Idris Birch, Celia Viermann and their supporters explain their motivations, preparation and we look at their gear they will be flying during the race. Julien, Florian and Jochen give us an insight into the preparation and consideration of the supporters and their critical role.
The Pyrenees are on fire at the moment. After Mattin’s epic Easter crossing of the chain and the excellent flights by our Catalan competitors, here comes our local young French pilot! Romain Larripa lives close to the start and his normal flying area is around TP1 in Larun. So much so that he has attended three race starts, dreaming that one day he would be in the ranks of those departing the beach and climbing up his home mountain. That dream will come true on the 21st of June.
But training is essential in advance and Romain missed the Easter weather window which saw Basque pilot Mattin Iñiguez make an excellent traverse of the Pyrenees.
Romain explains what happened on the 16th of April: “After missing the weather window the previous week—when Mattin flew 215 km from Peña Montañesa—I was really focused on the next opportunity. At the start of the week, everything pointed to Thursday, Friday, and Saturday being perfect on the Spanish southern slopes. I was expecting two good days… but the reality far exceeded expectations.
On the first day, we started by hiking up. I took off from Bizkarzé, near Pico de Orhi, with that slightly intimidating feeling of having nothing but forest beneath my feet. By 1 p.m. we had a cloud base of around 2,500 m, which gradually increased on the south-facing slopes, though it was hard to get above 3,000 m. The initial plan was to reach Peña Montañesa, but the conditions at the end of the day were so good that I decided to keep moving east.
With all my bivouac gear, water, and food in my backpack, I kept linking kilometers until passing Castejón. After 173 km and 6 hours 30 minutes of flight, I landed on a ridge below the summit of Corronco. Flying like that, self-sufficient, with the wing and bivouac gear, is hard to describe… a feeling of total freedom. The evening was perfect, with views of Aneto, good food, and the peace of being well positioned for the next day.
The night, however, was tougher: constant wind and humidity. I barely slept three hours.
The next morning, I went for a 5 km run to get going. The north wind was blowing strongly until mid-morning, which made me hesitate. But at 11:30 the first thermals started on the east-facing slopes, and I decided to take off early, at 11:45. The key was to stay high: in that area…there aren’t many landing options.
I moved quickly and felt good, discovering Andorra from the air. Above 3,000 m, the north wind was very noticeable: turbulence, degraded glides… it wasn’t comfortable. But between Andorra and Font-Romeu, the conditions clearly improved, with cloud bases up to 3,700 m.
At Font-Romeu, the headwind slowed me down and put me in a tricky situation, but I managed to push through and continue toward Canigó. In that section, an eagle passed just five meters from me—an incredible moment.
And shortly after, coming out of a thermal, the Mediterranean appeared. An almost unreal image, like a dream.
I made one final 36 km glide, ending up just 5 km from the sea. I landed with a mix of happiness and surprise: I had crossed almost the entire Pyrenees in two days. That second day was 184 km in 6 hours 45 minutes of flight.
That night I slept on an empty lot in an industrial area—a much less epic bivouac… but I slept deeply.
The next day, I took a train from Perpignan to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, arriving at 10 p.m., and walked home. A full day to return… and to begin processing what I had experienced. Now I can finally say it: it wasn’t a dream.
They were two exceptional days—the kind that leave a mark.
And beyond that, this experience did me a lot of good mentally: flying solo in Spain, managing everything on my own… it’s a big step.”
What an incredible adventure! Hopefully we’ll get conditions like this during the X-Pyr.
The Easter week turned out to be an amazing training opportunity for many of our athletes. More than any, Mattin Íñiguez made the most of it. The teacher from the Basque Country is on a sabbatical year and is free to fly and travel.
Mattin left the start point of the race at Hondarribia on Thursday the 2nd of April and encountered typical Basque weather…
He said about the beginning of the trip: “I went to train the first part of the race. We started in wet, horrible conditions—typical Basque Country. I ran 45k the first day, then 30 the second day, but I could fly a little bit to the south part of the Pyrenees. I wanted to explore the Sierra de Abodi; it’s a mountain chain that I didn’t know, so we tried from there. I didn’t fly very well at first, but we got to the Pic de l’Orri and it was magic. It was like 100 kilometers to Escalona.
The next day I flew from Peña Montañesa, and I managed to get to the Catalan ski resort of La Molina, more or less. So I had very good flights during two days. On the third day of flying I tried to go to the sea, but I was late and I didn’t fly very well, but I managed to get to Maçanet de Cabrenys.”
Getting to the sea was impossible with an easterly head wind and weaker conditions as he progressed. However, Mattin was very happy as this trip allowed him to pass some of the possible turnpoints of the 2026 race and explore areas he didn’t know. He also passed the iconic peak of Canigo, still covered in snow and looking imposing from all angles. In fact the trip was made even more special as there is still a lot of snow on all the Pyrenean peaks, making the vistas even more dramatic.
The trip also allowed him to work with one of his supporters to explore the route, research and evaluate different options. After day three, Mattin was unsupported, without a tent or sleeping bag, with just his friend “Visa” as an assistant. And after such a long 5 days, what about getting back home? An option would have been to attempt to fly back, but it was pure coincidence that Meet Director Iñigo Redín was scouting the end-of-race turnpoints and was able to meet up with Mattin and take him back to his car near Pamplona!
And what did he learn in these five days? “That it’s going to be very difficult to arrive to the sea.”
Other X-Pyr athletes making the most of the booming conditions this weekend were local pilots Manel Gras, who flew two triangles of 120 and 197 km and then flew another huge flight on the 8th of April, flying from Berga to the border with Andorra and back to Sant Quirze de Bezora. On the 6th of April Francesca Mugianesi flew 130 km from Áger to close to La Molina and Pierre Remy made the most of the north side of the Pyrenees with a 169 km triangle starting from Couraduque.
You can check their flights in our post.
You can browse all Mattin’s flights on XContest.
Check his IG profile.
After a record-breaking number of applicants, we can now announce the selected teams. There are 50 – the largest number in the history of the event. Some are familiar faces to the race. Defending champion Simon Oberrauner (AUT) and 2024 runner-up Christian Schugg (GER), as well as local pilot and former World Champion Pierre Remy (FRA) will be racing against 4-time champion Chrigel Maurer (SUI) who returns to the race after a break.
There will be 30 rookies, including 5 women. Many local Pyrenean pilots have been selected and their knowledge of terrain and weather may be crucial. Here you can see all the teams that will be on the starting line at Hondarribia on the 21st of June.
We say this every edition, but this year we have the highest level of competitors ever and the racing should be fierce. There are so many potential winners in the field. It’s going to be an exciting week!
ROOKIES: these rookies are stepping onto the X-Pyr stage for the very first time.
FIRST TIMERS: meet the athletes taking on their first X-Pyr.
YOUNG GUNS: these athletes are all under 30, will young legs beat mature minds?
INTERCONTINENTALS: these athletes have crossed continents to participate in the race.
RETURNERS: they’ve felt the scale of the Pyrenees before, and bring something priceless: experience.
LOCALS: they know these mountains. Will local knowledge become the decisive advantage?
GOALIES: they have done it once, from coast to coast. Can they reach goal again?
WOMEN: there have never been so many women taking part in such a high-level H&F race.
LEGENDS: every athlete in this group has stood among the best at X-Pyr. This year’s race pits defending champion Simon Oberrauner against 4-time champion Chrigel Maurer. Pierre Remy has been tantalisingly close to the top spot and is hungry for glory. Last time rookie, Christian Schugg, pulled off an incredible final flight to take 2nd place. Can he do one better? Standa Mayer has always made goal, can he do it a fifth time? And we welcome back our friend Toma Coconea. A legend in H&F racing.
Soon you will be able to see all the team info, interviews, etc. Keep watching this space.
The moment many of you have been waiting for has arrived.
The application period for the next edition of X-Pyr in 2026 is open!
The deadline for accepting applications will be the 31st December.
The race will start on June 21st 2026.
On the website you will see the option for application. Please fill in the form and submit it.
Want to know more interesting facts about X-Pyr 2026 schedule?, just browse!
In the meantime, how about reliving the highlights of the X-Pyr 2024?
If you have any issues, queries or need assistance, please contact us by sending an email to contact@x-pyr.com
We are pleased to confirm that the X-Pyr 2026 will begin on 21st June 2026 at 10:00 on the beach at Hondarribia on the Bay of Biscay. The competition will once again challenge athletes to traverse the length of the Pyrenees—from the Atlantic coast near Hondarribia to the Mediterranean at El Port de la Selva—using only paragliding and hiking.
Applications to compete in X-Pyr 2026 will open on the 15th of October and close at midnight (CET) on the 31st December.
Here is the full 2026 schedule:
Athletes interested in participating are encouraged to prepare early.
Detailed rules, logistics, route information, mandatory gear, and safety policies will be published in due course.
In the meantime, please contact us for queries about participating.
