The Red Bull X-Alps has started yesterday and it’s easily the most exciting event happening in 2009.I’ve 2 friends in the grueling 2 week event, Aiden Toasse and fellow Axis team pilot, Tom Payne.Good Luck & I’m stoked for you, stay safe and hope to see you make it to Monaco.Check out www.redbullxalps.com
Edit: Was a bit busy and tired during the comp to write a run report, so here’s it after I’ve given it some more thought.The comp was held in Piedrahita in the middle of Spain. The first 2 days were too windy to task. The next days were still windy and only allowed downwind dashes. All towards the north-east - east.
The first task was 100km which I completed in 20th place after getting stuck with Craig Morgan and Jamie Messenger. A very interesting task, huge dark convergence clouds lined up and looked like it would start to suck. The pilots that were fully under it were playing with an unknown force I thought so took a line further “3″ (stop task) on the emergency channel.
Probably could have been a good call, as one pilot did get sucked in up to 4800m before popping out the side. But you can’t stop tasks just because someone is unlucky(???) enough to have that happen to them.I believe the task was on the limit and had something happened it wouldn’t have been that big of a surprise.
The second task was 126km more off the to NE, again was pretty windy and the pass claimed a lot of pilots. Once high there is was a fast race. I was with the leaders up until final glide then a slight route change put myself and many others in the gaggle on the ground in 6m/s sink and a cross wind, (huh???) 3km short, bummer!!
Respect to Steve Nash and Chris Harland for getting out from a 30m low save. Incredible. Adrian Thomas was next to me at the same height and was 6th in…. nuff said.
It was great to stay with and race the leaders confidently again. The AXIS Mercury reminds me a lot of the Magic FR2, the glider I qualified for the British team in 2005.The 3rd task was 115k to Segovia, the wind was strong again and the conditions stable. I got hit by a pebble from below, low over the high ground. Reckon the dusty was pretty strong down there (yikes!!).
I bombed after leaving a gaggle I didn’t trust as they were going back on themselves too many times in a cross wind, squandering height we’d hard won. Not much confidence was being given off from the pilots in there.
After being dropped by the first gaggle in the stable air and left by the second I left in frustration 
one guy followed me and had a slightly liftier line, I then promptly fell out of the bottom of the thermal he found. Good to see he was willing to push on though. In the flats gaggles need to work together.
As we had enough height to get to the next thermal we needed to move on, not go back. Didn’t make sense 
Wasn’t that bother’d as I’d gone down in a beautiful place and blown the comp anyway the day before with the new “no dropped task” format this year, which proved to be quite unpopular, await the fall-out from that discussion….
The 4th task was a 56k run to Avila. I placed 15th on a ballsy, rough final glide. Wagga Watts took 3 BIG blowouts as did Craig Morgan and Chris Harland, respect to your post blow out glider control lads.I had a few small blow outs, (a small frontal and a 50%, all harmless) so obviously I wasn’t pushing as hard as it was all available but I managed to hold position with 1/3rd speed, just.
We could have gone further and getting down was a real pain. There were dusties around as the slower guys came in. However landing a short task in the Spanish flatlands at the strongest time of the day at the strongest time of the year was always gonna be interesting.
One guy on an Icepeak got hoovered backwards when attempting to land, lucky he had the skill to control it(??). Thermals were sucking in that much air. Anyway where are these climbs when I needed them the day before eh??? lol
The comp was won by Olympio Fassiol, I ended up in 33rd place. Even with only 2 goals it was enough to secure our Team “the Axis of Evil” the win in the team event with Mark Watts and Kai Coleman having great results, though I was happy to score for the team 2 times.
Stoked to take the team event and nice to compete in Piedrahita yet again.
Big thanks to Steve Ham for organizing a great comp, good luck with the Worlds.
KF