1) The organisation would like to acknowledge a mistake in the application of the penalty awarded to Christian Schugg on the 26th of June. We will therefore change the scoring to award him the goal, but subtract a six-hour penalty from his time.
2) Guillermo Monroset, flew into the forbidden 6S zone. He will receive a 14-hour penalty (one day penalty) and his score will be changed to reflect this.
We apologise to the pilots for this late change, which was caused by a failure of the double track validation system. Although it is unusual to make changes after the prize-giving ceremony, we believe it is only fair to ensure that all pilots are scored correctly.
Due to the heat and pilot’s needing to travel home, we will be changing the time of the prize-giving and lunch. It will now take place on the beach at el Port de la Selva at 10am, with lunch at 12 o’clock. See you there!
Turkish Team Çelik/Shakir have withdrawn from the race. On day one, Barış said he is used to running in the desert, but even for him this heat was intolerable. After reaching turnpoint 2, the team decided this moring to call it a day. We wish them all the best and safe journey home.
The conditions for this race have been brutal – in fact, tougher than we’ve ever seen before. After three very tough days, Tomáš Matera’s team has been forced to withdraw. We were delighted to see Tomáš back after the 2022 edition, which, it has to be said, couldn’t have been more different.
We wish Tomáš and Tomáš a speedy recovery after all that sun and sweat, and we hope to see them again in a future edition.
There are many ways you can follow the action live or catch up later if you missed something. Apart from the live tracking and weather links above we have put together a page you can find above, under Race News, called Want News? There you will find information on the race Whatsapp group, links to the YouTube Channel and you will see the schedule (in as far as it is possible to schedule anything in such a frantic race).
It is with great dissappointment that we have to announce the withdrawal of Catalan pilot Fredi Tuset and his supporter Andreu Moreno. Living on the course line, he would have been flying home and beyond in the race. A niggling injury means he will not be able to stand on the start line. A long-time member of the Catalan Hike & Fly Team and League, he will be missed in the race. We wish him a fast recovery and best wishes.
The next edition of the X-Pyr starts in under two weeks. The athletes are gathering in Europe to arrive in the Bay of Biscay and head to the beach, only to reach the beach again 580km later. If you want to remember the last edition, see some of the amazing scenery they will cross, look at the highs and lows, have a look at the documentary of the last edition.
Unfortunately we have to announce the withdrawal of Slovenian H&F champion Lenart Oblak and his supporter Sharon Ferrari. Due to personal reasons, he will not be able to be on the start line. Lenart is the organiser of the X-Slovenia competition and was a participant in the last X-Pyr, making goal on the final day. We are extremely sorry not to see him in Hondarribia on the 21st of June.
In his place, Silvia Galli will participate in the 2026 X-Pyr. She will be supported by fellow hike and fly athlete Jack McKendrick. The young Italian athlete will be our sixth woman competing in the race, a record for H&F events at this level. She recently won the women’s ranking of the Bornes to Fly. She is a ski instructor, acro and speed flyer. She built a lot of her XC experience staying in New Zealand over winter.
The route is out, but how will the athletes and supporters navigate it? Where are the crunch points? What airspace and restricted areas might impede and divert them? What are the most wild, roadless and flyable areas of the route? And why select these turn points?
In this video race reporter Ben Hodgson gets the inside info from meet director and route designer Íñigo Redín. If you want to understand more about the athlete’s decisions during the race and what to look out for, this video should help you understand the tactics.
What you have all been waiting for! Where are the athletes going this edition? Over mountain and through valleys, the 528.8 km route covers seven turnpoints before the fly-down to goal at el Port de la Selva.
As usual the start is on the beach at Hondarribia. Once the athletes have departed they are obliged to run/walk to TP1 at Larun. They may not fly until the sign-in board has been signed. Then they may go to the take-off area and are free to continue in the air.
Getting to TP2 at Villanúa will see the athletes cross to the Spanish side and set them on course to the “Highway” along the southern side. The TP is a sign-in TP, located in the village in the valley. Before they arrive at TP3 (Aneto), they have to navigate a complicated bit of airspace. Look out for some strange dog-legs in the pilot’s tracks.
Aneto is the highest peak in the Pyrenees and has been used as a TP in the race previously. The 3000m radius provides the opportunity to reach it flying or walking, depending on the prevailing conditions.
After TP3, the teams will have to turn NW to cross the main ridge and touch the 13 km radius around the Pic du Midi de Bigorre. The distance between TP 3 and 4 looks short, but will be some of the most remote and difficult to negotiate, most of the way being above 3000m.
The closest place to hit the radius is the mountain of Arbizon (near Saint-Lary-Soulan), which is a well know flying site and also a main thoroughfare for the support teams when crossing the Pyrenees from south to north.
TP 5- Pic des Trois Seigneurs is a new turnpoint for the race. There are few roads between TP 4 & 5, so may actually present more of a logistical challenge to the support teams. After leaving this very popular flying area, they head back south to Spain, crossing (or avoiding) Andorra. The route then passes the famous Cerdanya hanging valley en-route to the next sign-in TP in the Catalan town of Sant Joan de les Abadesses. Then they have many choices of how to reach the end of the timed section at Santa Helena de Rodes.
Once they reach the last turnpoint they can relax and all that remains to do is complete the fly or walk down to the beach at the goal in El Port de la Selva and the welcome swim in the Med.
In preparation for potential bad weather there will be a Plan B route, which will be announced the day before if necessary. In the last edition this tactic was used for safety and to ensure athletes did not sustain injuries on the ground.
