Summary written by Ruth Jessop
There was still a lot of humidity today and a lower than usual cloudbase for Roldanillo. However, it felt a lot drier than on previous days. An optimistic 75.7 km task was set, taking the pilots across the Cauca valley, north to La Victoria, then south of Roldanillo to goal.
The expectation for today was that it would be difficult with the possibility of rain. Instead, it was a perfect day for paragliding with a beautiful task.
The conditions were weak at the beginning, slow, with continuous gaggle hopping. It was all about where to turn and be at the front, ready to race when the conditions got good, but not blow it and bomb out by racing before the day got going.
After the second turn point in the north, at La Victoria, the conditions got better and stayed good right to goal south of Roldanillo. There was a convergence line, which gave a fantastic racy last leg.
Yesterday pilots couldn’t get into goal on a 4:1 glide, today they were making it in on 14:1.
It was an excellent Colombian flying day and the 122 pilots out of 129 who made goal certainly appreciated being back to normal racing conditions.
In the words of top Brazilian pilot Rafael Saladini, ‘Roll on Roldanillo, more of the same again tomorrow please!’
The first 122 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
21:03:21: Honorin HAMARD flying at an average speed of 31.8 km/h
21:03:29: Charles CAZAUX
21:03:34: Gleb SUKHOTSKIY
Top 3 leading point baggers – those who were in the lead the most
161.8: Honorin HAMARD
160.6: Maxime PINOT
157.5: Simon METTETAL
Top 3 in the task
1: Honorin HAMARD
2: Maxime PINOT
3: Charles CAZAUX
Best newcomer: Yann LIVINEC (86th)
Top 3 ladies
1: Meryl DELFERRIERE
2: Johanna HAMNE
3: Yael MARGELISCH
Top 3 teams
1: Ozone
2: Fly Turkey
3: Flymaster
