Tag: Featured
Post destacado del tipo que sea
You’ve seen the route, now the details…
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.
Pierre Remy on the next X-Pyr
On a rest day of the PWCA Superfinal, former World and European Champion Pierre Remy talks about his preparation for the forthcoming X-Pyr, some big recent flights and a lot more. This interview is in French.
Lucas Bonin and Charles de Beaufort chat about the forthcoming X-Pyr
Fresh from the PWCA Superfinal, 2026 Bornes to Fly winner Lucas Bonin and French vice-H&F champion 2025 Charles de Beaufort talk to race director Íñigo Redín. They talk about their thoughts about the route, how they are preparing, working together and show what good friends they obvioulsy are.
Rookie Questions for Veterans
In the run-up to the race we always make the athletes complete a questionnaire. In the last few editions we asked the rookies “What advice would you ask of the race veterans?”. This year we got some answers! Simon Oberrauner and Mortiz Kampelmühler have reached goal each edition they have participated in and in 2024 they won! In this video they give frank and comprehensive advice on ideal team size, footcare, communication, team spirit, route planning, negotiating airspace, getting through the Basque Country and much, much more.
Preparing for the X-Pyr 2026 – 2
In this second video of the series, Tom Payne interviews Swiss pilots Silvan Wüthrich and Nicolas Bourqui about their preparation, worries, gear and training for this X-Pyr editon.
Preparing for the X-Pyr 2026
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.
Mattin’s epic Easter training weekend
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.
