Summary written by Ruth Jessop
 
Mr Météo saved the best for last. Blue skies, puffy clouds and an epic 101km task over the mountains and out onto the flats.

From launch it was so clear that you could see Croatia. Racing along the most northerly ridge gave stunning views of the Dolomites in the distance.
 
In the words of task committee maestro Pepe MALECKI: We set a perfect task to let everyone enjoy the good weather, a decisive task which saw 107 pilots in goal.
 
There were lots of options, especially at the start, with a choice of several ridges to take and a 2200m base. Some very good thermals in the mountains were up to 4-5m/s.
 
Meantime out in the flats it didn’t work as well as the previous days. The thermals were weaker at 1-2 m/s and most got no higher than 1500m.
 
The race round the flats at the end shed quite a few famous faces. The task chucked all the scores up in the air except for the first two.
 
In the words of today’s task winner Jose REBELO: An awesome day, an awesome task, awesome pilots, an awesome week. Jose’s average speed, as the fastest pilot round the course was 32.2 km/h.
 
After seven days of perfect conditions for paragliding, pizzas and pasta we’d like to say a very big thank you to all  the team in Gemona, especially Luigi Seravalli, his team and all the staff at the Hotel Willy.
 
Top 3 in task 7
1st  Pierre REMY
2nd= Jose REBELO 
2nd= Loïs GOUTAGNY       
 
Best newcomer in task 7: Marco Valentini
 
Top 3 ladies in task 7
1st Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILLE
2nd Constance METTETAL
3rd Yuki SATO COLOMBé
 
Top 3 teams
1st Niviuk
2nd Woody Valley
3rd Flying Tree Environmental Management
 
The winners of Gemona 2021
1st Jonathan MARIN
2nd Ulrich PRINZ   
3rd Simon METTETAL   
 
Best newcomer: Marco Valentini
 
Top 3 ladies
1st Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILLE
2nd Nanda WALLISER
3rd Constance METTETAL
 
Top 3 teams
1st Niviuk
2nd Chinese Taipei Gliding Sports Association
3rd Air'G Products 

 

After the storms last night today’s forecast was pessimistic, therefore a short 59km task was set taking the pilots on a triangular tour of the flats.

The weather turned out to be much better than expected, less wind and a higher base, 2200m. The clouds worked giving well marked lines. 

The crux of the task was which route to take coming back from the first turn point.

Yassen SAVOV didn’t like the look of the big blue hole out in front over the flats. He preferred the little clouds over the hills to the west of the river and decided to stay high in the mountains. He watched other pilots ahead sinking out and went elsewhere to get lift, Simon joined him, and they climbed out together.  

The crescendo finish was incredible, Simon METTETAL (Niviuk Icepeak X-One) racing neck and neck with Yassen (Ozone Enzo 3) at speeds of over 80km/h.

Simon clinched it by 5 seconds. The suspense continued as he then took 5 minutes (that seemed like 50 to those of us watching anxiously) to climb and make goal thus claiming his speed points. 

For Yassen, it was mission accomplished as he reclaimed his crown of the pilot with the most task wins in this competition – 13. 

With an excellent forecast for tomorrow and six tasks already in the bag, Stefan Bernhard summed up what many people are thinking, ‘This is like doing two World Cups back-to-back.’

The average speed of Simon METTETAL, the fastest pilot round the course, was 33.4m/s.

The first 95 pilots made goal, and thus all flew the same distance, and gained the same distance points. Today’s winner is therefore the one with a combination of the best speed/time points and lead out points. 

01:24:43: Simon METTETAL

01:24:48: Yassen SAVOV

01:27:32: Stephan MORGENTHALER

160.5: Yassen SAVOV 

146.6: Simon METTETAL

134.9: Charles CAZAUX

1st: Yassen SAVOV

2nd: Simon METTETAL

3rd: Joachim OBERHAUSER

1st: Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILLE

2nd: Adel HONTI

3rd: Katalin JUHASZ

1st=: Niviuk

1st=: Chinese Taipei Gliding Sports Association

3rd: Air'G Products

On the eve of the last task the top 10 overall are: Jonathan MARIN, Ulrich PRINZ, Honorin HAMARD, Seb OSPINA, Russell OGDEN, Simon METTETAL, Julien WIRTZ, Krzysztof SCHMIDT, Baptiste LAMBERT, Joachim OBERHAUSER.

The top 5 leading ladies overall are: Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILLE, Nanda WALLISER, Constance METTETAL, Emanuelle ZUFFEREY and Katalin JUHASZ

The top 5 teams overall are: Chinese Taipei Gliding Sports Association, Air'G Products, Kortel Design, Woody Valley and Cross Country Magazine.

 

 

With storms forecast for later on in the afternoon a shorter 66km task was set taking the pilots on a triangular tour of the flats. There were good, wide thermals, often with punchy cores giving strong climbs. Buoyant lifty lines meant that the leaders didn’t have to stop to climb much. Helpful cloud streets marked the thermals. 

 

For Chris Bevins it was more like flying in Colombia than the Alps. Out in the flats there were climbs that kicked off low down, letting the pilots push more in the flats than they have done so far this week.

 

It was a struggle across the flats towards the end but there was a thermal just before the factory that worked. Seb Ospina and Stephan Morgenthaler managed to pull away from the others and the race to End of Speed was on. Stephan crossed ESS 13 seconds ahead of Seb.

 

Task five was the day that the World Cup went to the opera as the lead gaggle arrived in goal three minutes later to the dramatic sound of ‘The Ride of the Valkyries.’ Very befitting music for another day of dramatic racing.

 

Jose Rebelo summed up the day in three words: Fun and Fast.

 

The average speed of Stephan Morgenthaler, the fastest pilot round the course, was 36.1, making it the fastest race of the week so far.

 

The first 95 pilots made goal, and thus all flew the same distance, and gained the same distance points. Today’s winner is therefore the one with a combination of the best speed/time points and lead out points. 

 

 

01:33:41: Stephan Morgenthaler 

01:33:54: Seb Ospina

01:34:37: Julien Wirtz

 

160.7: Francisco Javie Reina Lagos             

156.5: Baptiste Lambert                               

156.2: Huseyin Tanriverdi                            

 

1st: Stephan Morgenthaler

2nd: Seb Ospina

3rd: Julien Wirtz

 

1st: Seiko Fukuoka Naville

2nd: Emanuelle Zufferey

3rd: Constance Mettetal

 

1st: Cross Country Magazine

2nd: Niviuk

3rd: Woody Valley

 

The photo gallery from tasks 3 and 4 is available here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/tFhWvRYhLHWaFEvQ7

 

Today was a day of blue skies, high base, and very few clouds.

A 105km task zigzagging across the mouth of the mountains was set, a task more for the mountain goats than the golfers. 

The first choice was which ridge to follow. It was a day for straight-lining and very little turning. The thermals were powerful and punchy, with strong winds in places. There were stunning views of bare rock faces.

The course took the pilots over some very remote terrain with no roads. It was full-on mountain flying. 

The end part of the race, out into the flats, was very mincy. Some were luckier than others. Definitely a time to put the brakes on and change pace, making it both a fast and a slow day. 

It was a day that was decisive for the scores as two pilots Pal Takats and Jonathan Marin got to goal 3 minutes before the others by sneaking onto another mountain and going for it whilst the others looked in the opposite direction. They crushed everyone else’s scores putting most into a discard, right on the day when everyone was hoping to make the most of now having a full discard. Well done to the 66 who made goal; better luck tomorrow to the 61 who didn’t. 

 

The average speed of the fastest pilot round the course was 33.5 km/h. 

 

The first 66 pilots made goal, and thus all flew the same distance and gained the same distance points. Today’s winner is therefore the one with a combination of the best speed/time points and lead-out points. 

02:59:34:  Pal TAKATS

03:00:48:  Jonathan MARIN

03:03:23:  Michael SOMMERAUER

Denis Soverini: 152.1 

Ulrich PRINZ: 144.7 

Joze MOLEK: 144.0 

1st:  Pal TAKATS 

2nd:  Ulrich PRINZ 

3rd:  Jonathan MARIN 

1st:  Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILLE 

2nd:  Yuki SATO COLOMBé 

3rd:   Emanuelle ZUFFEREY

1st:  Cross Country Magazine 

2nd:  Chinese Taipei Gliding Sports Association 

3rd:  Davinci Gliders 

It was quite a windy day today, with the wind coming from the southeast. However, despite the wind, the thermals were good and well organised. Today had the highest thermal base of the week.

An out and back race to Meduno on the west side of the flats, and up to a goal field in the mouth of the mountains. There was lots of choice of flats and higher terrain. Around the last turn point there was a lot of wind. It was like going up and down a staircase, stop and climb, drift back a bit, climb again, back a bit…

From the last turn point to goal it was a blue, blue day. The finish was nail biting with the leaders going for goal with the highest glide ratio possible. 12:1 to goal and Stefan BERNHARD was off as if he were flying a jet aeroplane.
Christian AMON’s summary of the day was perfect: That was even better than ice cream.

The average speed of Stefan BERNHARD, the fastest pilot round the course, was 27.5 km/hr.

The first 92 pilots made goal, and thus all flew the same distance, 83 km, and gained the same distance points. Today’s winner is therefore the one with a combination of the best speed/time points and lead out points. 

Top 3 speed/time points winners – the fastest pilots round the course:
Stefan Bernhard 02:43:50, Xavier LAPORTE 02:44:01 and Ulrich PRINZ 02:44:15.

Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most: 
Baptiste LAMBERT 160.2, Russell OGDEN 159.3 and Xavier LAPORTE 153.5 points. 

Top 3 overall

1st                      Russell OGDEN
2nd                     Xavier LAPORTE
3rd                          Stefan BERNHARD    

Top 3 ladies

1st                      Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILL
2nd                     Yuki Sato Colombé
3rd                          Nanda WALLISER 

Top 3 teams

1st                               Chinese Taipei Gliding Sports Association
2nd                         Niviuk
3rd                               Wind

Today’s weather conditions were better than yesterday, with blue skies and cumulus clouds, but there were places where the wind made life difficult during the 84.5 km task.

The thermals were good and reliable but not too strong. 

A very interesting task was set with options to go into the mountains or stay in the flats to get to the first and second turn points. There was lots of choice. 

The second half of the task was a race up and down the flats. Those behind were able to catch up as those ahead marked the thermals for them.

It was a day to only stop in the good thermals and not to climb too high otherwise you would get overtaken. It was not a day for hesitating. 

It was a good demonstration of the point of lead out points. Baptiste LAMBERT led the way, then had a bit of bad luck at the end. But all the same, he was rewarded for his earlier audacity with another task win.

Stefan Bernhard summed the day up, ‘it is so good to be back, I have so missed this.’ I think he spoke for the 84 pilots in goal.

 

The average speed of the fastest pilot, Marco Busetta, was 26.6 km/h.

 

The first 84 pilots made goal, and thus all flew the same distance, and gained the same distance points. Today’s winner is therefore the one with a combination of the best speed/time points and lead out points. 

 

 

Top 3 speed/time points winners – the fastest pilots round the course:

 

Marco Busetta      02:55:54

Bogdan BIALKA    02:56:04

Philipp HAAG       02:56:13

 

 

Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most:

 

Baptiste LAMBERT        158.1

Victor BOUDET             145.0

Pierre REMY                  144.2

Honorin HAMARD          144.2

 

 

 

Top 3 overall

 

1st                   Baptiste LAMBERT

2nd                   Victor BOUDET

3rd                   Pierre REMY

 

Top 3 ladies

 

1st                   Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILLE

2nd                   Klaudia BULGAKOW

3rd                         Emanuelle ZUFFEREY

 

Top 3 teams

 

1st                          Ozone    

2nd                   Niviuk

3rd =                       Kortel Design

3rd =                Chinese Taipei Gliding Sports Association

 

 

All the results are available here: http://live.pwca.org/scores.php?comp=28

 

Task 2 video: https://youtu.be/L6cnEXsK2rY

 

Task videos are available here: https://www.youtube.com/c/paraglidingworldcup/videos

Summary written by Ruth Jessop

The sauna like conditions didn’t dampen the spirts on launch. There was much laughter and smiles as old friends met after a year apart.

Today was a difficult day with clouds touching the mountain tops and overcast conditions in the flats.
Excellent work by the task setting committee, Denis Soverini, Andreas Malecki and Idris Birch saw a very ingenious corridor task set, zigzagging south, then a race to goal north in the mouth of the mountains.

It was a 63km task that tested the best of them, and one of the best made goal first. 

It was a day when Honorin was not going to wait for anyone, making the most of every bit of lift. A courageous push out on his own to the third turn point gave him the lead he needed to gain height and go for goal. 

XContest veteran Sebastian OSPINA, was determined not to let Honorin get away and touched down 27 seconds behind him, giving them a five-minute lead over the other 29 who arrived in goal after them. 

Today’s testing conditions didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of newby, Prune DELARIS, from Saint-André-les-Alpes in France. So, over to Prune for the final word in today’s summary about her first ever World Cup task:

 ‘C'était trop cool’

The average speed of the fastest pilot round the course was 20.44 km/h.

The first 31 pilots made goal, and thus all flew the same distance, and gained the same distance points. Today’s winner is therefore the one with a combination of the best speed/time points and lead out points. 

Top 3 speed/time points winners – the fastest pilots round the course:
Honorin HAMARD                         02:49:01
Sebastian OSPINA                        02:49:28
Joachim OBERHAUSER               02:54:18

Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most:
Honorin HAMARD                      122.3
Sebastian OSPINA                     110.2
Simon METTETAL                      96.6 

Top 3 overall

1st                     Honorin HAMARD 
2nd                    Sebastian OSPINA 
3rd                     Simon METTETAL

Top 3 ladies

1st                     Nanda WALLISER 
2nd                    Klaudia BULGAKOW 
3rd                    Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILLE              

Top 3 teams

1st                     Air'G Products
2nd                    Wind 
3rd                    Cross Country Magazine

All the results are available here: http://live.pwca.org/scores.php?comp=28
Video of the task https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfML2QA22CQ&t=12s

Best regards,

Summary written by Ruth Jessop 

-- 
Paragliding World Cup Association
pwca@pwca.org - http://www.paraglidingworldcup.org  
tel: +33 4 50 32 83 83 

The 2021 Paragliding World Cup Tour is sponsored by:
AIR'G PRODUCTS - AIR VUISA - ALAS DEL HOMBRE - CHINESE TAIPEI GLIDING SPORTS ASSOCIATION - CROSS COUNTRY MAGAZINE -
DAVINCI GLIDERS - FLYING TREE ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY - FLOW PARAGLIDERS - FLYMASTER - FLY TURKEY - GIN GLIDERS - JACK & JONES -
KORTEL DESIGN - MAC PARA - NEARBIRDS - NIVIUK - OZONE - PARAPENTE MAG - PARASTICK - UP PARAGLIDERS - VETOR - WIND - WOODY VALLEY  

To get the season off to a flying start the Paragliding World Cup will be returning to Gemona in north eastern Italy. Gemona is literally where the plains meet the Alps. This gives a great mix of truly alpine flying, along ridges and over high pastures, combined with the possibility of turn points and racing out in the flats. 

The picturesque old town of Gemona is a favourite location with the World Cup, having been a venue in 2016 and 2018, so we are absolutely delighted to be able to keep a promise to reschedule the postponed 2020 event.

This event has an extremely high competitor level. A letter A or B was required for automatic selection, equivalent to a top 20 place in the Super Final! Competing in this all-star event:

Baptiste LAMBERT winner of two World Cups in 2019. 
Stephan MORGENTHALER, winner of the last World Cup. 
Joachim OBERHAUSER, current World Champion. 
Pierre REMY, current Super Final champion and former World Champion, the only pilot to have held both titles at the same time. 
Charles CAZAUX, former World and Super Final Champion. 
Yassen SAVOV, former European champion. 
Honorin HAMARD, former World and European Champion. 

Thirteen pilots taking part have already won a World Cup. Eight of the ladies have already been on the top spot on the lady’s podium, including World/Super Final legends Seiko FUKUOKA NAVILLE, Petra SLIVOVA and Klaudia BULGAKOW. 

Despite the difficult times recently, we are delighted to welcome a new partner to our World Cup family: The Chinese Taipei Gliding Sports Association. 

With a record number of World Cup partners, twenty-three in total, each fielding a team, the team event will be tougher than ever before. 

We hope that you will enjoy following Gemona 2021 on our new website at pwca.org and on the live app at http://live.pwca.org/app.

Just a reminder that the 2021 Paragliding World Cup Tour is sponsored by:

AIR'G PRODUCTS - AIR VUISA - ALAS DEL HOMBRE - CHINESE TAIPEI GLIDING SPORTS ASSOCIATION - CROSS COUNTRY MAGAZINE - DAVINCI GLIDERS - FLYING TREE ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY - FLOW PARAGLIDERS - FLYMASTER - FLY TURKEY - GIN GLIDERS - JACK & JONES - KORTEL DESIGN - MAC PARA - NEARBIRDS - NIVIUK - OZONE - PARAPENTE MAG - PARASTICK - UP PARAGLIDERS - VETOR - WIND - WOODY VALLEY.