Today the thermals on the west face of Vounetz were strong enough to overcome the weak easterly winds. We set a task to Gurnigel, then to a little hill called Gibloux in the flats between Fribourg and Bulle, and a leg to the south towards Montreux, with goal near Grandvillard. As expected, the first thunderstorms developed in the Gstaad area. We observed them closely, but thanks to the weak easterly winds, they did not move towards our task area. But they spread out and shaded most of the task area while pilots were still flying back from Gurnigel. The furthest made it just to Gibloux, while most of the filed landed east of lake Gruyère. Overall: 1. Benjamin Fankhauser 2. Dominik Breitinger 3. Gaël Frochaux Women: 1. Agnieszka Zaborowska (GBR) 2. Andrea Habegger 3. Corina Heldstab Sports Class: 1. Frédéric Monnet 2. Marco Sommerfeld 3. Mahdi Karimi (IRI) Junior: 1. Jean Morisetti 2. Arnaud Hirschi 3. Noël Oberle The forecasts for tomorrow are similar, with slightly better thermals than today early in the afternoon. Also, the air will be drier than today, which reduces the probability for early thunderstorms, compared to today. We expect a good day tomorrow, and therefore will follow the same schedule as today: 9:00-10:00 breakfast, trackers and cable car tickets 10:00 task setters meet at the restaurant at the top 11:30 task briefing at the north launch 12:30 launch window open 14:00 race start Photos by Martin Scheel

Great weather and light winds—that certainly makes for a good task. The plan is to cover 80 kilometers. For those wondering why the goal is set on a mountain, here’s a brief explanation. Thunderstorms are possible toward evening, so this option gives participants the chance to land safely in a secure location. If the thunderstorms aren’t a problem, they can fly to the landing site in Charmey. We’re looking forward to it!

Chrigel Maurer führt, Lars Meerstetter aktuell an Vierter, Noe Court an Fünfter und Silvan Wüthrich an neunter Stelle! Die weiteren Schweizer alles andere als abgeschlagen folgen auf den aktuellen Rängen 16 (Nicola Bourqui) und 27 (Sebastian Weber). Es bleibt spannend und noch ist nichts entschieden - ausser wohl der Sieg von Chrigel Maurer!

Due to the increase in north-easterly winds, we moved launch to Grandvillard, which is much better protected from this kind of wind. Launch was a little wild and steep, which caused a few desperate dives after ballast bags and helmets that were rolling down the hill - and also a few less-than-elegant launches. Conditions in the air were reported to be strong and at times more turbulent than expected by the task committee, especially on the ridge behind the Charmey launch. Most of the field managed those challenges and was rewarded with a beautiful flight out to the western-most hills of the Fribourg Alps before coming back to Charmey via a detour to the south. Unfortuantely, there were three incidents today: Two pilots lost control of their gliders at altitude and came down under their reserve parachutes. While one walked away unscathed, the other had to be helicoptered out due to ultimately minor injuries. And at the very end of the day, in tricky shifting wind conditions at the Charmey landing field, one pilot stalled their glider from a few meters altitude, leading to another helicopter rescue due to what turned out minor injuries. Speedy recovery to the injured pilots, and a huge thank you to everyone reporting and assisting. Overall: 1. Roger Aeschbacher 2. Stephan Morgenthaler 3. Steve Cox Women: 1. Sarah Zimmermann 2. Manuela Pfrunder 3. Agnieszka Zaborowska Sports Class: 1. Gaëtan Gerber 2. Frédéric Monnet 3. Sarah Zimmermann Junior: 1. Jean Morisetti 2. Exbrayat Jules 3. Noël Oberle Photos: Martin Scheel According to the latest models, the north-easterly winds should be weaker tomorrow than today. We see a 50% chance for a task from Vounetz, and will make the final decision tomorrow at 9:30. We will only go up for a task if the wind is considerably less than today and allows for safe launches from Vounetz. We do not consider another task from Grandvillard launch.

The pilots are on their way to the launch site. Due to the wind, the launch site was moved to Grandvillard today—a move that the organizing committee handled very well from a logistical standpoint. Now we can look forward to an exciting 74-kilometer task. Conditions are expected to be similar to yesterday’s, with slightly more wind and a slightly higher chance of thunderstorms. The task has taken these conditions into account.

Das XPyr 2026 ist in vollem Gange. Mit dabei insgesamt 6 Schweizer Teams. Aktuell in Führung, wie es sich gehört, Chrigel Maurer. Auf den Plätzen folgen als Vierter Lars Meerstetter, als 14. Sebi Weber, 20. Silvan Wüthrich, 23. Nicolas Bourqui und 27. Noe Court. Herausragende Leistungen aller Schweizer Teams bis jetzt. Viel Erfolg und häbet Sorg! ***** L'XPyr 2026 bat son plein. Au total, six équipes suisses y participent. Chrigel Maurer est actuellement en tête, comme il se doit. Il est suivi par Lars Meerstetter (4e), Sebi Weber (14e), Silvan Wüthrich (20e), Nicolas Bourqui (23e) et Noe Court (27e). Toutes les équipes suisses ont réalisé des performances exceptionnelles jusqu'à présent. Bonne chance et prenez soin de vous!