make it much easier to follow each event on your mobile phone or tablet, wherever you are in the World. Some sample screenshots are below or, for more details, see the Article Here

2017 World Cup Superfinal ::: Roldanillo - Colombia

Colombia, Roldanillo

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