Well done, Nick Neynens - wins the Paragliding Cross Country Championship for the 2015/16 Season.Please read an excellent write up of the XC Season here, written by the talented Mr Tim Percival.
Showing posts with label Nick Neynens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick Neynens. Show all posts
NICK NEYNENS IS PG XC CHAMPION ... AGAIN!
Well done, Nick Neynens - wins the Paragliding Cross Country Championship for the 2015/16 Season.Please read an excellent write up of the XC Season here, written by the talented Mr Tim Percival.
235 KILOMETRE NZ PARAGLIDING RECORD
Legend!
Links:
Share My Joys - Christmas Day and Leonardo Flight Track
Share My Joys - 5th January and Leonardo Flight Track
NICK NEYNENS PLACES 10TH IN X-ALPS
NICK NEYNENS ON A ROLL
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| An elated Nick! - screen grab from video |
As at the end of Monday is now in ninth position, just behind Ferdy van Schelven from the Netherlands (who competed here in NZ several years ago).
Saturday: 203km of flying - greatest distance covered by any of the pilots that day!
Sunday: 366km of flying - four flights, again greatest distance covered!
Monday: 315km of flying - third greatest distance
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| View on Sunday - just after getting over the 3600m pass - near Zermatt Photo: Nick Neynens |
Redbull article on Nick's "Great Day" - they talk about "understated Kiwis" - however, this video of Nick, shortly after he'd gone over a 3600m pass with ten metres to spare suggests otherwise!
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| Camping location on Monday night. |
Ferdy is 21km ahead, and he is camped 650m lower down. How much advantage will this give Nick as he attempts to catch up to Ferdy?
It will be exciting to watch events unfold from about 4pm (NZ time) on Tuesday!
More photos on the ShareMyJoys and ShareMyPains Facebook pages.
If you want to show your support for Nick, Louis and some of their wonderful supporters go to the Give A Little page, and "buy" one of the excellent offers!
THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF THE X-ALPS
Here's an excellent little video from Nick and Louis on the first few days of the X-Alps campaign: Share my pains
Blog post: Road to recovery
Watch the X-Alps on Live Tracking: Live Tracking
Nick's view - Share My Joys Facebook page: Nick's view
Louis' view - Share My Pains Facebook page: Louis' view
PREPARING FOR THE X-ALPS
It’s been a fast paced lap around the 2015 X-Alps route over the last month, with lots of flying and familiarising with the mountains, which will serve us very well for the race (X-Alps Reconnaissance).Of course the weather is always going to be different but being able to recognize the main geographical features, having a feeling for the valley winds system and what kind of weather to expect were principal aims from my side.
I now feel I can imagine much of the route in my head which will mean I can do most of my navigation in the air without relying on instruments. The other side of the coin is that we have spent lots of time in the Jucy van, getting used to operating in race mode and bit by bit getting everything organised so we are ready to go.
Meeting at the home of our southern Germany based supporter Nils Kretschmer in early June, we headed straight down to turn point 4, under the shadow of the towering limestone cliffs of Germany’s highest mountain the Zugspitze. We weren’t quite organised yet but the weather was good and you have to capitalise – the previous month had been very wet indeed and several teams had struggled with their own route reconnaissances.
I flew every day as we made our way to beautiful Annecy in the northern French Alps. After some rain we had a brief window to fly around Briancon, one of the key points to pass amongst the intricate valley wind system of southern France.
This was arranged through our sail plane (glider) contacts and was really good value, my understanding of this area was consolidated along with previous experience flying here in past years.
With more rain I did some road walking to test the water, we will see but I hope with good management we will be fine during the race. Of course my strategy is to fly whenever possible.
I flew every day as we made our way to beautiful Annecy in the northern French Alps. After some rain we had a brief window to fly around Briancon, one of the key points to pass amongst the intricate valley wind system of southern France.
This was arranged through our sail plane (glider) contacts and was really good value, my understanding of this area was consolidated along with previous experience flying here in past years.
With more rain I did some road walking to test the water, we will see but I hope with good management we will be fine during the race. Of course my strategy is to fly whenever possible.
Back to Germany where we made further arrangements to smoothen the operation and we delivered a talk to the local German paragliding club, a small promotion for New Zealand of course.
Finally three amazing days in the region between Zugspitze and the start, before we went to attend the obligatory briefings – and of course the weather became unbelievably epic. Still we managed to get away to fly the first part of the race and the weather will hold for the start of the race.
Yesterday's prologue was quite hot at 30 degrees but over the coming days it is forecast to reach 37! Our additional supporter Dan Meyers (an Australian expat volunteering to drive) has arrived this week and has proven his worth already with his practical knowledge and makes a great addition to the team.
We are feeling well prepared as much as it is possible to be prepared and are looking forward to the start in Salzburg this Sunday (or Monday in NZ) Watch live tracking, but remember that Austria is 10 hours behind NZ - so there may be a few late nights if you’re watching progress! And here's the online Red Bull diary.
Yesterday's prologue was quite hot at 30 degrees but over the coming days it is forecast to reach 37! Our additional supporter Dan Meyers (an Australian expat volunteering to drive) has arrived this week and has proven his worth already with his practical knowledge and makes a great addition to the team.
We are feeling well prepared as much as it is possible to be prepared and are looking forward to the start in Salzburg this Sunday (or Monday in NZ) Watch live tracking, but remember that Austria is 10 hours behind NZ - so there may be a few late nights if you’re watching progress! And here's the online Red Bull diary.
Nick and Louis
Bonus video: Interview with Tom de Dorlodot
Meeting in Annecy in the lead up to Red Bull Xalps 2015 we caught up with Tom de Dorlodot. He certainly is no novice when it comes to vol biv, with the enviable career as a paragliding professional exploring all kinds of exotic locations around the world. So you can imagine that us kiwis were quite chuffed with the high praise he had for New Zealand, reminiscing of his trip before the last X-Alps with fellow competitor Ferdy van Schelven (NED). As an xalps veteran we also got some insight into his tips for newcomers - well worth a listen.
XC PARAGLIDING ONLINE COMP WRAPPED
The 2014/15 Season of the Paragliding Cross Country Online Championship has been wrapped up and was won overall by Nick Neynens.
It was a record year for records... and you can read the full article, written by the PG XC Comp administrator, Tim Percival, here.
It was a record year for records... and you can read the full article, written by the PG XC Comp administrator, Tim Percival, here.
INDIA VOL BIV
Almost getting arrested, snow, trees and over development.Just some of the hazards of Vol Biv Flying in the Indian Himalaya.
Nick Neynens' latest post from India with Byran Moore and Glen Stevens.
Get the full story here.
THE WORLDS TOUGHEST ADVENTURE RACE
New route and Prologue for 2015 Red Bull X-Alps revealed. 6 countries, 10 turnpoints, 1,038km – and a new one-day Prologue in Austria.
It crosses six countries and Europe's highest mountains in a grand arc, from the historic city of Salzburg, Austria to the Mediterranean sea of Monaco. The route of the 2015 Red Bull X-Alps has been revealed – and it could be the hardest yet! There's also a new twist to the event – a one-day Prologue. This will see athletes in a hike and fly battle around the lakes and mountains of Austria's Salzkammergut region.
Nick Neynens is the first New Zealander to compete in the Red Bull X-Alps, and is one of just 33 competitors selected to race from around the globe.
"I competed in the X-Pyr, and although it was a more amateur competition with shorter distances, I think that definitely helped with the selection process for Red Bull X-Alps, as it demonstrated my flying strength.” Says Neynens.
After seeing the release of the new X-Alps 2015 route, Neynens says the unpredictability of the event resulting from the different choices of route makes it great to watch, let alone compete in.
“The reason I like the Red Bull X Alps concept is because there is a lot of freedom in terms of where you want to hike and fly. In a traditional paragliding there is much less variation and obstacles. It is usually a lot more constrained. With X Alps you’re in the mountains and you chose your own path.”
“There is just over 1000km in the race and nine turning points, which are generally 100km or more apart so there are a lot of different and exciting route options. We can study the map and study the terrain but the weather on the day will determine our navigation!”
On average only 12% of athletes make it to the end of Red Bull X Alps. Whoever is successful in 2015 will be among the most skilled adventure athletes around today.
Powertraveller Prologue
Taking place on July 2, the Prologue will see athletes compete in a tough hike and fly race around the mountains made famous in the movie, The Sound of Music. For the first time all athletes will be concentrated in a single area, starting and finishing at the same point, Fuschl am See.
The first three athletes to finish will each be given a five-minute headstart in the main race start on July 5. They’ll also be rewarded with an additional Led Lenser Nightpass to journey through the night and steal a march on their rivals.
The Route
The route has a straight-line distance of 1,038km, just a few kilometers longer than the 2013 course – but there the similarity ends. The 2013 race resulted in a new record of 6d, 23h, 40m for winner Chrigel Maurer (SUI1) – helped of course by favorable weather – but the 2015 route is unlikely to see such fast times. The reason? It is significantly more demanding, says race mastermind Hannes Arch.
“It places a far higher demand on tactical skills. In many places there is not an obvious flight path to take and athletes must use all their skill to stay airborne. If you are forced to land, the consequences can be critical.” Says Arch.
To see the full list of Turnpoints, check out the route video and more, go to redbullxalps.com
Meet the athletes, explore Live Tracking and download the route map and more at redbullxalps.com
PG OPEN WANAKA - DAY 4
The Paragliding Competition Committee elections were held,
with Cameron Kennedy elected to join Tim Brown & Johnny Hopper on the PCC.
The pilots then met at Treble Cone to check whether
conditions were viable. It turned out to be too strong, so Sam Bartholomew, who
has been running a paragliding-specific first aid course with a group of
pilots, led the group in a few accident scenarios.
It was a great exercise for both the people doing the course, who acted as team leaders for the incident, and the wider pilot group. Feedback is that it was quite realistic (and remarkable, all the pilots in the scenario had very similar injuries!)
It was a great exercise for both the people doing the course, who acted as team leaders for the incident, and the wider pilot group. Feedback is that it was quite realistic (and remarkable, all the pilots in the scenario had very similar injuries!)
I hope all the distributors in NZ have plenty of light-weight
equipment in stock, because after Bryan Moore’s talk last night, pilots are really
fired up about hike and fly and vol-biv.
Bryan spoke a bit about preparing for vol-biv, and did a show and tell of a few of his flights, including several breath-taking photos.
Nick Neynens also talked through some of his recent flights in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan & France.
Hearing about these flights is really encouraging and a few pilots have reported that it's given them confidence to give hike and fly a go themselves.
Bryan spoke a bit about preparing for vol-biv, and did a show and tell of a few of his flights, including several breath-taking photos.
Nick Neynens also talked through some of his recent flights in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan & France.
Hearing about these flights is really encouraging and a few pilots have reported that it's given them confidence to give hike and fly a go themselves.
PARAGLIDING FAI TRIANGLE RECORD
After years taking his time exploring the stunning NZ backcountry, Nick Neynens has put it all together.
A paragliding flight linked with amazing scenery, exciting flying, a new record, and a strategic triangle in the rugged country alongside Mt Aspiring, NZ.
Check the video from the flight on his blog Share My Joys.
and the 6pm TV3 news article about Nick's X-Alps entry.
You can also follow Nick's and Louis' X-Alps preparation on Facebook at Share My Joys and Share My Pain
TEAM NZL IS IN THE RED BULL XALPS
Nick Neynens makes the cut, and is the first New Zealander to be a competitor.
Nick's Profile
Nick's Blog
Nick's Profile
Nick's Blog
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