Paragliding World Cup

World Cup Pegalajar, Spain 2023

Spain, Pegalajar

06/05 - 13/05/2023
Spain, Pegalajar
Type
World Class - World Cup Tour
Season
2023

Event News

Final Report - Pegalajar 2023

2023-05-13 21:07

Summary by Ruth Jessop

Despite mutters of ‘no bueno’ and strong winds on launch this morning a 117km task was set. 

Today’s theme was ‘cold and turbulent’.

The wind from the north made the wait for the start to open a very cold one. 

The task can best be described as a downwind dash, with pilots reaching speeds of 85km/h. There were very strong climbs, with new lady in the comp, Ramona Eckert, enjoying an 8.7m/s climb. On the downside, Thomas Gury hit 10m/s sink!

The long leg between turn point 1 and 2 gave lots of route choices with at least five distinct groups of pilots emerging. Yassen Savov and Arthur Moindrot were the mountain men of the day until they landed. 

Dario Dandeu and Felix Rodriguez Fernandez, took the ladies on a very scenic route further north over the lakes.

Today was all about Andy Tallia (wearing the maillot jaune) and Baptiste Lambert (wearing the maillot vert). They set off with 0.1 points between them, it doesn’t get closer than that. 

On the ladies’ leaderboard it wasn’t any less stressful. After five tasks Violeta Jimenez had just a 1.1 point lead over Kari Ellis.

The last leg of the race from turn point 2 to End of Speed was nail biting as Andy caught up, but Baptiste had an unbeatable lead out point advantage.

At the end of the day, Baptiste Lambert was once again unstoppable, he was always in front in a controlling position. He claimed his 4th World Cup victory here in Pegalajar, having already won in Baixo Guandu, Brazil and Linzhou, China (2019), Kruschevo, Macedonia (2022).

Although Kari arrived 23 seconds ahead of Violeta, Violeta clung onto her place on the top spot on the ladies’ podium. Violeta adds Pegalajar 2023 to her list of ladies’ victories: Gochang, South Korea (2022), La Rioja, Argentina (2021).

Team Niviuk 1 held onto their lead with their main rivals in today’s race being Niviuk 2.

Six days of racing shows that it takes a lot more than a windy day to stop the task here in Pegalajar.

A big thank you to all the pilots who have taken part in this amazing, first ever, World Cup in Pegalajar, for their fair play and safe flying. 

None of this would have been possible without Lope Morales Gozalez, Montse Santana Dumpiennez, Inigo Redin, Antonio Romero and their team. They have worked tirelessly and with endless patience and smiles to make this competition one of the best ever.

The first 106 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 in task 6 – the fastest pilots round the course
02:19:03: Baptiste LAMBERT flying at an average speed of 48.5 km/h
02:19:07: Tilen CEGLAR
02:19:09: Pierre REMY
02:19:09: Marcelo SANCHEZ VILCHEZ

Top 3 leading point baggers in task 6– those who were in the lead the most
168.2: Baptiste LAMBERT
158.0: Tilen CEGLAR
157.6: Michael SOMMERAUER

Top 3 in task 6
1: Baptiste LAMBERT
2: Tilen CEGLAR
3: Pierre REMY

Best newcomer: Marcelo SANCHEZ VILCHEZ (4th)

Top 3 ladies in task 6
1: Alexia FISCHER
2: Kari ELLIS
3: Violeta JIMENEZ

Top 3 teams in task 6
1: Niviuk 2
2: Woody Valley
3: Chinese Taipei Gliding Sports Association

 In the team competition the top two pilots in each team are scored and the second one gives the ranking. The highest placed second team pilot was Xavier LAPORTE flying for team Niviuk 2.
 
Top 3 overall in the World Cup in Pegalajar 2023
1: Baptiste LAMBERT
2: Andy TALLIA
3: Pierre REMY

Best newcomer: Marcelo SANCHEZ VILCHEZ (4th)

Top 3 ladies overall
1: Violeta JIMENEZ
2: Kari ELLIS
3: Atsuko YAMASHITA

Top 3 teams overall
1: Niviuk 1
2: Woody Valley
3: Ozone

All the results are available here: https://live.pwca.org/scores
Tune into our website https://pwca.org and our live app https://live.pwca.org.
Photo Gallery (click on the comment icon for a description of the photo and pilot's names): https://photos.app.goo.gl/m1NqBDq3uRr6E8hk8
Instagram: officialparaglidingworldcup

Task 5 - Pegalajar 2023

2023-05-11 19:00

Summary written by Ruth Jessop

Today’s race took the pilots on a route northeast of Pegalajar. 

It proved difficult to get high at the start. However, on the way to turn point 1 the conditions improved, despite the cross wind. This made it important to stay up wind where there was a buoyant line which worked better than those who chose a route to the east of the course line. 

From turn point 1 to 2 everyone followed a shallow ridge where quite a lot of pilots landed in the sink between the lift cycles.

Turn point 2 to 3 was an into wind leg north with nice clouds, but the pilots had to connect to them, which wasn’t always easy. Therefore, to the west of the optimum line was the best route and many pilots reported flying with birds of prey and hawks. 

There was great convergence just before the last turn point, however that didn’t make it all plain sailing to Goal. Goal was on a ridge, so those who came in low, below the ridge, had a final stressful moment. Most eventually made goal in the Aerodromo de Beas de Segura. 

In general, it was lovely flying with beautiful scenery unless you got low. Staying up wind was key all day. It was great to have yet another completely different task as the pilots ventured into new territory after turn point 2. 

Today’s race dramatically changed the scores, so we now have two pilots in first equal position. With two tasks remaining, Baptiste Lambert joins Andy Tallia on the top spot. Violeta Jimenez keeps her first place in the ladies’ ranking and Ozone are now top of the team’s scoreboard. 

The first 70 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
02:23:49: François CORMIER flying at an average speed of 40.7 km/h
02:23:53: Baptiste LAMBERT
02:23:58: José JIMéNEZ BELDA

Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most
159.9: Yassen SAVOV
145.5: Jonathan MARIN
145.1: José JIMéNEZ BELDA

Top 3 in the task
1: José JIMéNEZ BELDA (NEWCOMER)
2: Baptiste LAMBERT
3: Julien WIRTZ

Top 3 ladies in the task
1: Kari ELLIS
2: Violeta JIMENEZ
3: Atsuko YAMASHITA

Top 3 teams in the task
1: Ozone
2: Niviuk 1
3: Niviuk 2

In the team competition the top two pilots in each team are scored and the second one gives the ranking. The highest placed second team pilot was Julien WIRTZ flying for team Ozone.

All the results are available here: https://live.pwca.org/scores
Tune into our website https://pwca.org and our live app https://live.pwca.org.
Photo Gallery (click on the comment icon for a description of the photo and pilot's names): https://photos.app.goo.gl/m1NqBDq3uRr6E8hk8
Instagram: officialparaglidingworldcup

Task 4 - Pegalajar 2023

2023-05-11 05:50

Summary written by Ruth Jessop

Task 4 was an eventful one. The weather conditions were the best so far. The task was 133km, with 115 or so downwind. The conditions at the start gate were excellent which meant only thing: It would be fast and furious. And it was.

Tilen Ceglar described how the flight went:

Towards the first turnpoint clouds were forming along the way and it was a game of finding the right lines. In that part Baptiste and I detached a bit from the group in front and led the way. This kind of flying is why we do this sport, sniffing the lines and going from one cloud to the next.

Towards the third turnpoint the gaggle almost caught us up, and then let us go again towards the fourth turnpoint, which turned out to be the critical point in the race. We got caught up in a valley southeast from Pegalajar with windy and turbulent conditions. The gaggle fell apart into a hundred pieces and, for a while, it was every man for himself. Some pilots escaped this area relatively untroubled, and they took the lead.

The rest of us were struggling to get enough altitude to enter the flats on the higher plateau. From my point of view, it was difficult to figure out where the leaders were, so I decided to focus on the weather and was able to catch up quite a bit. Again, it was a game of finding the right lines and thermalling as little as possible.

The final glide was long and downwind which slowed down the first group, as the whole area was in shade, giving the late comers the chance to get back some precious seconds. The race stopped 7km before the line, but the troubles did not, as we entered a strong convergence above the line which took some effort to get down to the fresh fruits in the landing field.

The first 96 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
02:38:12: Francisco Javie REINA LAGOS flying at an average speed of 46.4 km/h
02:38:31: Andy TALLIA
02:38:34: Marcelo SANCHEZ VILCHEZ
 
 Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most
167.4: Julien WIRTZ
165.3: Jonathan MARIN
164.6: Rafael SALADINI

Top 3 in the task
1: Andy TALLIA
2: Marcelo SANCHEZ VILCHEZ (NEWCOMER)
3: Francisco Javie REINA LAGOS

Top 3 ladies in the task
1: Violeta JIMENEZ
2: Alexia FISCHER
3: Sandra ANTONY

Top 3 teams in the task
1: Niviuk 1
2: Çameli Municipality
3: Ozone

In the team competition the top two pilots in each team are scored and the second one gives the ranking. The highest placed second team pilot was Jonathan MARIN flying for team Niviuk 1.

All the results are available here: https://live.pwca.org/scores
Tune into our website https://pwca.org and our live app https://live.pwca.org.
Photo Gallery (click on the comment icon for a description of the photo and pilot's names): https://photos.app.goo.gl/m1NqBDq3uRr6E8hk8
Instagram: officialparaglidingworldcup

Task 3 - Pegalajar 2023

2023-05-09 18:29

Summary written by Ruth Jessop

With forecasts of high winds, for many, today was the task that would never happen. However, the wind didn’t pick up until all the pilots had taken off and although it remained strong, it didn’t disrupt the day’s play. 

A short downwind task of 51km, with one turn point, was set. This made it very different to the long tasks the pilots enjoyed on the previous days. 

There were two distinct gaggles before the one and only turn point, then the pilots came together and the race to goal was on. However, Marco Littame had clocked up enough lead-out points before the first turn point by bravely pushing out on his own, which was super risky and difficult, that despite crossing End of Speed in fifteenth place, he well and truly earnt his seventh task win today. 

The wind was stronger than on the previous days, but the thermals were weaker. It was very important to gain a lot of altitude before the start as finding the next decent thermal was difficult. Choosing the right line was, as always, primordial. 

It was a nice speedy task with a soft landing in a ploughed field and shady olive trees to pack up underneath. 

108 pilots made goal today and arrived before yesterday’s task would have even started. 

The Guardia Civil are still trying to track down Baptiste Lambert who was flying at 95km/h, breaking the local speed limit! After three tasks, Baptiste is a mere 1.2 points behind overall race leader, Andy Tallia.

The first 108 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
00:51:07: Pierre REMY flying at an average speed of 54.8 km/h
00:51:08: Julien WIRTZ
00:51:08: Francisco Javie REINA LAGOS

Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most
148.6: Marco LITTAME
140.4: Petr KOSTRHUN
139.1: Federico NEVASTRO

Top 3 in the task
1: Marco LITTAME
2: Pierre REMY
3: Julien WIRTZ

Best newcomer: Martin MESA (6)

Top 3 ladies in the task
1: Sandra ANTONY
2: Violeta JIMENEZ
3: Kari ELLIS

Top 3 teams in the task
1: Niviuk 1
2: Ozone
3: Parapente Mag

In the team competition the top two pilots in each team are scored and the second one gives the ranking. The highest placed second team pilot was Francisco REINA LAGOS flying for team Niviuk 1.

All the results are available here: https://live.pwca.org/scores
Tune into our website https://pwca.org and our live app https://live.pwca.org.
Photo Gallery (click on the comment icon for a description of the photo and pilot's names): https://photos.app.goo.gl/m1NqBDq3uRr6E8hk8
Instagram: officialparaglidingworldcup

Task 2 - Pegalajar 2023

2023-05-08 19:54

Summary written by Ruth Jessop

With a pessimistic forecast, an 85 km triangle task was set north of take off, using the only area that didn’t have too much wind.

Today started off with 100% cloud cover and a forecast of a strong northwest wind. The pilots went as far as possible round the start cylinder to minimise the into wind component to the first turn point.

It was tricky at the Start and the pilots had to take any climb they could. It was then key to know when to change pace and when to be selective about which thermals to stay in as the conditions began to improve.

As the pilots arrived at turn point two, the cloud almost totally disappeared. The conditions in the afternoon then became much better than forecast.

The thermals became good and they could always find something to climb in. 

Birds of prey even came out to join the pilots. 

There was less wind than expected but it picked up again as the pilots were approaching goal. At this point they had to really anticipate their arrival in goal as there were no thermals between 20 and 10 km to goal. This part of the race put a large percentage of the pilots on the ground.

Well done to the 62 pilots who made goal. Great task setting, although the into wing last leg to goal was perhaps not to everyone’s liking.

The first 62 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
02:06:30: Petr KOSTRHUN flying at an average speed of 34.6 km/h
02:06:42: Baptiste LAMBERT
02:06:58: Joze MOLEK
 
 Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most
152.9: Luis MARTINEZ ITURBE
151.6: Petr KOSTRHUN
150.9: Jonathan MARIN

Top 3 in the task
1: Petr KOSTRHUN
2: Baptiste LAMBERT
3: Andy TALLIA

Best newcomer: Martin MESA (14th)

Top 3 ladies in the task
1: Violeta JIMENEZ
2: Kari ELLIS
3: Alexia FISCHER

Top 3 teams in the task
1: Cross Country Magazine
2: Çameli Municipality
3: Northwest Paragliding

In the team competition the top two pilots in each team are scored and the second one gives the ranking. The highest placed second team pilot was Violeta JIMENEZ flying for team Cross Country Magazine.

All the results are available here: https://live.pwca.org/scores
Tune into our website https://pwca.org and our live app https://live.pwca.org.
Photo Gallery (click on the comment icon for a description of the photo and pilot's names): https://photos.app.goo.gl/m1NqBDq3uRr6E8hk8
Instagram: officialparaglidingworldcup

Task 1 - Pegalajar 2023

2023-05-07 23:13

Summary written by Ruth Jessop

With the sun shining and olive groves stretching out for as far as the eye could see, an 86km task was set taking the pilots on a tour of the plains to the north.

It was windy on launch but once the pilots were in the air everything was a lot less stressful. There were a few clouds on the course line, but it was mostly blue skies.

Today was a perfect introduction to the flying conditions here in Pegalajar. Virtually everyone got high immediately, climbing to the top of the forecasted lift at 2400 m. It was a classic fast racing day with strong climbs of 4 m/s all day long, even if you got low. However, it was anything but straightforward as there were strong thermals, but also strong sink, so choosing the right line was very important, as was knowing which thermals to stop and climb in. 

With the route having several out and return sections, this allowed for faster racing with lots of markers.

As the pilots neared the second to last turnpoint, the lead gaggle realized that there was one pilot who was about 500m above everyone else. For those following the race on the ground it was breath taking. Andy Tallia was way ahead on the tracking, but not on the leaderboard. He had missed the second to last turn point by 4m. He came into goal with a 48 second lead. He deserved to win the day and fortunately a back up instrument showed him having taken the missed turn point. 

Today was a day for heros. Xavier Laporte took off with twisted lines and had to top land at the start. Despite his late relaunch, he came a very impressive third. 

Francisco Javie Reina Lagos ended up in a tree at the start, however, glider repaired, he launched 15 minutes before the start gate opened and still managed to get to goal in the top half of the leaderboard.

The first 102 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
02:17:12: Andy TALLIA flying at an average speed of 35.9 km/h
02:18:00: Baptiste LAMBERT
02:18:20: Xavier LAPORTE

Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most
167.9: Michael SOMMERAUER
165.0: Baptiste LAMBERT
164.7: Xavier LAPORTE

Top 3 in the task
1: Andy TALLIA
2: Baptiste LAMBERT
3: Xavier LAPORTE

Best newcomer: Kaver ROK (9)

Top 3 ladies in the task
1: Violeta JIMENEZ
2: Kari ELLIS
3: Sandra ANTONY

Top 3 teams in the task
1: Niviuk 1
2: Ozone
3: Northwest Paragliding

In the team competition the top two pilots in each team are scored and the second one gives the ranking. The highest placed second team pilot was Pierre Remy flying for team Niviuk 1.

All the results are available here: https://live.pwca.org/scores
Tune into our website https://pwca.org and our live app https://live.pwca.org.
Photo Gallery (click on the comment icon for a description of the photo and pilot's names): https://photos.app.goo.gl/m1NqBDq3uRr6E8hk8
Instagram: officialparaglidingworldcup

Press Release

2023-04-16 11:13

The Paragliding World Cup are delighted to be making their first visit to Pegalajar.

Pegalajar, in southern Spain, is an excellent starting point for long cross-country flights, with distances up to 200km being flown regularly. It is also becoming increasingly well-known as a competition site, having already held successful Spanish Championships, Pre-World Cups, National and Regional Leagues.

Take off is 2km from the town of Pegalajar, with the possibly of flying here in a variety of wind directions (W, NW, N and NE).

The takeoff is only 80 meters higher than the bomb out field, but climbing out is usually very straight forward. The flying here affords a nice combination of flats and mountains with cloud base usually above 3000m. 

The thermals are well defined, and it is possible to fly almost every day from March to November.

A wide variety of tasks should be possible: Different triangles combining mountain sections with flat terrain sections, pure flat terrain, along the fast exit ridge and back, square tasks taking in the edge of the valley, crossing the valley… Here, the sky is our playground. 

However, landing can be tricky sometimes, Andalusia is totally covered in olive trees, but as long as you like olives, this shouldn’t cause any problems. 

The town of Pegalajar is very homely and the people are super friendly. The region is well known for its terraces and tapas.

Fifty-six pilots taking part in the competition have the highest possible qualification letter, an A. Can the unstoppable Baptiste Lambert make this his fourth World Cup win? It promises to be an extremely high calibre, exciting World Cup to follow. Pilots are coming from as far and wide as: Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Japan and the Philippines. 

After successful trials of live scoring at the recent World Cup in Brazil, we are delighted to announce that this has now been adopted as standard, along with our new Maillot Jaune feature. 

Just a reminder that all the results are available here: https://live.pwca.org/scores

Tune into our website https://pwca.org and our live app https://live.pwca.org.

Instagram: officialparaglidingworldcup

Media Gallery

  • Saturday, 6 May, 2023 to Saturday, 13 May, 2023

Competition Results

Waypoints

Flying Site

To get to the 7-Pilillas take-off: there are 2 km from the village by road. https://goo.gl/maps/2T7v4wwo24qkk7NA6

Accommodation

https://www.restaurantehoteleloasis.es/ 8-10 min to HQ. Best hotel. Easy al cheep. 25 rooms

https://www.ladehesadelacebuche.com/ Near to Takeoff (2km into de village and takeoff). 

https://zambrahotel.es/ 10 min. in Mancha Real.

https://www.booking.com find: Pegalajar. We have several typical rural houses. 

Transportation

By Plane :
---
The nearest airport is Granada. It is 50 min away. Shuttles will be organized for them. The second closest airport is Malaga, 1,45 h. Also shuttles can be organized if pilots need it.

By Train :
---
To reach Pegalajar, you can use the train to Jaén Capital, and from there take a bus. It is very close, 20 min. and the organizer could pick you up.

By Car :
---
Pegalajar is 5 min from the highway Granada-Jaén.

The HQ is located in the Cultural Center of Pegalajar https://goo.gl/maps/W9JGReuJTdCd9bz77
There is no parking problem in the area.

 
 

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