A 114km task was set taking the pilots north, then back south to goal on the opposite side of the valley from Roldanillo.

There were frequent changes of pace throughout the task and lots of route choices. Some pilots went much further into the mountains than others on the way to the northerly turn point. It was very scenic going much further into the mountains, with a full spectrum of every shade of green. Coffee and banana plantations and huge trees dotted the hillsides.

There was lots of gaggle hoping. The conditions were strong with 2 and 3 m/s climbs and some 4+m/s. 

From the northerly turn point to Obando it was really slow out in the flats. They set off into the flats without a lot of height, with a big blue hole in front of them, which made life difficult. 

Charles Cazaux described it as being, ‘a very interesting ‘snake line’ procession across the fields below. Low down the Pacific wind from the west was the biggest influence. Higher up, the wind was from east, northeast. Because the drift of the thermals was at an angle to the course line, pilots had to play snakes and ladders to climb in the thermals.’ 

The end of the race had a nail-biting final glide where pilots crossed End of Speed still having to find a climb to get to goal. 

99 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 points and lead out points. 

 

Top 3 speed point winners – the fastest pilots round the course
03:06:02: Simon METTETAL flying at an average speed of 35.4 km/h
03:06:12: Maxime PINOT
03:06:12: Honorin HAMARD

Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most
161.1: Simon METTETAL
155.8: Meryl DELFERRIERE
153.4: Philipp HAAG

Top 3 in the task
1: Simon METTETAL
2: Meryl DELFERRIERE
3: Maxime PINOT

Best newcomer:Estefano SALGADO (18th )

Top 3 ladies
1: Meryl DELFERRIERE
2: Yael MARGELISCH
3: Marcella UCHOA

Top 4 teams
1: Fly Turkey
2: Ozone
3: Flymaster
3: Parastick

 

As we go into the final day, the big question on everyone’s wing tips is, ‘will we have a female winner of the Paragliding World Cup this time tomorrow?’

 

The top 3 overall in the competition are currently: 

1: Honorin HAMARD

2: Meryl DELFERRIERE

3: Baptiste LAMBERT

 

All the results are available here: https://live.pwca.org/scores.php?comp=29