Paragliding
2024 adventures
What have the athletes been up to this year? Let's take a look!
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It’s been a busy year for Red Bull X-Alps athletes, who traditionally use their ‘off-year’ to concentrate on other projects, races, adventures and records. Below, we round up what some of them have been up to since the last race.
Simon Oberrauner
Austria’s top ranked Red Bull X-Alps athlete achieved a massive career success in 2024 by winning the X-Pyr hike and fly race across the Pyrenees. It’s not as long or as tough as Red Bull X-Alps but is traditionally seen as a marker. The start was plagued by biblical rain. The weather then improved allowing him to make a 186km flight. The last leg was a 25km sprint on the ground to the finish. “It was a very intense experience,” he said afterwards.
Simon hiking during the X-Pyr 2024.
© Moritz Kampelmuehler
Chrigel Maurer
The past year has been a story of highs and lows for the eight-time race champion. For many months he was suffering from Lyme disease, which took some time to be diagnosed and treated with Chrigel forced to take time out to recover.But how he bounced back! This summer he and Peter von Känel pulled off an incredible hike and fly adventure – climbing all 82 4,000m mountains of the Alps, linking them all by paraglider. “It felt unreal,” Chrigel states.
Tanguy Renaud-Goud
Already clocked as one of the strongest athletes in the field in 2023, Tanguy put that formidable mountain strength to the test earlier this year by breaking his own hike and fly record in April. He hiked and flew 17,534m over a 24-hour period, beating the previous record by more than 500m. Tanguy managed to secure permission to fly at night to achieve the feat. “Just keep going uphill after uphill,” he explains.
Celine Lorenz
Celine had a disappointing outing in 2023 due to injury and is determined to have a successful 2025 race if selected. She’s been busy the past year. She successfully made a 150km flight around Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the summer of 2023. In 2024 Celine has been active on the competition circuit, winning the German Open for the second year in a row and coming second at the first ever World Junior Paragliding Championships in Tolmin, Slovenia.
In 2024 Celine has been active on the competition circuit.
© Celine Lorenz
Patrick von Känel
Always one to impress, this year Patrick pulled off a dream stunt to fly a paraglider through a 152m long tunnel. He finally succeeded in May after months of meticulous planning. The flight may have only lasted a matter of seconds, but it was an extremely complex project that also required a lot of courage. “I tried for a year and a half in Switzerland and made more than 35 attempts that failed,” he said afterwards. Proof, if ever it was needed that perseverance pays off, a useful skill in Red Bull X-Alps.
Maxime Pinot
The French maestro has proved again in 2024 that he is a master of the skies. In April he was part of a French team, which also included 2023 athlete Tim Alongi, that flew 457km straight-line across France. They launched to the northeast of Paris and managed to fly the length of the country, landing in the Dordogne. Then in June he won the 17th FAI European Paragliding Championships in Spain. But he was less successful at the Pyrenean hike and fly race, X-Pyr where he had to pull out with a knee issue.
In April Maxime was part of a French team that flew 457km across France.
© Maxime Pinot
Tom de Dorlodot
Not everyone has had a good year. Much of 2024 has been spent in rehab for Tom. He broke his leg snow kiting in the spring. Unfortunately, he picked up an infection which has been difficult to clear. Now after multiple surgeries he’s finally optimistic that the infection is gone, and he can concentrate on getting back to 100%. He says he’ll be walking by Christmas and training hard again in the new year. On the plus side, the injury has allowed him to work in his vegetable garden and spend time with his family in the Azores, sailing and swimming in the ocean.
Tom is recovering from breaking his leg snow kiting in spring.
© Tom de Dorlodot
Aaron Durogati
The Italian athlete is not one to sit around for long. Since his last Red Bull X-Alps outing he’s won numerous hike and fly comps, including the 2023 XRedRocks, the 2023 PreAlpiTour in Italy, the UAE Championships and the race that he founded with Paul Guschlbauer, the WANDERBIRD Hike & Fly Trophy. If that wasn’t enough, he’s also been super active in the mountains and in the summer of 2024 was in Pakistan on a unique VR aerial filming project.
2025 line-up will be announced soon!
Which of these athletes will make it into the Red Bull X-Alps 2025 line-up? The athletes will be announced on October 14 on redbullxalps.com. Stay tuned!
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